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Summary: Over summer vacation, Anthony goes with his friends Ms. Eells and Emerson to their cottage on a lake in Minnesota. At camp, weird things start to happen. While exploring the house, Anthony sees that a trunk has appeared in an empty bedroom. When he opens the trunk, Anthony hears some words in his head that he cannot understand, and sees swirling mists in the bottom of the trunk. Miraculously, Anthony is able to fight the sensation to climb into the trunk, but he faints on the floor.
A few nights later, Anthony is in the room again, curiously looking for the trunk that has not been seen for the past few days. This time Anthony cannot fight the same sensation. He climbs into the trunk and says the password he has recently learned. Suddenly, the bottom of the trunk falls open, and Anthony is plunged into total darkness. When he opens the lid of the trunk, Anthony finds himself near a mansion. While exploring the area, Anthony finds a secret passage. He follows the passage and hears people, called Autarchs, talking about a Logos Cube that has been stolen by one of their members, a traitor called Nathaniel. The Autarchs need the Logos Cube to control the world into which Anthony has been transported. Anthony goes back to the trunk and returns to the bedroom by saying the password. Anthony tells Emerson and Ms. Eells what has happened. When the trunk next appears, Emerson and Anthony go back to the secret world. They learn much more about the Autarchs' plans.
The maniacal Autarchs are people from Earth who use magic to create their own world in another dimension. The Autarchs are plotting to travel back to Earth's dimension and take over the world. First, however, they need to find the Logos Cube. A few days later, when the trunk appears again, Anthony, Emerson, and Ms. Eells go inside. On their previous visit, they overheard that the greatest clue is in the Temple of the Winds. They enter the world inside the trunk and go to the Temple of the Winds to search for the clue. They find an old American gold coin in the temple and believe that this is the clue. Scratched on the coin is the word "wabe." Without delay, they return to the trunk and, using the password, make it safely home to the cottage on the lake.
Later, they return to Minnesota because the window that caused the trunk to appear has been broken by the Grand Autarch, who uses magic to travel to their dimension. Back in Hoosac, Anthony and Ms. Eells discover that a man named Marius F. Ambrose is the Great Autarch. He disappeared 20 years earlier. Emerson purchases Ambrose's mirror and desk that will enable him, Anthony and Ms. Eells to return to the Autarch's world to destroy the Logos Cube. After the trio have gotten themselves back into the mysterious world, they meet up with the traitor Autarch, Nathaniel, who opposes the Autarchs' evil scheme and is eager to help them. Emerson has figured out where the object that destroys the Logos Cube is located. Overcoming many obstacles, Anthony and his friends travel through the castle and find the weapon that destroys the dangerous cube. Even with the Autarchs chasing and attempting to destroy them, Anthony and his friends are still able to smash the Logos Cube into hundreds of tiny pieces. The former Autarch who helped them asks to stay in the other dimension while the others go back to their normal lives, safe in the knowledge that the human race will not be destroyed.
Publishers Weekly: "A broth spiced with action and suspense."
Amazon.com: * * * * *
Behind the Books: A Closer Look at John Bellairs: * * *
