THE MASK OF THE STORYTELLER

An imaginative world and sophisticated themes combine in this rewarding blend of myth and mystery. Zelkowitz’s novel intertwines mythology, history, and politics in this complex depiction of an Arctic dystopia. From the moment the teenage Aggie Brown sees a Qilak Inuit storyteller mask lying in a junkyard, she knows that she has to help return it to its rightful owners. With the help of her friend Emmett, she steals it from under the noses of the brutish Donnelly twins and hides it in the Northern Lights Egg Timer™ factory. As the two friends embark on what initially seems like a minor adventure, the author gradually introduces readers to the larger world of Port Helios, an Arctic Regional Commonwealth city that once boomed but is now characterized by boarded-up factories, state propaganda, corporate ambition, and the looming authority of President Doctor Professor Semper Ubi Sububi. Beneath the odd details of this northern society is a complicated social order in which Inuit culture is both exploited and guarded by the authorities and the powerful Von Poucke Industries, where Aggie’s father works as a geologist. Commissioner Ylva Tikaani, a powerful official whose domains include ...