Rory Hennessy, a 13-year-old resident of Manhattan, has the ability to sense real magic. As a result, there is nothing that magicians can put over on him. It is because of this talent, that he and his sister Bridget are drawn into the intrigues of the gods of Manhattan with the help of a magician named Hex.

The gods are really all the famous people who have inhabited the area of New York City back from Native American times to the modern day. When they die, the come back in the kingdom of Mahattan, where (like the classical Greek gods) they rule over various aspects of life from small time stuff like pickpocketing to major things like the weather. The gods include well-known people like Alexander Hamilton, Peter Stuyvesant, and Babe Ruth, but also some other names that are probably only familiar to New York residents and historians.

This quickly becomes a tale of epic adventure, when Rory and his sister end up working with the honorary Rattle Watchers, a group of knights that is made up of the children of the gods. They fight against the mayor of Mahattan, a corrupt elected official who has been controlling the gods for hundreds of years. Rory and Bridget may hold the key to success.

This is a well-construct, and complex tale filled with high adventure. It quickly draws in the readers, but it is really imperative to reference the included list of characters and organizations as well as the included color map of Manhattan and its landmarks in order to keep track of what is going on in the world that exists parallel to our own. This is particularly true of people without a strong background in New York history and personalities.

I would think that kids who have a stronger background in the Big Apple would be enthralled by the tale since Mebus does a wonderful job of entwining the real historical events with political intrigue and danger in the novel. I am not sure that it would be easy for other younger readers to get through the book if they have to continually reference who is who. It is definitely a fun read if you are willing to take on the challenge, though. It is a great good versus evil tale.