The Merchant of Death
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| Author | D. J. MacHale |
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| Cover artist | Victor Lee,aladdin fantasy |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Pendragon |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Aladdin |
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Publication date
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September 1, 2002 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardback) |
| Pages | 372 pp (first edition, paperback) |
| ISBN | (first edition, paperback) |
| OCLC | 50612343 |
| LC Class | PZ7.M177535 Me 2002 |
| Followed by | The Lost City of Faar |
The Merchant of Death is the first book in the Pendragon series by D. J. MacHale. It follows the adventures of Bobby Pendragon as he travels to Denduron.
The story takes place in a "territory" (Universe separate from the "Second Earth" universe of the story, there are ten territories in all) called Denduron. Denduron has three suns, one to the east, the north, and the south, but besides that, it has most of the same characteristics as Earth. The story is based around two tribes: the Milago and the Bedoowan. The Milago are treated very poorly by the Bedoowan, who live in luxury; they live in little huts without running water or even outhouses, and have to mine for a valuable stone called glaze every hour of the day in order to meet the demands of Kagan, the queen of the Bedoowan. If the Milago do not meet the required supply of glaze which changes for each day, then one of them is killed by being pushed into an abandoned mine shaft. This process is used by a weight system that weighs the person in glaze. The Bedoowan have more advanced tools and technologies such as running water, stoves, and artificial light.
The story starts with Bobby Pendragon, a normal fourteen-year-old boy, preparing to leave his home to play in the state basketball semi-finals, but before he leaves, Courtney Chetwynde, a popular girl at his school, comes to his house and admits her feelings toward him. While they are kissing Bobby's Uncle Press arrives and tells Bobby some people need their help and to come with him.
They drive on a motorcycle to a boarded-up subway station in the Bronx. Press leaves the motorcycle outside with the keys in ignition, this surprises Bobby but when he asks, Press says they do not need it anymore. They head into the abandoned subway, where they meet the main villain, Saint Dane, whose goal is to destroy the barriers between the ten territories of Halla; every territory, person, and living thing. Saint Dane controls a homeless man to jump in front of a subway train, and says this is to "Give the boy a taste of what he's in for,". He attacks Uncle Press and Bobby. Then Uncle Press tells Bobby to go to a door with a star on it and yell Denduron.
When Bobby and Press arrive in Denduron, they change their clothing to fit the local customs, and find a bobsled, along with two spears and a dog whistle, left by an acolyte (a person native to a territory who aides the Travelers by leaving items such as clothing and means for transportation). Bobby and Press start their descent from the mountain, and they are attacked by twelve quigs (animals Saint Dane uses to patrol the gates of the flumes; the appearance of quigs vary among the territories). They manage to live through the situation by using the dog whistle and the spears, but the sled crashes, and Press is kidnapped by Bedoowan knights. Bobby is rescued by a Traveler warrior named Osa, a wise woman whose daughter, Loor, is disgusted by him for most of the book. They are acquainted with Alder, a Bedoowen knight who is the Traveler from Denduron in disguise. Bobby, Alder and Loor try to rescue Press from the Bedoowan castle, armed with a backpack full of tools brought from Bobby's home, Second Earth, to make the job of rescuing Uncle Press easier, despite the warning Press gave Bobby that territories are not to be mixed (through items or otherwise). During this time, Bobby realizes that the Bedoowan live a luxurious and lazy life, as they listen to music, relax on pillows, and eat, attended by the pallid, taciturn Novans. Also, technologically speaking, the Bedoowan are years ahead of the Milago with inventions and devices including dumbwaiters, running water, and artificial light. After rescuing Press, Bobby learns that bringing items from Second Earth turns out to be a mistake. While Bobby was sleeping in a mine ventilation shaft before the rescue attempt, a homely merchant of the Milago by the name of Figgis had stolen a flashlight from Bobby's bag. When Bobby, Loor, Alder, and the newly rescued Press return to the Milago village, they discover that Figgis, the native merchant, had been selling tak, an unstable explosive that is to be used as a weapon to free themselves from Bedoowan rule. The final component to build a weapon that will destroy the Bedoowan (and probably all of the Milago village, though the Milago are willing to take that risk) is the battery and the switch from the flashlight, which Bobby accidentally supplied. Their plan was to present the tak bomb to the Bedoowan during the transfer ceremony (where the Bedoowan receive the glaze), disguised as a rather large mine cart of glaze, and destroy the remaining Bedoowan with smaller amounts of tak.
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