Wily Snare

Snared: Escape to the Above is the first book in a new middle-grade fantasy adventure series from bestselling author Adam Jay Epstein. Chopping blades, scorpion nests, giant spiderwebs-no one makes traps better than Wily Snare. He has never seen the sun, or blue sky, or even his parents. Wily Snare lives underground, creating traps to keep treasure-seekers away from the gold in an ancient wizard's dungeon. He spends his days mopping up giant slug slime, avoiding poison darts, and herding undead skeletons. It's all he knows. Until an unusual band of adventurers-an acrobatic elf, a warrior with a magic arm, and a giant made of moss-successfully defeat Wily's traps. And they want the ultimate treasure: Wily himself. His skills can help them invade every other dungeon in the kingdom. He might even aid their fight against the Infernal King, whose gearfolk and prisonauts terrorize the land. But for a boy who has never been outside, dungeons aren't nearly as scary as the world above. Or an evil king who builds the trickiest traps of all ...

In this rip-roaring dungeon adventure, genius inventor Wily Snare must journey into a dangerous underground maze to find a mythical beast. Thanks to a crew of misfit treasure-seekers, Wily Snare has assumed his rightful place as King of Panthasos. Wily knows how to be a great trapsmith, devising and building various contraptions to keep plunderers at bay-but he has no idea how to be a good king. And he hasn't escaped his past. Stalag, mage who once kept him locked away, is amassing an army of stone soldiers to seize the kingdom. Wily's only hope is to tame a lair beast, a giant creature that's the only chance against the evil wizard's army. But first, Wily and his friends will need to survive the journey to the strange and deadly "Below" where the lair beast dwells.

Wily's enemies are after his throne. The man who kept him captive for much of his childhood, the evil mage Stalag, is still at large, and Wily knows the kingdom will never be safe as long as he's a threat. Meanwhile, Wily's father, the Infernal King, has escaped prison and he's looking to retake power. When Wily learns the villains are traveling to the fabled Eversteel Forge to build a mechanical army, it's up to him and his companions to journey across the sea and stop their enemies. On the way, they face piracy, betrayal, sea monster attacks, and the dangers of a mysterious desert island. But, the greatest challenge is to Wily's loyalties-and if he can forgive a father he no longer trusts.