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Hideki Smith and the Omukade
Hideki Smith is still a loser's loser, but the town needs him to be a hero again in this thrilling adventure story of family, found family, and sacrifice.
In this second installment of the Hideki Smith series, Hideki—the apprentice superhero formerly known as Caleb—and his shape shifting fox sister Emily, have barely had time to recover from saving their North Carolina mountain town from an invasion by creatures from Japanese folklore, but now it looks like that invasion might be back on.
Unfamiliar bugs are appearing all over Portersville and at least one of them is very strange and, it appears, getting bigger by the day. And that's not the only strange thing in town. A glamorous and persuasive stranger has captivated the locals and brought some very peculiar plans for the area.
And there are secrets closer to home too, some of which might be enough to tear Hideki’s family apart. Assuming the bugs don’t get them first…
Hideki Smith and the Omukade is the latest fantasy adventure novel from NY Times and USA Today best selling author A.J. Hartley (Cathedrals of Glass, Steeplejack) alongside Hisako Osako and Kuma Hartley.
In this second installment of the Hideki Smith series, Hideki—the apprentice superhero formerly known as Caleb—and his shape shifting fox sister Emily, have barely had time to recover from saving their North Carolina mountain town from an invasion by creatures from Japanese folklore, but now it looks like that invasion might be back on.
Unfamiliar bugs are appearing all over Portersville and at least one of them is very strange and, it appears, getting bigger by the day. And that's not the only strange thing in town. A glamorous and persuasive stranger has captivated the locals and brought some very peculiar plans for the area.
And there are secrets closer to home too, some of which might be enough to tear Hideki’s family apart. Assuming the bugs don’t get them first…
Hideki Smith and the Omukade is the latest fantasy adventure novel from NY Times and USA Today best selling author A.J. Hartley (Cathedrals of Glass, Steeplejack) alongside Hisako Osako and Kuma Hartley.
326 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 4, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 23, 2025
The second of this Urban Fantasy Young Adult series travels deep into horror territory. The main monster, Omukade, is a large centipede-type creature. Be prepared for BUGS. I was delightfully skeeved out from the first moment of roaches in the Hummer.
Also be prepared for secrets, which seems to be the theme of this story. Do secrets help or harm families? Should you keep secrets from your parents; should your family keep secrets from people outside the family? Should the government keep secrets or you keep secrets from your government?
I love the return of Hideki and his foxy sister, plus their inconvenience store-running parents and the older-than-she-looks grandmother (and she looks old). The whole family is loving and yet real; they have to WORK on being loving, especially with two teenage kids and two very hard-working and constantly-working parents.
The question between secrets, bugs, and family…will everyone survive? And, strangely, part of the answer to that question is…did everyone survive the first book?
(Full disclosure: I was part of the editing team.)
Also be prepared for secrets, which seems to be the theme of this story. Do secrets help or harm families? Should you keep secrets from your parents; should your family keep secrets from people outside the family? Should the government keep secrets or you keep secrets from your government?
I love the return of Hideki and his foxy sister, plus their inconvenience store-running parents and the older-than-she-looks grandmother (and she looks old). The whole family is loving and yet real; they have to WORK on being loving, especially with two teenage kids and two very hard-working and constantly-working parents.
The question between secrets, bugs, and family…will everyone survive? And, strangely, part of the answer to that question is…did everyone survive the first book?
(Full disclosure: I was part of the editing team.)
December 23, 2025
Its been some time since I so thoroughly enjoyed a book. It was even better than the first one and I hope to see a followup soon! It is not often you find a book that feels unique but this one did. It is also very well written and did not have a dull moment. I didnt want it to end and cant wait for the next installment!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews