Battle for Pyra

Aku #2

by Micah Johnson, Durk van der Meer (Illustrator)

Aku, space traveler of the metaverse, is BACK and ready to blast off in book two of this action-packed sci-fi series, where he and his friends must travel to a fiery planet to recover a gem of untold power, lest it fall into the wrong hands. Starring the 3D character featured on TIME Magazine!

After saving the planet Ibra from a ruthless space militia, Aku is ready for a break. But when his grandfather announces an urgent mission to the fiery, lava-filled planet Pyra, Aku and his friends end up on their most dangerous mission yet.

What awaits them is a world forged in lava and legend. Here, ancient beings guard the a radiant core said to control the light of the universe. To claim the GEM, Aku’s crew must survive three deadly trials—racing through molten mazes, battling in a gravity-defying magmaball arena, and descending into the planet’s core itself—before Aku comes face-to-face with his greatest enemy…and the truth about his family’s past.

Filled with humor and high-octane twists, this is a cosmic coming-of-age story about courage, legacy, and the value of finding your winning team.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication January 12, 2027

About the author

Micah Johnson, MD, is a physician and a health care researcher, writer, and policy advisor. He served as a health policy fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives and has advised presidential campaigns on health care reform. He holds a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from the University of Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and he received his MD from Harvard Medical School. He is currently a resident physician in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Cathy Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this sequel. The adventure is a little dull as an adult reader, but the target audience of early middle grades will love the action. The characters are really great, and the world-building is very interesting. Love the illustrations too.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC.