Previous book: Story Maze (Series, Book 1):The Ultimate Wave.

Next book: Story Maze (Series, Book 3):The Wooden Cow.

The second in the "Storymaze" series follows the surfing adventures of Nico, Claudia, and Mikey through parallel worlds and across the universe. Nico is competing in the World Surfing Championships against a surfer named Hercules when help is requested by their Duryllium friend Icon, who is in the midst of a battle with his brother Vidor over the throne of their kingdom. They find and save Icon, who has been blinded and left for dead on the battlefield and take him to a gingerbread cottage in the woods where a kindly witch helps them to heal him. He is, however, blind. She tells him that to reclaim his kingdom he must deliver the eye pendant around his neck to a stature of Ulam the Magnificent where, if it fits, he will be shown to be the true ruler of Duryllium. The witch reveals that long ago, Prometheus created three eyes, one of which has the power of vision, in the Underworld, but that the true eye was lost over the years. Icon learns he must also face three tests of his leadership skills before he can even see if his “eye” is the true one. If he fails, or it is the false eye, he will end up in the Underworld pushing balls of manure up a hill. In an attempt to convince Vidor to participate in the challenge, Claudia (dressed as Ganesha, the god of cunning deeds) infiltrates a masquerade ball where Vidor falls in love with her and admits to her that he has stolen the real eye from his brother and replaced it with a false one. Claudia gives Vidor excessive champagne until he passes out and they intend to switch the eyes. A mishap occurs and the eyes are dropped and muddled. Eventually, Nico just chooses one of the eyes and hands it to Icon. Neither now knows who has the real eye of Ulam. The next day they enter a maze and they subdue a group of Ammit-like crocodile Bone-Crunchers with music and poison gas, to finally climb to the top of the statue with the eye. Vidor arrives first and delivers his eye to Ulam who rejects it. Icon tries next and the eye is accepted. He is then crowned king of Duryllium.

Graphic novel for children, with a science-fiction and comedy approach to classical myth and antiquity. 

There are several clear references to Greek and Egyptian myth in The Eye of Ulam. The characters abandon their selfish desires – in this case, to win an Olympic style surfing contest against a formidable opponent named Hercules – to complete a quest to determine who is the rightful heir to a kingdom. They have to face mortal trials to achieve this, including the temporary blinding of the lead character, Icon. The story also has parallels with the story of Oedipus. The object of desire for the group is the Eye of Ulam, an all-seeing guide with links to classical motifs such as the eye of Ra, Horus, and the Graeae. There are fairy tale references such as that of the witch in the gingerbread cottage, though she is more of a guiding witch than a malevolent one. The final maze and test are designed to allow fate or the gods (in this case Ulam) to choose the most worthy leader via a special object (the eye of Ulam) forged by Prometheus in the Underworld. The subjects of the test must use both cunning and bravery to survive, battling beasts of the Underworld to reach the statue, which inevitably chooses the more noble, kind, and wise leader over the ambitious and homicidal one. Icon’s sight is returned to him after he learns to appreciate his blindness and embraces his role as a potential king. The story is told by a Narrator character who functions similarly to the Chorus in a Greek drama, continually breaking the fourth wall, commenting on, and judging, the characters and their actions, and foreshadowing elements of the story yet to come.