by Kayne Sampson
This has an interesting concept where demons are corporeal and have uneasy relations with humans. There was a lot of emphasis on swordplay and a smattering of magic that would appeal to sword and sorcery readers, but the writing struck me as middle-grade and didn't hold my attention as much as I'd like.
I would recommend it for boys 10-13 and maybe a little older. Especially reluctant readers who might get captivated by the fight scenes.
This entry in the series is the most serious in tone so far, with a depressed and guilt ridden Valkyrie trying to come to terms with the events of the previous book. She's 24 at this point and inevitably we get introduced to a younger protagonist (14) because that's the Law or something; kids' books must have at least one protagonist under 20. The newbie is the Chosen One's brother. This seems like a very deliberate counter-casting to Valkyrie and a bazillion other destined heroes, with a view to saying that "ordinary" people (i.e. the young readers) can be heroes, too, or at least acheive their dreams. Additionally, we have Never, a non-binary kid referred to by "he" or "she" apparently at the author's whim, who looks like at least being a side-kick, if not a true protagonist.
People looking for the continuous quipathon of the early books will be disappointed but this is a good set-up for a new and more sophisticated long term adventure in the world of the Skeleton Detective.
This wasn't a bad book at all. I like the author's writing style, and I love the diversity of the cast of characters. Had it not been for a few things, I'd have likely rated this a 3 or a 3.5 star read.
1. I mentioned this in an earlier update, but I feel somewhat like I was dropped in the middle of the story. Like my copy of the book was missing the beginning section or something. There was really no introduction to the world.
2. The ending felt very rushed. There was this climactic battle that the story had been building up to, and then it was just...over. So quickly.
3. Carlos - the main character. I didn't really care for him all that much. It mainly had to do with something else I alluded to in a previous update...
and that's the fact that early in the book Carlos kills another Inbetweener named Trevor. Trevor, as he's dying, gives Carlos a picture of his sister, Sasha, and asks him to protect her. While this is happening Carlos is busy falling in lust with Sasha just by looking at the picture. He proceeds to hunt her down in a very stalkerish way. The two begin a sexual relationship, without Sasha knowing that Carlos is the one who killed her brother. This brings up all kinds of consent issues and just really squicked me out. There comes a point later in the story where she (non-lethally) stabs him after she finds out. My immediate reaction? "Good."
4. What female characters there were, were not very developed.
I really enjoyed a lot of the characters: Riley, Baba Eddie and his boyfriend, Russell, and Mama Esther. I'd rather the book focused more on any of them.
All that being said, I would probably try another book by this author at a later time.
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