In a lot of ways, this was Objectively Better than the Emerald Atlas. The stakes were higher, the story's scope broadened, and we begin to see the overall picture start to take place. Stephens does a great job fleshing out all the characters, good and evil. This book shines as a surprisingly complex novel in terms of character growth and motivation. (I can't wait to see what Pym gets up to in the last book!) Michael's character arc and emotional journey? Fantastic. So well done. Stephens does a pretty good job balancing humour with personal tragedy and cliffhanger-filled action. It's really just personal preference that makes The Emerald Atlas a more appealing book to me. This book draws a lot more on Harry Potter and a lot less on Lemony Snicket. And I'm just not a huge Harry Potter fan. Dire Whatshisname? In The Emerald Atlas, he has this gorgeous, poetic speech. Here, apparently he's Voldemort Lite. Honestly, a lot of this book reminded me of the Half Blooded Prince, which was my least favourite Harry Potter book. That might be why I'm not as excited about this as I was about the first book. That said, this is a really delightfully tropey series. You know who's read the entirety of TVTropes? This girl. And also, John Stephens, who is utterly unabashed in slapping tropes straight down on the page. And he has fun with it. It Was Within You All Along. Cute Bruiser. Those Two Guys. The Crone. The Wise Wizard. I think it's most evident with the elves, whom he gently makes fun of (and they're fucking hysterical and 839% made my night), but at the same time, he gives them fully realized characters, arcs, and stories. The reason this story succeeds is because beneath the action and adventure and tropes, it has a lot of heart. This story is so genuine, and it's what made me burn through both books in 24 hours. 4.5 months till the last book comes out, and it's probably gonna be beauty. Grabbed this book as soon as I finished "emerald atlas" (the first book) - I had to know what happened! This book does not disappoint - there is plenty of action and adventure: elves, magic folk, dragons, monsters, epic battles, kidnapping, narrow escapes and more orphans... The new antagonist in this book is Rourke - a formidable giant Irishman who works for the Dire Magnus, and who continues the hunt for the books and the children. This one ends on a cliffhanger - I hate I have to wait for the conclusion til next spring... For those who finished reading this book & want more - book 3 "the dark reckoning" comes out March 25, 2015!
What do You think about L'Atlante Di Fuoco (2012)?
Amazing... I have no words... I can't wait to read the last book *-*
—kerry
I liked the book but the next one I think will be better.
—Brandi
I love this series. Sir Rabbit is wonderful.
—hollynotj
