Review by Booklist Review
The city of Gehenna and the trolls are on the brink of war, both believing the other has been attacking them. In fact, it is the work of a shadowy creature bent on revenge on Gehenna's ruling house, the necromancer Shadow family. Lily Shadow, the newly crowned young queen, and her squire friend Thorn must track down the perpetrator and stop him before his crystal spiders put the whole world to sleep with their venom. Gehenna's brave duo is back to save Castle Gloom once again, in this sequel to Shadow Magic (2016), hindered as usual by would-be suitor Gabriel Solar, but this time the menace is darker in nature and hits closer to home. Because of this, the story calls for a slightly more mature reader and is best suited for the upper middle grades. Khan continues to amaze and delight with his appropriately macabre world, filled with inventive villains and thoughtful touches like black roses and a zombie army. This can be enjoyed on its own or read with Shadow Magic.--Welch, Cindy Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
It's not easy for a thirteen-year-old necromancer-queen to rule a shadow kingdom--especially when using magic is taboo for women, dead citizens are coming back as zombies, and the living are mysteriously disappearing--but feisty Lily does her best with the help of peasant friend Thorn. Gothic set pieces, humorous banter, action, and nasty villains keep the pace quick and the pages turning. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After the murder of her immediate family by a jealous uncle, 13-year-old Lady Lilith "Lily" Shadow of Gehenna's Castle Gloom was handed the reins of royal rule in Shadow Magic (2016). Having saved her kingdom by magically opening the barrier between the lands of the living and of the dead, she not only has a number of zombies to tend to, but also the critical concern of her court (female sorcery is strictly forbidden). Rejecting antiquated role restrictions, Lily continues to practice magic with the help of her father's ghost. Tutorials are interrupted when her unlikely comrade, 12-year-old pauper Thorn, brings word that something is afoot in the outlying villagesGehennish citizens are missing or murdered. Is it trolls or something else? Apart from sexism, the apropos topic of xenophobia (albeit via zombies and trolls) is probed. Lily, Thorn, and a good deal of the court seem to be white and European-ish, but there are touches of the Far and Middle East. Lily's breeding and entitlement often surface; this could be an endearing flaw as she adjusts to her new role, but she stumbles into brattiness, making unrefined Thorn shine in the dual narrative. And though there's the go-girl empowerment of Lily's audacious practice of sorcery, a post-climactic decision is enough to make any burgeoning feminist wince. ` Gothic repast for connoisseurs of tenebrous tales, dark arts, and black eyeliner. (map, cast of characters, illustrations) (Fantasy. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
