The Black Room

Gillian Cross is back with the second book in her Dark Ground Trilogy! Quick note to readers who have not read the first book: The Dark Ground. This review will contain spoilers for the first story, so you may want to read it before you continue on in this review. Fans of Gillian Cross have been waiting quite a time for this next book in the trilogy. Fortunately, the Black Room is now out and this strange saga can continue! The story reopens not long after we left characters in The Dark Ground. Robert and his sister continue to try and help those tiny folk he left behind, providing them with materials to last out the winter. But the Robert who has returned to his old life is not the same boy he was before--and his best friend Tom is beside himself trying to figure out what's happened to change him so drastically. Tom is not about to lose his friend quietly, but when he discovers what Robert and his sister are doing he's reluctantly forced to accept that something impossible and incredible is going on. Robert desperately wants to help his small friends rediscover their own lives and when he discovers a chance to help his friend Lorn, he'll do anything he can to save her. With Tom's help, Robert is determined to find Lorn and rescue her before the coming winter, but can he deal with the dark truths that he will discover? This is one of those books where it is nearly impossible to explain the story properly without giving huge amounts of it away. Ms. Cross' work continues to be profoundly different from the usual fantasy story. There is nothing cute or twee or sparkly in this tale, despite using the convention of miniature people and the strange magic that has caused them to be "shrunk". In fact, it's easy to forget this is a fantasy, despite the strangeness that goes on. The author's writing style takes what is strange so matter-of-factly that it becomes just one more piece in a gripping and bizarre story. The style is refreshing after reading so many stories where characters spend endless time reflecting and considering and analyzing things. Characters relate through confrontation and action, all of which seems real without falling into stereotype and painful cliché. Some readers might find the style a bit brusque, but it worked for me. The plot may be less satisfying for some readers in that it doesn't clear up the pervading mystery nor does it exactly hint what's going to happen to our characters by the end of the trilogy. If the author intends to illuminate the why's of what's happened, there's going to be a lot of ground for book 3 to cover! Still, the ending is unexpected and satisfying in its own unique way. Given the disturbing nature of some of the things our hero discovers about Lorn, this book is not light reading and may be inappropriate for younger readers. This is likely best for those readers who are young adults, although if a mature younger reader liked the first book, they'll probably enjoy this one. I'm h