The Stone Light, 2

This is the second book in the Dark Reflections series and is the sequel to The Water Mirror. Merle travels with Vermithrax, the stone lion on a mission to visit Lord Light in Hell while her companion, the thief Serafin, joins a group intent on resisting the Eygptians occupation of Venice. The group is led by a sphinx who can appear as a woman. They plan to assasinate the pharoah and it is unclear if the sphinx can be trusted or if she has her own agenda. On their trip to hell, the group finds all sorts of unusual stone-like creatures, the Lilim who menace them and a man who claims to be Winter, in search of his love, Summer. In hell, Lord Light is surprising to them and brings back Junipa to the story. A horrifying doctor and the mysterious Stone Light also appear in hell. While the worlds and creatures portrayed are very imaginative, the translation seemed a little stilted and I missed the emotional connection that I had with the characters in the first book. The book ends in a cliffhanger on both stories, so I would recommend having the sequel at hand. On the whole, it was a good, but not a great book.

I'm not sure which number this was but I totally loved the whole series. It is a great story well up until the end but that is to be expected. Seems like all novelists decide to completely ruin the series with the last chapter. I'd recommend you don't read past the defeat of supreme evil dude. Anywho back to the non-ruining description. This is a supremely fictional book to my much regret. Who wouldn't want to live with majestic living stone lions and tyrannical Egyptians with their mummy hoards? The characters in this book lead you on a thrilling race to not only save their lives but the lives of all those they love plus the city in which they grew up.

THE STONE LIGHT, the second installment in Kai Meyer's Dark Reflections trilogy, starts off at breakneck speed, as Merle (with the spirit of the Flowing Queen in her mind) dashes off to Egypt on the back of the stone lion Vermithrax. There she witnesses the horror of the "collectors," the huge airships that collect dead bodies and transform them into mummies, "slaves without will or mercy who sowed death and destruction." These foundations of the Pharaoh's huge and menacing army conquered Merle's beloved Venice at the end of THE WATER MIRROR. Desperate to save the city from the grip of the Pharaoh, Merle's brave little party ventures to Hell to see if the Lord Light who reigns there will live up to his promise to aid the people of Venice. The world they find there is peopled with strange and fantastic creatures, and unexpected splendors run counter to all their preconceptions of the underworld. Meanwhile, back in Venice, Merle's friend Serafin grows enthralled with a beautiful sphinx, a lion-woman of dazzling beauty who claims not to be in league with the Pharaoh, unlike many of her kind. She aids and abets Serafin in his plan to assassinate the Pharaoh --- but can she be trusted? Junipa, too, is at the center of a power struggle. Her new mirror eyes give her the ability to see, but also provide her with a unique magical ability that has brought her to the attention of the Lord Light, who seeks to control her. The middle volumes in trilogies are notoriously difficult to craft, but for the most part Meyer has done a successful job of continuing, and expanding, the magical world he created in THE WATER MIRROR. Although this second installment lacks the focus and sense of place he created with the first novel's rich descriptions of an alternate Venice, THE STONE LIGHT is more complex in its plot and themes. Challenging readers with questions of morality, loyalty, trust and betrayal, Meyer continues to enrich the philosophical dimensions of the trilogy. Readers who have not yet read THE WATER MIRROR are advised to back up and start with that one --- the swift pacing and lack of background in THE STONE LIGHT will lose those who haven't read the first installment. But for those who are already fans of Meyer's work, this second volume, with its many unanswered questions and cliffhangers, will leave them holding their breath for the third. --- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

WARNING: This book is the second in a trilogy. Okay, so maybe I'm the only one who missed that. When I finally figured it out (the words "Book Two" on the cover were a good clue), I had to run out and buy the first one, The Water Mirror (Dark Reflections). I read that one as fast as possible, so I could get to this one. The first book was fantastic and ended with a huge cliffhanger. If I hadn't already had this second book in my possession, I probably would have been quite frustrated. My point being, read The Water Mirror (Dark Reflections) first! There is a certain amount of knowledge that is assumed in THE STONE LIGHT. You might be okay without it, but the story certainly makes more sense with it. Also, if you haven't read The Water Mirror (Dark Reflections) yet, but intend to do so, you might want to stop reading this now. Vermithrax, the flying stone lion, Merle, the orphan girl, and the Flowing Queen, who rather defies description, have escaped from Venice and the Egyptian army. Their troubles are far from behind them, though. If they want to save Venice, they'll have to locate the only possible ally they can think of, Lord Light. After the things the people of Venice did to Lord Light's messenger, though, he might not be so willing to help. Even if he does, what will be the cost? Before they can even really worry about all of that, they'll have to get to him. He makes his home at the bottom of Hell. Back in Venice there is a small but strong rebellion growing. The kind of rebellion that could make enemies into friends, and even, just maybe, succeed. Provided the leader of the rebellion doesn't turn out to be the biggest enemy of all. This is a good book, but I really wanted it to be a great book, like I thought the first one was. The characters are wonderfully, fully realized, the adventures are adventurous, the story progresses... It's just a very typical second book. There are more new questions than there are answers to the original questions and it feels like everything is just being set up for book three. Perhaps after the next book I can give you a different opinion of the trilogy as a whole. It's kind of like Star Wars, the old ones; everyone has an opinion of the separate movies, which is different from the whole. Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman