The Fire Chronicle

The adventure begun in The Emerald Atlas is far from over. Stephens again splits up Kate, Michael, and Emma, creating effective interconnected parallel narratives. The fast-paced, engaging tale is enhanced with a strong narrative voice, vivid imagery and world-building, numerous plot twists, and subtle touches of humor that lighten this darker installment. A cliffhanger ending sets up the climactic third volume.

The adventure begun in The Emerald Atlas (rev. 3/11) is far from over: Kate, Michael, and Emma have found only one of the three prophesied magic Books of Beginning; their parents are still missing; and the evil Dire Magnus and his followers continue to hunt them. Stephens again splits the trio up in this second installment, creating effective interconnected parallel narratives. The Atlas strands Kate in turn-of-the-twentieth-century New York City, where she befriends some magical orphans, including a boy named Rafe whose destiny could affect her family’s fate; Michael and Emma travel in the present to Antarctica with their warrior friend, Gabriel, in search of the second book, the Chronicle (a.k.a. the Book of Life). Following a fraught journey that includes a dragon and a fiery volcano, Michael becomes the Keeper of the Chronicle and eventually learns how to properly wield the book’s powers. After he, Emma, Gabriel, and a group of elves battle the Dire Magnus’s army, the book’s emotional final events and a cliffhanger ending successfully pave the way for a climactic third volume. Stephens’s storytelling ability is once again impressive, most notably in the complexity of both good and evil characters and the realistic maturation of the three children. He also enhances his fast-paced, engaging tale with a strong narrative voice, vivid imagery and world-building, numerous plot twists, and subtle touches of humor that lighten this darker but equally fine series entry. cynthia k. ritter