Rapacia (Nicola)
The Second Circle of Heck
Pages: 362
Ages: 10+
First Published: Jul. 28, 2009
Genre: children, fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
As many believe, there is a place above and a place below.
This book proved to be quite different with the first and much better in my opinion. Especially since all the toilet humour from book one was gone. This book concentrates mostly on Marlo and her female classmates in Rapacia, but Milton’s story and unique problems turn up about every third chapter or so. Several characters from book one return and a host of new characters are introduced, while some characters from book one are referred to. This leads me to believe that each book in the series will focus on certain characters leaving a large host of characters to pop up here and there. I like this idea and hope it proves true.
The story this time around is much more in-depth by means of plot and characterization of Milton and Marlo. Which really means to say, the problems I had with book one were not present this time around. The book and characters are simply a whole lot of fun, there are no themes to discover or hidden symbolism; it’s just a whole lot of fun with plenty of action, humour and adventure. Tweens are especially going to enjoy this series, as will anyone else who just wants to read for some silly fun.
The book leaves us with plenty of threads hanging, a funny yet evil little cliffhanger and a guess as to who the next book will be about with the announcement of Blimpo: The Third Circle of Heck available July 2010 at the end. After the first book I wasn’t sure if I’d continue with this series but now I’ve grown fond of the characters and enjoyed this book so much more than the first (which I did enjoy) that I will certainly be back next July with the Third Circle of Heck.
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