I have been looking forward to this sequel for a very long time, and I am glad to say it did not disappoint. This book was a whirlwind of action-packed adventure from start to finish, and the occasional mood whiplash did not derail the excitement of following our heroes' quests.

All of the band find some kind of character development along their journey, and while some turns their characters took were odd, it made them a little more unique. I like how fraught the relationships are, it just makes for so much entertaining drama. Still, you get the sense of how much they all actually like each other, since they only

Spoiler

broke up the band for all of five minutes

.

Detarr and his minions cross a very strange line between funny and horrifying, and the mood whiplash is very strange. Detarr is incredibly patient with his minions (considering everything) and he really steals the scene whenever he appears. The whole undead-recruitment situation was so over the top it was cartoonish, but still, the plot moves along quickly enough not to let it become silly.

All in all worth the time spent reading, and looking forward yet again to the third book.