Cicortas Sergiu Sergiu itibaren Saunderton, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire HP27 9NW, İngiltere
I loved Silver Phoenix and I was hoping its sequel wouldn't disappoint and it didn't! The world the story is set in is elaborate and uniquely colorful, the heroes are still real, flawed people and the story is magical, yet realistic. Ai Ling and Chen Yong are off on another adventure, this time sailing to find Chen Yong's father. The story changes points of view - from Ai Ling's to Zhong Ye's and back again. We learn the whole story of Zhong Ye and Silver Phoenix, witness how he ended up being the man Ai Ling met and see our heroes face the consequences of their actions. Interspersed throughout the story are Chinese inspired monsters and lore, as well as customs and ideals. A fine story that is proof that different can sometimes be awesomely good.
I can see this book appealing to a select group of young teenage girls and preteens, but for the rest of the population, being stuck inside a teen girl's head for the duration of this book will likely prove frustrating. The plot was promising enough; a 17 year old half-vampire warrior-in-training sworn to protect her best friend - a vampire princess - through the trials of vampire high school. But they encounter more than just aggressive social climbers, with someone targeting the Princess for her strange talent - the ability to heal others. But the story is seriously hampered by the inane comments and descriptions we get from Rose, the main character. In a scene of particular significance, where a dead fox turns up on the Princess' bed, we get these helpful insights from Rose: "the inside of the throat looked pink and jellylike" and "what had happened to the fox was sick and twisted, obviously done by someone too fucked up for words". On top of that, Rose comes across as a bit dense, taking a painfully long time to draw obvious conclusions. And really, if dead things keep turning up in a bedroom that's being constantly guarded, wouldn't someone think to question the room-mate, the only other one with access? Having said this, the book does improve towards the end, with Rose seeming to mature a bit.