Read the interview with E. G. Stone about the start of this series!
Here we are again, back to Elsewhere – and the feuding between Life and Death. Cal solved a murder in the first book, stopping a full scale war to break out between them, but the conflict is still there. So Cal does what every responsible adult in his situation would do: He goes Marty McFly and tries to fix things before they were broken (with the help of Death’s cousin, a guy named Time).
We get thrown right into the action, and right from the bat the novel is off with a great pace that keeps you turning the pages so fast, you could use the book as a fan for hot summer days.
Of course, that trip is full of problems, foreseen and not so foreseeable. The danger of breaking the relationship between your parents before it even started is a walk in the park compared with the scale Cal finds himself on. It’s like the author thought: What’s the worst that could happen? And then she took that and threw poor Cal smack into the middle of it. Like …
Alright, I’m not going to spoiler you there. Let’s just say that Cal meets a bunch of interesting people, from Machiavelli to vampires and a half giantess.
Needless to say, that’s just the start of Cal’s problems. He’s out of his element, doesn’t really know what’s expected of him, and has no backup. He even manages to lose his soul! But he has something of a secret weapon that will help seeing him through: snark.
Yep, that’s right. This series was based on snarky comments from the start, but Cal is growing ever more into it. I love that! Cal as a narrator works great in this respect.
So, part two of the series. The world building continues to be really interesting, the characters are loveable as before, and it really felt like coming back to friends – the way a second book in a series should feel!
No doubt, this is a fine addition to this young series and just goes to prove my first instinct – that Elsewhere is going to be a hit. I stand by this remark. This is going to be great and will be a future staple of mine.
Looking for a new series to just have some fun? Dive right into it! 4 well earned stars.
Crossing the Pond Reviews 