Rise of the Evening Star: 08/21/12

Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull is the second book in the Fablehaven series. Like the first book, I listened to it on audio while traveling.

As with Fablehaven, the book has three main parts: an introductory adventure, a training section and the final confrontation and quest. This time, thankfully, Seth and Kendra aren't put in opposition as much to drive the plot. Seth, though, does still suffer a bit from his blind enthusiasm, but even that does get curbed pretty quickly. It is refreshing to see the siblings working together.

The book opens nearly a year after the start of the first book. Kendra and Seth are finishing up their last week of school. Kendra's had a mostly normal year, despite her fairy-struck state. She and Seth have been better friends since their adventures at Fablehaven and her newfound confidence has helped her become one of the popular girls.

But all of that normalcy is thrown out the window with the arrival of a new student. To everyone except Kendra, he appears to be a hot boy. To her, he's a disgusting, ill-mannered, fowl smelling kobold. Kendra's attempt to rid the school of the kobold sets in motion a series of events that take the remainder of the book to fully play out.

Most of the book, though, is set in Fablehaven over the last few weeks of June. The Society of the Evening Star has been maneuvering again and there's credible information showing that Fablehaven is next on their list.

To prevent their attack, the artifact housed on the estate must be found and relocated to another location. To do this, three experts have been brought in. Besides locating the artifact, they are to train Kendra and Seth.

That's just the gist of the plot. There's a lot more going on. The different plot threats are neatly woven together, far more tightly than I first expected.

The audio still suffers from the same problems as the previous book. I wish there was an alternate performance available. Book three I have in print and I will be finishing out the series in print form.

Four stars

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