Deadendia: The Broken Halo: 04/21/24

Deadendia: The Broken Halo by Hamish Steele (2019) comes weeks after the aftermath of The Watcher's Test (2018). As the characters are older too, there are higher stakes and greater consequences. Also, Barney and Norma aren't working together, so this book is really two parallel but interconnected stories.

Dead End, the old, destroyed haunted house, has become a hotel for demons. Think Hazbin Hotel but on Earth. Norma is undead and tethered to her soul, is somewhere between a zombie and Hiyori from Noragami. She, Courtney, Fingers, and Badyah are running it.

Meanwhile Barney is living with Logan. He's had top surgery and is looking for work. He ends up finding work as a wrestler of demons. In the animated series, this job was tied into his work at the amusement park. Here, though, it's completely separate and he ends up lying to Logan about where his money is coming from.

Finally there is Courtney and her back story. She has ties to the angelic horde. She ends up in trouble and there's an attempt to rescue her.

Like the first volume, things don't end exactly well. If I had read this volume when it first came out, I would be at the end of a frustrating wait to find out what happens next. A third volume, The Divine Order releases on April 23, 2024.

Four stars

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