Banished from the ancient city-state of Agora - a place where anything can be bought and sold - Mark and Lily find themselves alone, hungry and cold in the primeval forest and take refuge in the village of Aecer, a picturesque idyll where private ownership is unheard of and everybody is equal. Lily is enthralled, optimistically believing that they have found paradise, Mark on the other hand trusts nothing and is suspicious of this beautiful new country of Giseth, a suspicion that appears well founded after he is punished for daring to stand up to the Speaker of the village.
In the aftermath the plucky pair find themselves asking all new questions; what secret is Father Wolfram concealing? What is it that hides deep in the forest? Why are two of their new friends so reluctant to reveal their mutual attraction? And who is the mysterious woman who appears in their dreams, urging them to find the Children of the Lost? They will soon discover that this paradise comes at a far higher price than either of them suspected. In the land of Giseth, nightmares don't end just because you wake up...
Meanwhile, on the council of the shadowy Libran Society, a former servant begins a long and deadly rise to power, and in the slums, a radical new voice threatens to tear the city apart even as the city's mysterious ruler, the Director of Receipts, decrees that the fate of Agora rests on the shoulders of two banished children.
If you're familiar with the Whitley's first novel then you'll slip into this with ease. The prose is both lovely to read and utterly compelling and the wonderful world that he built in the Midnight Charter is still here, the haunting city of Agora in particular, along with many of the characters that we're already familiar with albeit from a slightly different perspective now that Mark and Lily are on the outside of the city walls.
Of our erstwhile heroes, Lily is still the optimistic one, always thoughtful, always caring, while Mark is still resentful, untrusting and suspicious and while traits this obvious can become predictable, Whitley handles their relationship with a deft touch ensuring that they complement each other well, yin and yang, together presenting a balanced view, so it's interesting to watch as each of them becomes less black and white and develops shades of grey as they mellow to each other and become more rounded individuals.
Once again the plot twists and turns driven on by the destiny of these two children, although the pacing is a little uneven - especially towards the three quarter mark where the story definitely slows down where you feel it should be speeding up - but the new country of Giseth is every bit as well drawn as we've come to expect from a writer of Whitley's talent and the new characters are well rounded and believable so the writing is always absorbing.
All in all Children Of The Lost is a splendid sequel to The Midnight Charter and a book that stands head and shoulders above the morass of young adult fantasies in a very overcrowded marketplace. With holiday season in full swing you would do well to treat your brood to both and sit back and relax as they are swept away.
COMPETITION TIME !!
Q: Where was the author, David Whitley, born?
Answers by email to robert@sci-fi-london.com and the competition closes on FRIDAY 20th August.
Good luck!
Children Of The Lost is published by Puffin and is available from Play.com, Blackwell and all good book stores.
David Whitley has an excellent website.