PRINCESS ROURAN AND THE BOOK OF THE LIVING

Four young people face an uphill struggle in saving the world against the forces of evil in this whimsical fantasy.

In this second book of Ruckus’ Princess Rouran series, university student Edith Orozco is still recovering from her train trip to a fantastical land in the series’ first volume, Princess Rouran and the Dragon Chariot of Ten Thousand Sages. Aided by her niece Moli and young strangers James and Kiza, Edith finds herself charged with a seemingly impossible task. To save humanity, the quartet must collect nine wonders from human history in nine days. Their first target is the Book of the Living, hidden in the Tomb of King Unas in ancient Egypt. If that weren’t challenge enough, they’re opposed by daunting foes—evil, babble-spouting AI Pandorai and his two henchmen, a resurrected Adolph Hitler and Japanese scientist Shiro Ishii. Sneaky human traffickers, mutated dinosaurs, and robot soldiers also meddle with their mission. That’s a lot to take on with just pluck and ingenuity on their side. They do receive aid from a handful of exotic creatures whose clues could best be described as cryptic. Despite an apparently never-ending string of obstacles, the foursome makes some headway until one of Pandorai’s minions changes that victory into defeat. Now they find themselves in a bigger hole heading into their next challenge. Ruckus’ YA novel works well about half of the time. The adventure sections featuring Edith and her sidekicks on their quest to save the world are enjoyable. Not so much the philosophical ranting of the megalomaniacal Pandorai and his lieutenants with their equally oversized egos, which serves to derail the narrative. Other derailments include the many strange beings popping in and out of the storyline without context. The dozen or so pages of notes and references testify to the density of the prose. Ruckus has painted a colorful world with appealing main characters, but many plot details will leave readers puzzled. Interested readers should start with the first installment.

Good-hearted leads fight valiantly but wander off course in this confusing fantasy.