Written and Illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi
224 pages, full color
Published by GRAPHIX
If you haven’t read the first book in the Amulet series (The Stonekeeper) you should know that there will be SPOILERS here for you. Not SPOILERS for this book, but since this is a series, the events of the first book weigh heavily on the events of all future books…
In every good hero’s tale, there comes a point where the hero’s mission broadens. The scope of the whole journey is widened and the hero must make a choice. That is this book.
In Amulet 1: The Stonekeeper, the Emily and Navin were chasing to get their mom back… which they somewhat accomplish, but she’s been poisoned. In Amulet 2: The Stonekeeper’s Curse, the gang visits the town of Kanalis to get treatment from one of the many doctors for their mom.
Kanalis is the first time we’ve seen a town in the world of Alledia and right out of the gate we know that something is wrong. The whole town has been under an ancient curse where everyone is slowly turning into animals. They’re also being subjugated by the elves. It’s here they meet a sword-wielding fox promising to train Emily to use the stone around her neck for good, but only as long as she helps to save his world. Not only that, but that the stone also comes with a severe curse that could turn her into a world destroying monster.
But Emily’s not the only one getting a larger calling and a deeper role in the story. Her younger brother, Navin meets a group of warriors who are awaiting his orders as their general. And the evil elf from the end of the first book is being treated like a failure in front of the king elf, his father.
The elf prince’s story somewhat reminds me of the Arbiter’s story in Halo 3 and it honestly gives me guesses about where he’s headed, but who knows.
The thing I love most about this book is that with all the expansion, you’re not lost trying to figure everything out. If anything, Kibuishi has managed to get deeper with each character both emotionally and historically. You believe these warriors have been fighting the good fight. You feel the faith Leon the Fox has in Emily. You hear the sadness and distress in the elf prince’s dismissal. So many characters are added. A whole world is being penciled in as we read, but the colors are seeping through and it’s beautiful.
The pacing is great too. There’s tons of great action that rushes on ahead, and quiet moments that leave your mind churning to figure out the mystery. Kibuishi has an amazing knack for the slow reveal and, frankly, I can’t get enough.