Well, I was right about the writing improving with the second book. I was much less distracted by the useless exclamation points. Thank you for that. Miranda continues the search for her father, who she now knows is actually in hell. I like all the other literary references in these books, and Lamplighter's description of hell is pretty impressive. Highly enjoyable fantasy. ( )

3.5 stars ( )

The writing distracted for the first half of this book, but, just like last time, after I got into it, it went quickly and I was sad to see it end. I've been able to predict much of it, I'll be excited to see whether I'm right about the rest in the final book. ( )

The premise: ganked from BN.com: The exciting, suspenseful story of Miranda’s search for Prospero, the fabled sorcerer of The Tempest.

The search of a daughter for her father is but the beginning of this robust fantasy adventure. For five hundred years since the events of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Miranda has run Prospero, Inc., protecting an unknowing world from disasters both natural and man-made. Now her father has been taken prisoner of dark spirits in a place she could only guess. Piecing together clues about her father’s whereabouts and discovering secrets of her shrouded past, she comes to an inescapable conclusion she has dreaded since Prospero was lost.

Prospero has been imprisoned in Hell, kept there by demons who wish to extract a terrible price in exchange for his freedom. As the time of reckoning for Miranda draws near, she realizes that hundreds of years of their family’s magic may not be enough to free her once-powerful father from the curse that could destroy them...and the world.

My Rating: Worth Reading, with Reservations: It's an enjoyable continuation of Prospero Lost, but not to be read if the first book isn't under your belt. Lamplighter's dry tone works surprisingly well for me, and the allusions to Shakespeare and Dante and so many other pieces of literature and mythology and folklore make this book wonderfully rich. There's lots of little things to love, even for the briefest of moments, and I do love the backstory of Lamplighter's elves and their origins and how it ties into the ever-infamous Tithe that must be paid to Hell. More to the point, however, is that this is a dark chapter for the Prospero family on a host of levels, and while events happen in this book that may infuriate some readers, it's important to note that such events don't happen arbitrarily and have dire consequences for the characters. Prospero in Hell also manages to turn itself away from Modern Fantasy to dip a toe in the waters that C.S. Lewis knows so well. Not allegorical, of course, and not preachy. Right now, it's a fascinating mixture of fantasy and religion, and I'm curious to see where that goes in the conclusion, Prospero Regained.

Spoilers, yay or nay?: Sometimes, the middle installment of a trilogy is where nothing much happens, it's just the transition point from the beginning to the end. Sometimes, the middle installment of a trilogy is the darkest chapter, and anyone who's seen Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back can attest to that. So it's with the latter assumption that I'm going to discuss Prospero in Hell, because it is a dark installment, and with an interesting turn of events that might well define this fantasy series as something different. Spoilers? Sorry, but yes. The full review with said spoilers may be found at my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.

REVIEW: L. Jagi Lamplighter's PROSPERO IN HELL

Happy Reading! ( )

I am often leary of books that try to take on well know characters and give them a twist but I have to say Lamplighter found the sweet sopt in this book that brought her characters to life without dishonoring the origanal Propero. I did not read the first bookin the series but I will be out tomorrow to change that. ( )