Landon Snow and the Shadows of Malus Quidam, the second book in R.K. Mortenson's Landon Snow series, starts off with thrills and chills and the promise of a wild ride in Wonderwood. Well, actually it starts in a boring fifth grade class and even there, Mortenson had me laughing out loud by the fifth paragraph. The story moves quickly from there, whisking us away to the secret tunnel entrance that we know will take us to the Button Up Library where adventure awaits, but even before getting into the tunnel the author gives his readers a glimpse of danger and evil. It slithered across the floor and up my spine making it impossible for me to turn those pages fast enough.

I fell in love with young Landon in this second book. He is bright, he is good-natured, he's a regular sinner, but not a very nasty one. His love for Ditty makes him vulnerable and that makes him adorable (well, adorable to an old woman--sympathetic to a boy or girl). It helps, too, that he has a good relationship with his sister. She's a bit of a pain but he doesn't hate her. It's refreshing to find this good relationship between sibling characters and I'm overjoyed that the book is populated with normal Christian kids--not overly religious and not bratty and worldly. They love, they laugh, they fall, they repent and get back up again. Mortenson's characters look and feel real. I know these kids. I'd recognize them if I saw them walking down the street.

The conflict and motivation worked in this book much better than in the first book. There were real stakes that sucked me in immediately. But upping the stakes didn't cause Mr. Mortenson to skimp on the fun language. The same quality that I loved in the first book, was still apparent in the second. This author has a wonderful voice.

I have two complaints and that's why I couldn't give out five stars. First, in the middle of the book, the characters all go to sleep when they shouldn't have. One minute Vates wakes up, an eager glimmer in his eye, ready to plan his attack, and a few minutes later he's yawning and telling everyone to go to sleep. Huh? There's also an unfortunate typo right in that part of the book that adds to the confusion.

My second complaint is that there were several times when I was given minor bumps from having lost my bearings for a few paragraphs. I thought that, particularly at the beginning of scenes and chapters, Mr. Mortenson should have taken more care in setting the stage so I knew who was present and how they all were situated.

I was completely satisfied with the ending of the book. The character growth was believable and no ends were left dangling. We started with a kid dreaming of adventure and we ended with a kid satisfied and full from adventure and I sighed and put the book down content to let Landon rest for a few months until the next volume comes out. A very quiet and satisfying end to the matter.

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Copyright © 2005 Sally Apokedak