Ironhand

IRONHAND; Charlie Fletcher; New York: Hyperion, 2008. 400 pgs. Children's/Young Adult Fiction.

Often the second book in a trilogy is the weakest--not as exciting as the first, and having to set the table for the climax of the third. But this second volume in the Stoneheart trilogy is every bit as rip-snorting as the first, as George, Edie, and the Gunner soldier on in the unseen battle of London among the Spits, Taints, Glints, and most frighteningly of all the Walker and his Raven. George is separated from Edie early on when he is snatched up by a vengeful gargoyle. The rest of the action revolves around George and Edie trying to find The Gunner before "turn o' day," George frantically trying to meet the three challenges of The Hard Way, and Edie trying to escape the fate she has foreseen at the hands of The Walker. Although Ironhand is darker than the first volume, more frightening and sorrowful, the characters grow accordingly, as they meet stiffer challenges and their care for each other increases. Highly recommended.

LW