All About Middle Grade Review: The Dragon Lantern

The Dragon Lantern (League of Seven, 2) by Alan Gratz, June 9, 2015.  336 pages. Published by Starscape. Source: Borrowed from library.

Archie Dent is convinced that he and his friends Hachi and Fergus are the first three members of a new League of Seven: a group of heroes who come together to fight the Mangleborn whenever the monsters arise to destroy humanity. His belief is put to the test when they are forced to undertake separate missions. Archie and his faithful Tik-Tok servant Mr. Rivets pursue a shapeshifting girl who has stolen the Dragon Lantern, an ancient artifact with mysterious powers. And Hachi and Fergus travel to New Orleans to find Madame Blavatsky, the only person who knows the circumstances surrounding the death of Hachi’s father.

In the course of their adventures the three heroes meet potential candidates to join their League. At the same time, they learn deep-rooted secrets that could destroy the League forever...

First Sentence:

Archie Dent dangled from a rope twenty thousand feet in the air, watching the blue ribbon of the Mississippi River spin far, far below him.

At long last, I have read The Dragon Lantern, the second installment in Alan Gratz League of Seven series. Ah, to say I enjoyed it would be a slight understatement. It was so good that I a now finding it difficult to wait for the next volume!! Haven't heard of The League of Seven, check out my review of the first book.

• The Setting- I really like the alternate world that Alan Gratz created for the League of Seven books. Not only is it fascinating to see the similarities and differences, it is just so well written that it pulls one right into the story. I really liked how different each of the places were that they visited throughout The Dragon Lantern. The setting definitely helps to, well, set the scene. The world is vividly written.

• The Plot- Ooh, this was one exciting read!! First there was the initial quest for the Dragon Lantern, and then, well then everything went south. What made the plot exciting was that the story pushed the characters and their story arc pretty far. In League of Seven, I had my suspicions concerning what happened to Hachi's father and then men from her village. While I cannot tell you the details, it did clear up my theories from book one. Which helped to move the story along.

• The Writing- Yet again, Alan Gratz has written a fascinating book. While I highly enjoyed all the thrills that ensued throughout The Dragon Lantern, it was the characters that really made this book good. Which, without good writing would have been impossible. I've really enjoyed the way he progressed their story's and still gave them room to continue changing in future books.

• The Less Good- The only thing I did not like about The Dragon Lantern was that Archie, Hachi, and Fergus spent time apart. I really missed having them all in one place. Though their individual adventures were needed to move the story forward. My only other is that their was one death within the book that I totally saw coming. That character just had a "death flag" above their head from the moment they were introduced. Which was sad because I found them to be an interesting addition to the story.

Final Verdict: The Dragon Lantern- In the realm of sequels, this was one of the stronger one's I've read in a while. The story progressed well and the plot did not feel like a bridger between book one and three.

A copy of this book was borrowed from the library. All thoughts are my own.