Review: Fast-paced and action-packed science fantasy adventure
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2011
In this sequel to "The Quest for Nobility," the stakes are raised even higher.  Darius, now the Duke of Telkur, and his sister Dyla - now Darius's First Counselor - along with her boyfriend Eclasius "Eclair" Jortac are convinced that there is more to the situation on Earth than meets the eye.  Sir Henry "Blackheart" Hanover looks too much like Grand Duke Vogdo for it to be a coincidence, and they still don't know why Earth was quarantined in the first place.  To make things more urgent, Dyla has been having visions that leave her feeling afraid and unsettled, and the latest one has ended with the looming face of Blackheart.  She and Eclair decide that they must go back to Earth to discover the truth, and to take Cat Spencer back as well.  Darius decides, while they are away, that he will do his best to help stop the civil war in Beckson Duchy - a decision that is helped along by his attraction to Cristaline, the beautiful daughter of Duke Urias.  Tyrian, who is a close friend to all three of them, and affianced to Trinity, Dyla and Darius's cousin, has his own role to play as he tries to infiltrate the Red Alliance.A fast-paced and exciting book, I spent much of it alternately yelling at the characters for doing ridiculous things and at the authors for putting the characters through such distress.  It was highly engrossing and, in a rare change of pace, even better than the first book.  Because I was editing it at the same time I was reading it, I took a few days to get through it, but it wasn't for lack of interest.  Anyone who enjoys science fantasy adventure should enjoy this second book in the Otharian series - don't miss it!