THE STONE LIGHT
Dark Reflections, Book 2
Kai Meyer
Simon Pulse
Fantasy
ISBN: 9780689877902
384 pages

THE STONE LIGHT, the second installment in Kai Meyer's Dark Reflections trilogy, starts off at breakneck speed, as Merle (with the spirit of the Flowing Queen in her mind) dashes off to Egypt on the back of the stone lion Vermithrax. There she witnesses the horror of the "collectors," the huge airships that collect dead bodies and transform them into mummies, "slaves without will or mercy who sowed death and destruction." These foundations of the Pharaoh's huge and menacing army conquered Merle's beloved Venice at the end of THE WATER MIRROR.

Desperate to save the city from the grip of the Pharaoh, Merle's brave little party ventures to Hell to see if the Lord Light who reigns there will live up to his promise to aid the people of Venice. The world they find there is peopled with strange and fantastic creatures, and unexpected splendors run counter to all their preconceptions of the underworld.

Meanwhile, back in Venice, Merle's friend Serafin grows enthralled with a beautiful sphinx, a lion-woman of dazzling beauty who claims not to be in league with the Pharaoh, unlike many of her kind. She aids and abets Serafin in his plan to assassinate the Pharaoh --- but can she be trusted? Junipa, too, is at the center of a power struggle. Her new mirror eyes give her the ability to see, but also provide her with a unique magical ability that has brought her to the attention of the Lord Light, who seeks to control her.

The middle volumes in trilogies are notoriously difficult to craft, but for the most part Meyer has done a successful job of continuing, and expanding, the magical world he created in THE WATER MIRROR. Although this second installment lacks the focus and sense of place he created with the first novel's rich descriptions of an alternate Venice, THE STONE LIGHT is more complex in its plot and themes. Challenging readers with questions of morality, loyalty, trust and betrayal, Meyer continues to enrich the philosophical dimensions of the trilogy.

Readers who have not yet read THE WATER MIRROR are advised to back up and start with that one --- the swift pacing and lack of background in THE STONE LIGHT will lose those who haven't read the first installment. But for those who are already fans of Meyer's work, this second volume, with its many unanswered questions and cliffhangers, will leave them holding their breath for the third.

   --- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

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