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As I stated in a previous entry, I finished the Lightless Kingdom by Jonathan Wylie. I promised a review. (WARNING: Spoilers.)

Lightless Kingdom continues months after the events chronicled in the first book, Dreams of Stone. Gemma dwells back in the Valley of Knowing. Arden is presumed dead though she can't/won't believe it. She then gets visions that he may still be alive while, coincidently, the underground from the Great Newport track her down. A new overlord has taken over the city and they need her help to stop him/her. She joins them after some persuasion after several adventures of her own.

Arden is not dead, of course. He finds himself miles deep underground, barely alive. He's rescued by what seems to be an underground race of humans. They nurse him back to health and he assists them with their own problems. A toxic waste is encroaching on their civilization while the genocidal "Grey Riders" and their 'demons' are hunting them down from the surface world. Arden solves both issues in time for both races to face the new overlord of Great Newport. And just in time as well: Gemma is captured by enemy forces. It is only after final discovery of her role in the coming chaos does Gemma find the strength to stop the enemy and reunite with Arden but she realizes it's only temporary.

I have mixed feelings about the Lightless Kingdom. On a positive note, the writing and editing are far superior to the first novel. Sentences transition cleanly and paragraphs don't just hang there. And there's more 'meat' in the book: more descriptions, more characterization, and more scenes without sacrificing the length which I find appealing about the book. This extra includes lots of hints: greater detail about Gemma's emerging magics, her background; revelations about Arden; and more involving the ongoing mystery of the south. And the Lightless Kingdom (name given by Arden to the underground dwellers' home) is a fascinating culture unlike those normally found in most fantasy and even science-fiction (which, while hinted, is beginning to show in the series.) And the mystery about the world--first introduced in Dreams of Stones--is still not solved.
But more is not necessarily better. Unfortunately, the extra feels more like padding; despite the very short chapters and even scenes (chapter can easily be less than four pages), the words add very little, if anything, to the scene or the enjoyment of the story. I continually found similar paragraphs and scenes that I had to skip else I drop the novel.

I have started the third novel, the Ages of Chaos. I enjoy mysteries and ideas and there's enough in the series for me to complete the trilogy. I get the impression that, with a different approach or style of writing, the scenes could easily have scintillated more while maintaining the length of the book.

Weights
Cardio workout at South Coast. Broke into a sweat but the routine had too many complex movies to get moving. And the music was more to listen than groove.

Whatever
Completed a goodly number of chores today.