Caught in a Moment started this story, so to get the full impact (and avoid spoilers!) I’d strongly recommend you read it first. You can start with reading my review here.
If you haven’t read Caught in a Moment yet, stop reading this review now!!!
I’m trusting you…
After finding himself in Intersticia, a bizarre world that exists between intervals of frozen time, Alex realized that he is definitely not an ordinary teenager.
Unlike anyone else there, Alex found he could manipulate and move things around him. It proved to be a dangerous ability though, as it put him on the radar of a branch of the angelic community called the Brethren of Twelve, who may have less than kindly intentions for him.
In fact, their unsavory obsession interrupts Alex’s reintroduction back to his regular life and Kelly, whose life he saved and whom he is quickly regaining memories of, as they meet again.
Malcolm, an angelic friend from Intersticia, rescues Alex and his friends from the bad situation and puts them where he hopes they won’t be found – nineteenth century Zanzibar.
Only in this version of Zanzibar, no one has even heard of England. So it seems that beyond going back in time, they’ve been transported to an alternate reality.
But that doesn’t mean Alex and his friends aren’t still in terrible jeopardy…
I was a big fan of Caught in a Moment – it was fascinatingly bizarre, suspenseful, eerie, funny, and surprisingly touching at the end. Really an excellent, original story!
With Worm Winds of Zanzibar we are given more heaps of excellent British humor – and yet again I felt treated to Martin Dukes inventive creativity as he penned this sequel as more of an adventure. There’s intelligence to the writing that I really appreciate.
Along with the subtle sense of danger that book two presents, though, is a question of where the plot leads us. As interesting and odd as this alternate Zanzibar is, I felt the realm of Intersticia was far more absorbing – and I kind of missed it.
Don’t get me wrong – Worm Winds of Zanzibar was still very good – I just didn’t feel like it was AS good as Caught in a Moment. I say that with hesitation, because I don’t want anyone to pass this novel up!
Another thing that caused it to hiccup a bit was the changes Kelly went through – not terrible, but a bit frustrating. Still an excellent cast of characters, though! I guess Worm Winds of Zanzibar seemed to go places and focus on plots that, while attention-grabbing, didn’t seem to have that much weight.
Now, near the end the core story came to the forefront a bit more – Alex’s abilities.
So, I’m still a fan, just not majorly of this second book, and I will still want to read the conclusion – most definitely!!!
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