Reviews

The Shadowmancer Returns: The Curse of Salamander Street by G.P. Taylor

luweebayy's review against another edition

4.0

I much preferred this book to the prequel - shadowmancer. I enjoyed the two storylines which eventually merge towards the end. Although some parts of the story were predictable and some parts rushed (a better ending than shadowmancer but still felt rushed) it was overall a good book and I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys YA fictions, particularly about magical good and evil.

wyrmbergmalcolm's review against another edition

3.0

After a bit of meaningless wanderings and set-up, the story really gets going once the children find themselves in Salamander Street. The expedition on the road find themselves up against werewolves, witches and immortals, while the Thomas and Kate struggle with ghosts and opium. This is a good vs. evil story where the good is sometimes more of a lighter shade of grey, and the evil attacks the heroes in directions they were not expecting. If faith-based fiction raises your hackles, I would say that this is at the same level as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: most of the terms and names have been changed and the heroes have to do more than just pray and hope for the best. If you welcome a more theologically-based story, there’s not much here that’s groundbreaking but sometimes it’s enough that it’s just ‘there’. The ending was satisfying, though not necessarily as expected.