A review by sandraagee
The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer

4.0

This book picks up right where [b:The House of the Scorpion|13376|The House of the Scorpion (Matteo Alacran, #1)|Nancy Farmer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347695758s/13376.jpg|868252] left off. As a sequel, it's not bad. Now that Matt is the ruler of Opium he has quite a bit to deal with as pressure from other drug lords and politicians, the need for supplies, and a closed border must contend with Matt's personal desires to grow real food instead of opium and free the thousands of eejits under his control. For most of the book Matt has to wrestle with the complicated ethics that surround his situation. I found it fascinating, though some more reluctant readers might find the book a bit slow. Admittedly this book did not grab me quite as strongly as The House of the Scorpion did, but I still really enjoyed it and would recommend it to fans of the first.