The Stonekeeper’s Curse is Book Two in Kazu Kibuishi’s Amulet series of graphic novels. I enjoyed the first book recently and decided to go ahead and pick up the second one. The story’s pacing in the second novel is frenetic and moves quickly, introducing new characters and new geography almost with the turn of every page.
The story picks up where it left off in the last volume, with Emily and Navin staying one step ahead of the elves that are trying to catch them and use the Amulet for their own purposes. I still love the way the house has come to life and is walking from one place to another. The battle at the end reminded me a lot of the Japanese giant robot stories, but I love the house and hope they manage to hang onto it. But the way has gotten a lot tougher.
Emily is forced to learn a lot more about the amulet in this graphic novel, and what she learns isn’t all good. Evidently the amulet wants to use the user even as much as Emily needs the powers it provides her. This type of relationship with weapons and powers has been explored several times throughout fantasy stories and remains a constant, but I like the way it’s presented here, and I like Emily’s innocence while facing it.
We also get to see a bit of Trellis character this time out that makes me want to believe he’s going to come around to the good side before it’s all over. Of course, he could also become an even worse threat than his father. I’m waiting to see how that develops.
One of the most interesting characters this time out is Leon Redbeard, who knows a lot about the amulet and isn’t telling everything at this point. However, he seems bound and determined to protect Emily and warn her against the dangers of the amulet, as well as bringing to her attention the greater task she has lying ahead of her. Leon is a great warrior, and the pictures hold a lot of action and fun for those wanting martial arts in the series.
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