Henry, Pyrgus, Blue, and Mr. Fogarty once again battle the Faeries of the Night in this somewhat disjointed but colorful sequel to Faerie Wars (2003). The last Purple Emperor, Pyrgus and Blue’s father, has been raised from the dead and is transferring power to the bad guys. Henry scrambles to leave the Analogue World (our world) and make it to the Faerie Realm to help his friends. All sorts of nefarious schemes are afoot. For the gross-out factor, verbose worms are implanted in people’s butts and speak to them inside their brains. Brennan cuts chapters off sharply, maintaining heated suspense, but the ultra-quick pinballing between threads is sometimes frustrating. Henry’s first-installment vulnerability about his parents’ divorce is replaced here by a crush on Blue, leaving this volume with less poignancy at its heart; still, this fast-paced adventure with occasional red herrings will please readers who already like the characters. (glossary) (Fantasy. 10-14)
