THE PYRAMID OF SOULS

In a rushed and sketchy sequel to The Eternal Hourglass (2009), newly fledged Seer Nick Rostov again takes on the evil Shadowkeepers and their leader Rasputin—this time to rescue his cousin and best friend, Isabella, and other captive magicians. Largely focusing on filling out the cast and back story, Kirov uses most of the tale to trot out new characters and MacGuffins—Rasputin’s daughter, a several-thousand-year-old elephant, Isaac Newton (to invent a fourth “law of motion” for magic that is subsequently ignored), a key hanging around Nick’s neck that was originally given to Edgar Allen Poe, a golden mini-pyramid that is designed to be a repository for souls but can also be used in some unknown way as a trap—then trot them offstage again before they can act or be seen in action. It all builds up to a brief and unsuspenseful climax. Despite another round of solid comic relief from a wheeler-dealer magician named “Crazy Sergei,” this outing will likely disappoint readers of the more robust opener. (Fantasy. 11-13)