LEVEN THUMPS AND THE WHISPERED SECRET

In a severe case of middle-volume-itis, plot lines proliferate, the pace slows and the tale is left in mid-flight in this follow-up to the better-than-it-looked Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (2005). Here, young Leven and his companions are repeatedly separated and reunited as they struggle to make their way across the dream-driven realm of Foo to restore Geth, its rightful ruler (but currently imprisoned in a much-used toothpick), to his former glory. Back in reality, coagulated globs of the exploded arch-villain Sabine gain human allies to rebuild the gateway that will leave both worlds vulnerable to conquest. As before, Skye displays a dab hand at crafting both baroque metaphors and uniquely grotesque menaces; he also blends in clever details (from Leven chewing on a “Pigment-o” to disguise his coloration, for instance, to a humble garbage collector with children named Darcy and Rochester), though more thinly than in the previous episode. Despite extensive closing notes, readers unfamiliar with that first outing are likely to flounder, but Skye’s world-building is inventive enough to carry the tale at least a little farther. Frequent full-page illustrations not seen. (Fantasy. 11-13)