Morally conscious, vampire-librarian Amber Fang is back trying to find her mom, digging up secrets on ZARC, and trying to stay alive in a battle against a band of vampires not so choosy about their human meals.
In this second installment of the Amber Fang series, Amber starts out in Antarctica searching for her long-lost mother. Right off the bat she runs into and battles a nasty iron-clawed enemy and discovers something interesting in her family tree before nearly freezing to death and miraculously being saved by Dermot and the League. Though her membership in the League is back and forth, Amber finds herself teaming with the secretive group to take out ZARC, hopefully find her mom, and take on a murderous band of vampires who want her ovaries. She and the League bounce all over the world in this story - from Antarctica, to Argentina, to England, to Texas, to Winnipeg, to Saskatoon (Slade's own stomping grounds), to the hinterlands of Saskatchewan, and finally to a military base in Alberta. Along the way, Dermot almost dies and Amber discovers a secret band of ninja librarians who help her escape death at the hands of a familial vampire and a bunch of vampire cronies. Phew! And those are just a few of the highlights.
As a cheerleader for Amber (you could say I'm a Fanger), I'd like to say that she wins some battles in this book, and I suppose she does come out on top in the end, but she sure gets the crap beat out of her a lot in this story. It makes for great but frustrating fight scenes. I really liked the ninja librarians and can't wait to see how they feature in the next story. The setup with ZARC and the ovary-seeking vampires left me excited for the next story too. The ending seemed a little abrupt but I still can't wait for book three.
This is another great story by Arthur Slade - it has action-adventure, suspense, mystery, a bit of romance, and not even a hint of boredom. Like the first book, it's a quick, fast-paced read that keeps you turning the pages with anticipation. Check it out!