First off, I loved Song of Scarabaeus, which ended with some pretty major cliffhangers, so following that one up with Children of Scarabaeus was a must for me. **Special note to prospective readers: If you have not read Song of Scarabaeus yet, the sequel (CoS) is not a stand-alone, and to understand all goings-on, including techno-babble and world-building, you must, must, must start with Song of Scarabaeus. This is not one of those series where you can hop in on the 2nd book (and this is something I am rather fond of doing, so that's saying something).
Back on topic, Children of Scarabaeus picks up right where its predecessor left off: The Crib still wants Edie for her incomparable Cypherteck abilities, and Edie, Finn, and Cat are still on the run. One thing leads to another, and Edie lands in the hands of her former captor, (one could call her an employer of sorts, but she's more of a captor) Natesa. Once again, Finn's life is on the line and Edie attempts to bargain to save him, which may or may not come at a high personal cost. Enter a small group of children with skills almost as honed as those Edie possesses, and another dilemma arises. Can Edie Sha'nim stand by and watch the same thing that was done to her happen to these children? Can she simply save her own life and that of Finn's and leave them behind?
Children of Scarabaeus was a let-down for me. The first book had some complex issues, such as Edie's relationship with Finn in light of the fact that he had to remain near her and learn to trust her because he was forced to, and even held a hint of promise for the sequel. As the first book leans a little on the romantic side (but not much) and pointedly has Edie and Finn as central characters, I was expecting so much more as far as character development goes. Unfortunately, the sequel is especially weak in this area. There wasn't much that I knew about Finn after reading the first book, and as the second one seemed to hold a promise of a deeper relationship between Edie and Finn, I was expecting something more indepth than what I received. Do readers find out anything more about Finn in Children of Scarabaeus? Other than discovering that he is selfish and is one to put his own well-being before most others (except for Edie, of course) and isn't quite the hero I thought he would turn out to be, then yes, a little more is learned about him; albeit, it isn't good. He is surprisingly, stunningly unheroic. On the one hand, this made me dislike him quite a bit in this book, but, on the other hand, it also made him more realistic (in light of his otherwise stiff characterization). There are people who don't really care about the safety of a group of helpless children or, heck, the fate of an entire galaxy. Finn just happens to be one of them.
A point that I found surprising as well and which was also something that made me feel sorry for Edie was an instance where Finn divulges personal information about himself to a young child, information he has never even offered to Edie, and which he never offers in the course of the book after the fact. She finds out a huge piece of his life from someone else, and this is the only thing she (or readers) really learn about him in this book. This not only lessened the validity of their relationship for me(making me think things between them were more Stockholm related - and this would have been a rather interesting turn - than long-lasting love) but it also made Finn seem untrustworthy. Why has he never discussed anything truly personal with Edie? Again, perhaps the explanation lies in the fact that they are in a difficult predicament throughout the book and maybe didn't have time for such things, but there was not enough characterization of Finn and there was also not enough depth to the relationship between Edie and Finn.
In the first book, their relationship is in the process of changing and it has so much more depth. The second feels like the relationship is clipped on for the sake of continuation and not so much for the sake of making it anything more than it was before. It feels dry, passionless, and sometimes a little one-sided. The fact that these characters spend so little time together is just another element that damages the story.
Edie, like Finn, is no more developed in the sequel than she was in the first book. She does the right thing, says the right thing, plays the hero in heart and motive, but there's not much to her. Children of Scarabaeus mainly repeats the characterization readers were allowed to see in this character in the first book and does nothing more. Concerns she had in the first book, as well as motives, are repeated in the sequel, and I was expecting more. Likewise, I found the conversations especially stilted in the book and the pace quite slow at times.
As far as the plot itself goes, all questions are answered. All issues that arise within the book are brought to the front and subsequently dealt with. While this may be satisfying to some readers, I found it so tidy and neat. It's almost too neat. Everything is taken care of, and with each supposedly insurmountable problem that shows up comes the perfect solution (even if the solution didn't seem so perfect to the main character nearly a page before).
I was surprised at how much I was disappointed by this book, how distant I felt from characters I had bonded with and cared about in its predecessor, at shoddy villains who are never more than what you would hope they wouldn't be (Natesa was exactly as I had glimpsed in the first book - a shrill-voiced, conniving witch; very childish, very immature; it's difficult to see how she came into the position of power she has held for so long - in this regards, I wanted so much more; she was the enemy of Edie's life, and this was all there was to her?), and at this tidy ending that still feels incredibly unsatisfying.
I loved the first book and will try other books by Sara Creasy if she comes out with more, but Children of Scarabaeus is merely an okay read. The world-building is still interesting but the ending and characterization, not to mention the pace of the book, made it less than it could have been. I cannot give it more than three stars.
