Customer Reviews

The Dark Flight Down

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Marcus Sedgwick follows up his chilling "Book of Dead Days" with a less chilling, but far more compelling sequel, "Dark Flight Down." He left a lot of plot threads untouched at the end of the first book -- especially Boy's past -- but wraps them up as he tells a compelling, sometimes chilling story.

Boy now works for the scientist Kepler, but while running an errand to the Yellow House, he's captured by Imperial soldiers and taken to the palace, where the decaying, mad emperor is waited on by power-hungry courtiers. The emperor wants to be immortal, and his right hand Maxim hopes to use Boy to somehow find the Book of Dead Days.

To make things worse, the bloodthirsty Phantom is still at large -- and Boy soon realizes that it dwells in the palace. Surrounded by treachery and Machievellian lies, Boy's only hope is that his friend Willow will rescue him. But then he learns the horrific truth behind the Phantom and the emperor -- and the connection they have to his past.

There's less magic and more mystery in "Dark Flight Down," compared to its predecessor. The Book of Dead Days only shows up occasionally, and the focus is mostly on Boy's struggles to escape Maxim, and find out his identity. And since the horror is all human, it's even more frightening than demons.

With his sparse prose and icy descriptions, Sedgwick does a remarkable job of wrapping up the story, revealing Boy's mysterious past and the identity of his family. The Phantom's identity is a complete shock, and one that is really horrific. Although Sedgwick does fumble a bit with Bedrich the amnesiac, and Kepler's plotting; these things should have been fleshed out.

Boy himself grows by leaps and bounds here, as he realizes that it's who you are, not your name or parentage, that defines you. Willow is still like a refugee Lloyd Alexander heroine, although she appears less in "Dark Flight Down." And romantics will be pleased by the dark, if pleasing end for this novel.

Wrapping up the story he started in "Book of Dead Days," Marcus Sedgwick crafts a chillingly beautiful, intricate little story, about the boy named Boy. A fitting end.

Boy doesn't know from where he came, who his parents are, or even his real name. What he does know is that he grew up on the streets, struggling to survive. Then the famous and talented magician, Valerian, took him as his assistant. That relationship wasn't a pleasant one, though, as Boy was used and abused while doing the magician's bidding. When Valerian was tragically killed, Boy didn't miss him exactly but hesitated to mourn the magician. Just before Valerian died, Boy was told that the magician was his father. But is this the truth?

THE DARK FLIGHT DOWN picks up this story a few days after the magician's death. Boy is separated from his good friend, Willow, and is now living with the scientist Kepler. Boy makes plans to run away with Willow and start their lives over, but first he agrees to do an errand for the scientist. He goes back to the magician's home to pick up a lens, but is surprised to find the Emperor's army looting through the house. After claiming to belong there, Boy is tied up and tossed in the wagon with the rest of the magician's belongings and is taken to the Emperor's castle.

Boy is locked in the dungeons of the castle and eventually learns that the old Emperor is obsessed with finding immortality. This is why the Emperor had confiscated the magician's belongings; he thought the magician had in his possession a special book with answers for all things. Little does he know that the book is now in the hands of Kepler.

Meanwhile, Kepler and Willow team up to sneak into the Emperor's castle to try and rescue Boy. But resourceful Boy picks the locks and does some exploring on his own, discovering a well-kept secret hidden in the depths of the dungeons that just may have a connection to Boy's own past.

THE DARK FLIGHT DOWN resolves many of the questions left unanswered in its prequel, THE BOOK OF DEAD DAYS. This is an entertaining story, filled with adventure, mystery, and the shadow of man's inhumanity creeping about in the corners.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author

Marcus Sedgwick follows up his chilling "Book of Dead Days" with a less chilling, but far more compelling sequel, "Dark Flight Down." He left a lot of plot threads untouched at the end of the first book -- especially Boy's past -- but wraps them up as he tells a compelling, sometimes chilling story.

Boy now works for the scientist Kepler, but while running an errand to the Yellow House, he's captured by Imperial soldiers and taken to the palace, where the decaying, mad emperor is waited on by power-hungry courtiers. The emperor wants to be immortal, and his right hand Maxim hopes to use Boy to somehow find the Book of Dead Days.

To make things worse, the bloodthirsty Phantom is still at large -- and Boy soon realizes that it dwells in the palace. Surrounded by treachery and Machievellian lies, Boy's only hope is that his friend Willow will rescue him. But then he learns the horrific truth behind the Phantom and the emperor -- and the connection they have to his past.

There's less magic and more mystery in "Dark Flight Down," compared to its predecessor. The Book of Dead Days only shows up occasionally, and the focus is mostly on Boy's struggles to escape Maxim, and find out his identity. And since the horror is all human, it's even more frightening than demons.

With his sparse prose and icy descriptions, Sedgwick does a remarkable job of wrapping up the story, revealing Boy's mysterious past and the identity of his family. The Phantom's identity is a complete shock, and one that is really horrific. Although Sedgwick does fumble a bit with Bedrich the amnesiac, and Kepler's plotting; these things should have been fleshed out.

Boy himself grows by leaps and bounds here, as he realizes that it's who you are, not your true name or parentage, that defines you. Willow is still like a refugee Lloyd Alexander heroine, although she appears somewhat less here. And romantics will be pleased by the dark, if pleasing end for this novel -- the bleakness that has gone before it sort of fades out.

Wrapping up the story he started in "Book of Dead Days," Marcus Sedgwick crafts a chillingly beautiful, intricate little story, about the boy named Boy. A fitting end for the Boy's story

In the Dark Flight Down, Boy has survived while his old master Valerian, a powerful magician, is dead. He is saved by Kepler, Valerian's enemy. In Kepler's possession is The Book, the most powerful and dangerous thing in the world. And the Emperor Frederick wants it to become immortal. Boy is kidnaped by the imperial guards and taken to the palace, and it's up to Kepler and his friend, Willow to save him. In the palace, he finds himself in danger from the Phantom, a creature housed in the palace. In time, Boy finds out the truth about his past and it's up to him and Willow to find a way to escape.

I thought that this book was really interesting. I haven't read a good horror book in a while, so it was a nice change. I actually didn't know that there was a prequel to The Dark Flight Down, but I'm curious to check it out now. I loved the setting of the book and the characters were interesting too. Once I started reading, I wanted to find out about Boy's past. This may seem like it's for younger readers, but everyone should give this a try!

Reviewed by a student reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews
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