The story of the companions continues as the war begins to pick up. Their quest now is to find the dragon orbs. They get separated, which leads to diverging paths. This book, in terms of the pacing, was a bit slower than the first volume. However, there are some twists towards the end, and the action picks up in the second half. The tone of this one is darker than the first, but that is a good thing as it keeps things interesting. There is a cliffhanger, assuring readers will return for the third volume to conclude the trilogy. I certainly will seek the third novel to see how things wrap up. Overall, this series makes for nice escapist reading. Only reason I give it 3 stars is that I find later series, such as The Minotaur Wars, to be better developed, but this one is good entertainment, and you get a sense of how these novels got their start.

As I noted when I read the first volume, as a librarian, I still can say these books would have good appeal to teen readers, especially boys and probably good for reluctant readers as well. These are fairly easy books to read, pretty entertaining, and if you like fantasy, swords and dragons, a good selection.