The Celestial Globe
The Celestial Globe (The Kronos Chronicles, #2)by Marie Rutkoski
When Prince Rodolfo's monsters attack her, Petra Kronos is spirited away to London. As she struggles to escape, Neel and Tomik sail the high seas, in search of her. Though separated by many miles, the three friends draw closer together in this sequel to The Cabinet of Wonders, called “astonishingly accomplished” by Publishers Weekly. Readers will not be disappointed in this adventure-filled novel that includes man-made monsters, the unraveling of a murder mystery, and the hunt for the Celestial Globe, which the prince of Bohemia will do anything to own. (goodreads.com)
I don't quite like the summary on Goodreads, but I'm a creature of habit and I don't feel like searching longer for a better on on the internets. =P The Celestial Globe is a fantastic sequel to The Cabinet of Wonders! I had the usual apprehension when embarking on a follow-up book to one I adored completely, but that apprehension vanished within the first couple of pages.Why am I always so fascinated by stories of espionage and murder? Maybe in a past life I was a spy. Who knows? What I do know is that I loved the element of who dunnit in regards to the murder of one of the Queen's men and how that involved John Dee and Petra and those around them. I wasn't as keen on the parts on the ship with Tomik and Neel but I slowly came around to their accidental friendship. I shall sheepishly admit I was happy when the story went back to focusing on Petra though.The main reason for that, and I swear this is the only time I will ever admit something like this, was because of Astrophil. Darn it! I love that spider! And he's a SPIDER so I shouldn't even be able to read about him without breaking out into a rash and feeling terrified. I am unhealthily afraid of spiders.But I love Astrophil so much.The back of the book has "Trust No One" written before the summary in large font and I have to say that is a very apt warning for this story. Just when I thought I was trusting the right person it turned out I was. Not one character followed the path I was certain they were going to take. The plot kept me guessing until the end when I started to piece together what was going to happen.I still found this sequel to be folkish and charming even though it had a totally different feel from The Cabinet of Wonders. I have been told by some that they did not like this book as much as the first and whereas I can see why, I think I liked both equally but for different reasons. I find this story so utterly enrapturing that I don't know if I can wait for the paperback of the third book to be released in more than a year. I would love to see where the author takes Petra, Neel and Tomik in her next book - the land of the Roma.I wish there had been stories like these when I was a middle grade reader, I would have devoured them in one sitting as I do now!Kronos Chronicles