Amos survived his first mission as Mask Wearer, but soon after that, an encounter with a mysterious girl brings his life to an end—and sends him on his way to Braha, the City of the Dead, where souls await judgment. To get there, Amos, now a spirit himself, boards a boat, on which he meets Jerik, a decapitated criminal who must carry his head everywhere. Jerik tells Amos that Braha is overcrowded with spirits; the gods have shut the doors that lead to paradise and to hell. A key is said to unlock the doors—but its whereabouts are unknown. Only someone who dies and comes back to life can find it. Will Amos be that someone? Will his ingenuity and intelligence be enough to restore order in Braha? Or will he unknowingly serve those who are using him for their own gain? Most importantly, even if Amos finds the key, will he ever return to the land of the living?
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
March 13, 2012 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780375896941
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780375896941
- File size: 2163 KB
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 5.3
- Lexile® Measure: 720
- Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
- Text Difficulty: 3-4
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Reviews
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Kirkus
February 15, 2012
In the second of the series, 12-year-old Amos unwittingly takes on a hazardous mission: He's killed so he can pass into and fix a netherworld crowded with dead souls who aren't being permitted to pass on to their appointed fates. Amos is a clever mask wearer, a sorcerer who ultimately must acquire four masks and the special stones that empower the masks. He still needs three more masks and 15 stones until warrior queen Lolya gives him the mask of fire. But the gift is intended to lure Amos into a quest to the City of the Dead, where the masks are useless, a dangerous place thrown into turmoil by disagreements among various gods. Once there Amos receives aid against numerous enemies from a varied cast of cardboard characters, many of whom are figures from mythology (explained in a lexicon). The translation from the French is sometimes slightly awkward: "His wounded eye bled abundantly." While Amos and his best friend Beorf, a man-bear, are likable, that doesn't make up for an excess of telling instead of showing readers the fast-paced, confusing tale. Perhaps readers of the first in the series will want to continue on, but this effort neither stands alone nor compels. (Fantasy. 10-14)COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Booklist
March 1, 2012
Grades 5-8 It is not often that a series begins its second book with the main character's demise, but Amos Daragon's death is just the beginning of the story. Braha was once a vital city, home to the Mahites, a peaceful and prosperous people. In a frenzy of irrational envy, the gods chose to bury the shining city in a cataclysmic sandstorm. Now Braha is a gateway between the worlds of the living and the dead. Amos must travel the river Styx with his spirit friends to find a key back to life. A satisfying, fast-paced addition to the Amos Daragon series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.) -
The Horn Book
July 1, 2012
Amos Daragon ([cf2]The Mask Wearer[cf1]) returns; here a young queen uses voodoo to send Amos on a quest to Braha, the City of the Dead. As before, Amos's brilliance (rarely in evidence but often mentioned) unravels cunning plots and restores balance to the world. The stiff translation and lack of much character complexity are drawbacks, but fantasy-adventure fans may not mind.(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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Formats
- OverDrive Read
- EPUB ebook
Languages
- English
Levels
- ATOS Level:5.3
- Lexile® Measure:720
- Interest Level:4-8(MG)
- Text Difficulty:3-4
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