I just finished Stands a Shadow which is the second book in Col Buchanan's Heart of the World series and I was even more impressed than I was with the first one. It may have been because there was much less introduction because the reader was already familiar with the world and the characters. It seems to be a trend with trilogies and greater. The second book gets to be mostly rising action. And the action in this book rose quickly and often.
The action takes place directly after the end of the first book. It only introduces one new character, and she turns out to be a minor one. There are no new plot turns in this book. I am being extremely vague to avoid any potential for spoilers. So this post may be fairly short. Despite the fact that the book followed a linear path, it was a very good read. It was an exciting adventure story with interesting characters. I would easily recommend the book, except for one little problem.
I said earlier it was the second book in a series. The problem is there is no third book scheduled. I have searched the internet high and low looking for a release date, or even a working title and I have found nothing. Book one came out in 2010 and book two came out in 2011, and now nothing about book three. It is; however, a popular search on Google. I'm not sure why I can't find anything. Maybe they weren't selling well. Maybe Buchanan is having trouble with the next one. I don't know, but I will not stop searching until I find something out. The good news is that to my knowledge there has been no official statement from Tor, the company that publishes the series, saying that it has been canceled or there will be no third book or anything of that nature, so there is still a chance, and I will keep hoping and keep searching.
