Book 24: The Shaktra by Christopher Pike

Title: The Shaktra by Christopher Pike

Pages: 334.

How it was obtained: Christmas present to Susan.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 3 years.

Days spent reading it: 3 days.

Why I read it: After reading Alosha, I almost decided not to continue this trilogy. I was a little disappointed. However, my desire to complete things got the better of me, and I picked up The Shaktra as originally intended.

Brief review: The Shaktra is the second book in the Alosha trilogy. I was disappointed in the first book, but was quite surprised by the second. I'm not sure what the difference was, but Shaktra exceeded my expectations.

The story moves along a bit quicker I think, and the images in the book are more unique and memorable than in the first book. For instance there are these great creatures in the book called scabs, which are like jellyfish that float in the air and suck the brains out of their victims. That's awesome in my book. Although Pike draws out some of the basic questions of the book through the whole book (like who or what is the Shaktra?), he does move the plot along.

One thing that was kind of odd was how little Pike used some of the main characters from the first book in this book. A troll and leprechaun are constant traveling companions of Ali, but they do very little besides whimper and complain in this book. I mean, come on, you have a freakin' troll in your entourage, use it!

But overall, this book delivers in a way that the first book in the trilogy did not. And for me, that is huge. Most trilogies that start great have trouble in the middle section, this book wobbled a little, but was more solid than its origins.

Favorite quote: "And it was a great treat to hear a troll giggling, because he sounded like he was about to throw up."

Stars: 4 out of 5.

Final Word: Unexpected.