Venom and Song, by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper
Following the events in Curse of the Spider King, the seven teenage elven lords travel a treacherous realm to reach their birth home of Berinfell. But a traitor is in their midst. And once they arrive at Berinfell, the elves are divided about when to attack the Spider King. The untrained lords must not only deal with coming of age and dealing with teenage emotions, but discover the secret of the prophecy that involves each of them.
The teens pull together in this sequel and are trained as a team. Instead of focusing on each individually in the previous book, we are now able to see them together and their relationships are explored. There are a couple love connections, with just a bit of the teenage angst that accompanies teenage romance. The fantasy world is also explored more, and we are introduced to more fun and interesting creatures.
The Christian themes take on a more prominent role for the elven characters, that reminded me a bit of the Narnia series. This installment was a bit darker and emotional, and felt more like high fantasy than just a fantasy book for middle readers. There are some surprising twists throughout the story, and ends in a mild cliffhanger. As before, there is plenty of suspense and danger, culminating in a final, epic battle with the Spider King.
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