The Sky Warden and the Sun by Sean Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Sky Warden & the Sun by Sean Williams is the second book of The Change. The first book is called The Stone Mage and the Sea.
This book sees Sal and Shilly continue their adventure. Their guardians have been killed and they have been left to flee capture by the sky wardens, one in particular. In the first book, the children were just that…children. In the second book, we can see their forced growth as they struggle with decisions that adults would have trouble making.
Again, the story isn’t fast paced, but the characters, setting and plot are not lacking. I was again impressed by the sense of realism. I feel as if I know the two main characters extremely well. In fact, I found myself caring about what was happening to them, which meant that I was eager to read on and I admired the author’s writing ability because of it.
The other thing that impressed me with this book, which could be considered the “middle” of the story, was that it didn’t sag in any way – often the middle of a story does, I find. Every scene was there for a reason and what seemed like “fluff” turned out to be important information or was definitely connected in some way. I also noticed references to parts of the first book that made everything fall clearly into place as well. These might sound like silly things to comment on, but together they make for a much smoother reading experience.
The series was published in 2002/2003, so I have had a lot of trouble getting hold of the third and final book in the trilogy – The Storm Weaver and the Sand. For a few days I thought I was going to be disappointed and miss out on how Sal and Shilly’s story ended, but I’m glad to say that I managed to get my hands on a copy of the book and it is presently making its way to me through the post.
This book is highly recommended and I am patiently waiting to read the final book.