Characters are important in stories to give readers someone to identify with through the book. These characters must change and be as human as possible. Realistic characters in this book make it interesting. Lauren is a widowed mother thrust into danger with her son. She must use her magic again to save the boy and her world. In constant conflict, Lauren must choose between being a mother or duty to save Earth. Molly, Lauren's sister, has a more difficult problem. After coming back to life, she must contend with the terrible knowledge of not possessing a soul. The book is focused on these two characters, but they receive help from secondary characters like Seo and Pete.
A fast moving plot keeps the reader engrossed to get to the end of a book. This story picks up a few weeks after the events in the first book. Lauren is trying to put her life back together and reassure her traumatized son. A messenger from Oria comes to tell her that her sister Molly is alive and wants to speak with her. Shocked by the news, Lauren struggles about getting involved in another problem. She eventually travels to Oria, meets her sister and they learn about the Night Watch, which is a group of soulless beings like dragons who feed on the deaths of worlds. The plot keeps moving quickly with a lot of action between short interludes of quiet moments. Ms. Lisle is a keen weaver of the plot that keeps the reader hooked until the end.
Finally, the author created strange magics to help give the story a lot of action to keep the book interesting. Magic is done by a person's will, but they must travel to a world lower on the world chain then theirs to do magic. Use of magic must be done carefully because there is a feedback energy to the upper worlds that might create a disaster. Another interesting magic is the resurrection of certain beings all tied into gold metal. The use of this magic renders the wearer immortal but without a soul. Complications created by these magics helps the characters strive for creative solutions to difficult battles. Ms. Lisle's creations of magic engenders the book with lively action.
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