Rising Shadows (Sam Adams #2), by Daniel Meyer
The Book
Synopsis:
In saving his city of Williamsport, sixteen-year-old wizard Sam Adams uncovered dark revelations that left him shattered.
Abby, the girl he loved, was murdered. His memories of her last day were magically erased. And the person responsible is hiding in plain sight. A new threat emerges when an infamous necromancer appears in Williamsport, with a dark agenda that may be connected to her killer. As the undead threaten to tear the city apart, Sam is forced to ally with the very people he suspects of Abby's death.
With paranoia mounting and violence escalating, Sam has to scramble to stay one step ahead of the necromancer—and to keep from being the killer's next victim. Navigating a lethal web of shifting alliances, Sam is trapped between insidious magic and human enemies even more deadly.
But the darkest demons are waiting in his own mind.
My Review
Rising Shadows is the second book in the urban fantasy series Sam Adams, written by Daniel Meyer; Credible Threats surprised me for the good, so I was really keen to pick this second book. A sequel that ups the pace and gives us some of the most memorable scenes in the series, showing Daniel's ability to craft great battles while keeping the clarity (ordered chaos I call it).
Her girlfriend, Abby, was murdered; and Sam's memories of that day seem to have been magically erased, hiding from Sam many answers to her death. A new threat to Williamsport has appeared, a dark necromancer that might have a relation with Abby's murderer; when the undead threat to destroy Williamsport, Sam will be forced to create an unstable alliance with the powerful people of Williamsport and the police, the same people he suspects involved with Abby's death.
Second book, but the same Sam Adams we loved in the first one; however, this time he's in a more difficult situation, as fighting against the necromancer will require of him to collaborate with the police, where he suspects there is a mole passing information. With the help of his familiar, he will start a metaphorical journey to regain those memories of Abby's last day, discovering a terrifying prophecy that might be related to her death.
In comparison with the first book, we have a more spectacular plot, with Meyer having much confidence to pull great battle scenes (the great finale is simply outstanding), raising the tension at many moments, but still keeping some humoristic gags that help alleviate it. Sam is a bit more confidence on his powers, and that allows him to play as hero, even at the expense of putting himself at risk (and let me assure, making his parents suffer).
Rising Shadows takes what I loved from Credible Threats, and makes it better; and sets up all for the next instalment(s) in the series, where Abby's prophecy will surely win more relevance. An excellent series if you love urban fantasy, fast paced and well written.
The Author/s
Daniel Meyer
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a reader, and for almost as long, I’ve had ideas for stories of my own. I wrote my first story at the age of six, about pirates who had their treasure stolen. I never finished it, but I would keep writing stories throughout my childhood (never finishing most of those, either.) I fell away from the habit in my early teens, but all through high school, college (where writing papers helped me find my own unique voice), and my befuddled attempts at job hunting, the ideas never stopped, coming from all kinds of sources, for books, movies, TV shows, comics. On some level, I felt I should be a writer, and yet, I never seriously considered that I would actually become one.
Eventually, the ideas were coming faster and faster, and when I was twenty-five, I couldn’t resist the temptation anymore, and decided to take the plunge and actually bring those stories to life. At first I just concentrated on getting my many ideas down on paper, then spent months waffling over which one of them I should write first, until finally landing on Sam Adams.
And that brings us, more or less, to the present day. One of my main goals as a writer is to write the kinds of stories I want to read, and hopefully they’re the kinds of stories others would want to read as well. Like I said, I have more than a few ideas waiting in the wings, and I intend to bash out all of them sooner or later. I can’t wait for all of you to read them.