I really liked the first book in this series, On Lavender Tides, as an earnest homage to the Pokémon franchise. It had it all. From routes to caves filled with the local equivalent of Zubats to the jackass rival, that book had everything you could want. This was all nestled in a vibrant and well realised world.

As much as I loved it though it definitely owed a lot of it’s DNA to the games. The plot itself was a little basic and the characters, though fine, weren’t all that complex. While I liked what I read, on reflection I’m not sure how many more books like that I’d have enjoyed in the series.

So it’s good then that A Fracture in the Quisdeep takes that foundation and build well upon it.

What really shines through in the new instalment is the characters. As I said previously they were fine before, just not particularly deep. So I’m really pleased to say that they develop nicely, reaching an interesting arc by the end of the novel. I’m now really looking forward to the next book because I’m honestly not sure what’ll happen next with them and I’m looking forward to finding out.

Aside from that everything I liked about the previous book is still present. The author has dialled back a little on all the different Pokémon references, preferring to let the world speak for itself, though the odd one is still there. And the world is delightful, with new wonders and horrors around every corner. I really like the different Jekua (Pokémon) that they encounter. They’re inventive and different enough to always keep you entertained. I can’t wait to see what’ll come next.