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Fantasy has been an integral part of the world's literature from its beginnings, and over the centuries, it has been featured in a multitude of literary mediums from children's fairy tales to horror novels. Even the fantasy genre itself has splintered into several smaller categories such as high, heroic, urban, steampunk, and slipstream. The rise of MMORPGs (Massively multiplayer online role-playing games) such as League of Legends and card games like Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon seem to be creating another, as-yet-unnamed subgenre that books such as the author's might fall into, ones that rely heavily on otherworldly creatures that can be pulled into our world to do battle for either the forces of good or evil.
In this second book of his series, Hopkins once again pits the minions of the Dark Realm against the Sacred Six and their allies. Two of the Sacred Six, Grey and Quinn, are now trapped in the Dark Realm and their friends are determined to rescue them. Unfortunately, the Dark Forces are on the move and have even compelled some of the Six's friends to spy for them. Treachery and elaborate scheming may be giving Dark leaders like Seth and Brook the upper hand, but could the enigmatic Spector be a factor in the fight?
Hopkins has crafted an action-packed tale of teenagers tapping into supernatural powers and controlling a plethora of creatures ranging from a penguin to a werewolf. He even tosses in the Loch Ness Monster for good measure. While the lack of editing can make the book difficult to read, the story might still appeal to younger fans of fantasy games.