Review: Alliance (The Paladin Prophecy #2)

Alliance by Mark Frost is the sequel to The Paladin Prophecy. The story opens several months after the events of the first book. Will and his friends are still on campus at the Center, recovering from the ordeal they went through last time around. Summer is approaching and Will has been training, learning how to use his newly discovered powers. The shadowy Knights of Charlemagne were defeated, but Will knows that was just the first engagement. The true struggle is just beginning. Will, Brooke, Ajay, Nick and Elise have been brought even closer together by their shared experiences, and the stakes are about to get higher. They're more confident now and ready to take the battle to their shadowy enemy. But will a shocking betrayal doom them all?

First off, I loved this book. I think the first one was a little better, and more happened in that one, but this is still a great sequel. We learn a lot more about the Knights of Charlemagne and their purpose, as well as the Paladin prophecy itself. We get to see some old allies return, and some new enemies as well. The five friends revisit the tunnels beneath the Center and discover a shocking secret there. I thought the foray underground was fun and suspenseful, although it took up a significant chunk of the book

Just as in the first book, the five friends are the best part of this story. They all play off each other so well, and have such distinct personalities. While I think Will, with his newly awakened abilities, might be a tad too powerful, I really like Elise. She may be more powerful even than Will, but it’s her attitude that makes her fun. I love her sonic power- reminds me a bit of Banshee from the X- Men, but a little more restrained. We saw her cut loose once in the first book, at a crucial time, but here she has been training over the intervening months and has a much better handle on her power now. She gets to use it several times, often to devastating effect. Way cool.

Will’s relationship with Brooke continues to develop in interesting ways, but this time we  see that Will and Elise share a bond as well. There were hints of this in the first book, of course. I found this refreshing – a love triangle of sorts, but not an obnoxious one. The nice thing is it’s not all angsty- they’re all friends, and while it’s acknowledged that Will and Brooke are kinda together, some things happen that may put a question mark on that. I liked this a lot- Brooke is a great character, and her newly emerging powers are neat, but the idea of Will and Elise together is fascinating to me.

This series has a lot going on. Five friends who may have been genetically tampered with, giving them strange powers, an interdimensional war with elder beings, and ruins of a prehuman civilization. We get a lot of information in this one about the Knights of Charlemagne and what they’re up to. As more of their plot is divulged, I was a little bit disappointed in the reasoning behind it. The genetic manipulation and interdimensional war are great, I like the idea of the prophecy and what it means, I just found the reasoning behind it all a little iffy. There are several big reveals at the end, a nasty twist and an enormous cliffhanger. I was sorry to see this book end, it flew by and is every bit as compelling as the first book. My only complaint is that it is shorter- the first one was over 500 pages, and this clocks in at a little over 300. I wanted more! It will be a long wait for the next one.

Excerpt:

Elise gripped his arms and got right in Will's face, her etched eyebrows arched high with excitement. "Listen. I will waitress at a Waffle House or sing happy- hour show tunes at a trailer park rest home, but I promise you I will figure out some way to bank staying here, because you knuckleheads are not going down there this time without me."
"I was hoping you'd say that," said Will with a grin.
"I've been waiting since Christmas for this," she said.


"Elise? Are you with me?"
"Why are you carrying me?" she asked.
"You were out on your feet."
"We could move a lot faster if you'd put me down."
"You think you can run now?"
"Faster than you're going," she said.
"Okay, I'll put you down".
"And, Will?"
"Yeah?"
"Whatever you do, don't look behind us."

From Goodreads:

Readers of I Am Number Four, The Maze Runner, and Legend will love this sophisticated adventure series by the cocreator of the groundbreaking television show Twin Peaks, with its unique combination of mystery, heart-pounding action, and the supernatural.

After exposing the sinister underground society of students known as the Knights of Charlemagne, Will West stays at the Center over the summer to explore his newly developing physical and mental abilities. Meanwhile, his roommates investigate the Knights' shadowy purpose and discover unsettling information about their own backgrounds. Will and his friends must quickly figure out what's going on and separate friend from foe as they prepare for the coming fight.