Triskellion 2: The Burning by Will Peterson
Publication: Candlewick (May 12, 2009), Paperback, 480 pages / ISBN 0763642231
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action/Adventure, YA
Rating: 
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Challenges: 2009 Pub Challenge (#5)
First sentence: The helicopter was banking slightly, moving across an area of flat black ground, when Rachel heard the pilot pass a crackly message to Laura Sullivan.
In one sentence: A sci-fi action movie in book format.
I read Triskellion back in January and have been eagerly waiting for the sequel to come out. It’s just as exciting as the first book, just as strangely compelling while not being that well-written, and thankfully it does in fact answer some of the pesky questions left over from Triskellion #1.
Summary from Amazon:
As twins Rachel and Adam are pursued across Europe by terrifying forces, they realize they can trust no one — and must draw on their special
powers to survive.
After the shocking revelations in Triskellion, being guests of the “Hope Project” might seem like a relief. But Rachel and Adam soon figure out that they’re being held prisoner, and that the program has more sinister goals than archaeological research in mind. A hideous discovery at the funeral of their grandmother makes it clear that the teenagers must flee from England to Paris, Seville, and fi nally Morocco, evading not only their former benefactors but also the followers of “The Englishman,” a zombie-like fi gure with a frightening agenda of his own. It will take all of their special abilities and courage to stay alive until their journey reaches an explosive climax — and they unearth, on the North African coast, an ancient secret even more startling than the first.
I’m not sure what it is about these books, but I think the combination of X-Files plotlines, compelling characters and high-wire excitement makes them entertaining. I think they’re kinda like chick lit books: slightly frivolous but enjoyable books that have little hints of deep emotion to them. The Triskellion books are pretty brainless, but they have heart and superb action sequences, so it all works out.
Anyway, I like chick lit, so it’s not altogether unsurprising that I like the Triskellion books. And I actually like this one better than the first one! It doesn’t start off as slowly, and there’s lots of interesting new developments in the storyline. The character development was a little lacking, and unfortunately the new characters introduced weren’t an entirely successful misdirection, but honestly: the events in The Burning was so exciting I didn’t really care. I was too busy forgetting to breathe! The plot went boom-boom-boom, like an action movie in text form, and it was loads of fun.
I will say that some plot developments, like the whole thing with Laura Sullivan, the twins’ archaeologist friend from the first book, being– SLIGHT SPOILER HERE– involved with a super secret government thing when it was never even hinted at in book one that makes it seem like they were just thought up recently and then haphazardly shoved into place with the rest of the story. Not the whole plot, thank goodness, but just little parts of it. It seemed a little slap-dash to me. I had the same problem with book one, actually, and though it didn’t break my reading stride I did go “huh?” a few times. But I’m used to retconning in TV and comics and whatnot, so if you think of the Triskellion books as TV in text format then it’ll work out fine. Er, mostly.
If you liked the first book you’ll like this one, too. (You might even like it more!) I can’t wait to see where the series is going, especially since it ended on a cliffhanger. I just wish the wishy-washy parts of the plot would tighten themselves up!
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