Here's the deal. I bought Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey in late spring. It had already been out for quite some time, so it got pushed to later in my reading pile for the sake of more current books. Being overly practical for once in my life, I decided to wait buying the sequel until I had completed it. Why continue a series you don't enjoy?
I read the book and loved it. It's a little darker than my normal read, with the torture of children and all. However, every action in the book was there for a purpose. We actually follow two stories, separated by over 200 yrs, but united in this odd twist for control and understanding of magic in the world these characters dwell. Hahp is boy abandoned by his family to wizard school. (Do not be misled. It is nothing like Hogwarts.) Sadima is a young woman torn between her love of a man and the cruelty of this man's master. Her ability to understand animals in a world where magic has been extinguished is only a small part of who she is.
The ending to this story is a nightmare. Not that it is written poorly, it just doesn't exist. The book is clearly meant to lead right into the next book in the series, Sacred Scars. Which is where my frustration really begins. I have searched all my local book stores and many ebook stores. I can not find the second book in this series. I'm perplexed as to why book stores are not carrying it. It was released by Simon Pulse for goodness sake. I am now resigned to the fact that I will have to wait even longer to read the next installment of this trilogy by ordering the book to be delivered to my home. (Something I have not been forced to do since returning to the US from Germany.)
And yes, you did read right. Skin Hunger was the first of three books to be written in the Resurrection of Magic trilogy. The final book has not been released yet, and I could not even find a hopeful title for it on the author's web page. Let's just hope it is easier to find, once released, than book two currently is.
