This is the second part in the ever-growing series of peculiar novels by Ransom Riggs.

The basis for these novels are vintage photographs with weird and often clumsy "special effects" that the author used to collect. In the first novel of the series, the author made use of these pictures as a scaffold around which he created a race of peculiars that have all the special powers and abilities depicted in the photos. These peculiars have invented a system to live outside time which basically means: eternal life, but outside history and at the cost of inhibiting any development personally or as a group. However, they can travel, and they can even travel through time. While the first part was set mainly during WW2, this part plays during WW1 – Riggs seems to love war settings.

Like the first part, the plot more or less consists of running away from and occasionally fighting against wights who want to kidnapp and kill or change all peculiars, also there is a little lovestory which develops in slow motion – it may have to last for a few more episodes before a happy ending.

This is youth literature. It is easy reading for those who aspire to be entertained, not educated.