SOMMER, Shelley

This sequel to Vango: Between Sky and Earth (rev. 9/14) is even more fraught with quick scene-changes, wide-ranging travels, and narrowly missed opportunities than its predecessor. Mysterious loner and orphan Vango continues his quest to discover his origins and at the same time collaborates with his mentor, Padre Zefiro, in pursuing the wicked international arms dealer Voloy Viktor. De Fombelle deploys a full panoply of characters in this expansively plotted, largely plot-driven tale, attending to the complications and outcomes of Andrei, the Russian musician-turned-traitor; of Scottish heiress, aviatrix, and love interest Ethel; of Vango’s faithful nurse (and gourmet chef) Mademoiselle; and a host of others. Like pieces in a game of Risk, the cast dashes about the United States, Europe, and Russia in the years between 1936 and 1944 (with a final chapter set just at the end of WWII), often missing one another by mere minutes