Kathleen Foucart (Children's Literature)
The second book in the “The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme” series sees Ven off on another adventure. This time, he is going into the Gated City to see what he can find out about a glowing stone that King Vandemere received upon his father’s passing. The strange stone and the adventure appeal to Ven, so he and his friends all set out on the following market day. Once inside the city, Ven and his friends see a number of wondrous sights that are fascinating and potentially dangerous. They meet a weapons-maker, Mr. Coates, and Ven goes to a fortuneteller who tells him that something valuable will be stolen from him, possibly by the Thief Queen herself. Unfortunately, what is stolen is Saeli, a little Gwydd girl who speaks in flowers. Suddenly the children are plunged into an elaborate escape from the Thief Queen herself. Though the action begins slowly, fans will be rewarded with new information for Ven’s journals and the promise of other adventures to come. 2007, Starscape/Tom Doherty Associates, $17.95. Ages 8 to 12.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2008)
Ven and his friends (The Floating Island) venture into the outlaw-inhabited Gated City, then become trapped when one of them is kidnapped and another revealed to be the Thief Queen's daughter. Haydon's affable characters and imaginative, well-realized backdrop retain their appeal, but the plot, overly concerned with setting the stage for a third volume, never reaches the intensity of the first. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2007, Tor/Starscape, 297pp, 17.95. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 4: Recommended, with minor flaws.

Tracy Piombo (VOYA, August 2007 (Vol. 30, No 3))
Ven Polypheme's career as King's Reporter begins inauspiciously when the king fires him in front of the entire court. Oddly Ven had just been given his first assignment to uncover the mystery of a strange glowing stone given anonymously to the king. Despite his confusion, Ven brings his friends along on the investigation, which takes them into the Thieves City, where bright and wondrous sights only partly conceal the poverty and danger lurking behind every tent flap. When one of Ven's companions is abducted, the rest travel into the heart of darkness itself-the lair of the Thief Queen, where they struggle to survive long enough to free their friend and escape. This sequel follows the same format as The Floating Island (Starscape/Tor, 2006/VOYA December 2006), combining "recovered" journal entries and the "historian" author's reconstructions of events. The story begins slowly, but once the plot picks up, it moves along swiftly. The journal entries are repetitive and serve mainly to recount the events of the first volume, so readers could conceivably start with this book. Again Haydon tacks on a preachy, "What I learned" message, and again the cover mysteriously features a dragon (although the dragon itself should appear in the forthcoming third volume, The Dragon's Lair). A chapter of the next volume and reader's guide are included, and free curriculum is available on the Web. Give this one to young teens, especially fans of Cornelia Funke and Kai Meyer. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P M J (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2007, Starscape/Tor, 320p., $17.95. Ages 11 to 15.