Darkness Hidden: The Name of the Blade, Book Two

by Zoe Marriott

Overview

Zoë Marriott’s inventive, Japanese-inflected urban fantasy raises the stakes in a sweeping second installment.

Against all odds, Mio has defeated the evil Nekomata and seen her love, Shinobu, restored to life. But in the wake of the battle, Mio’s unsettling connection to the katana—an ancient sword her family has been compelled to guard for generations—has grown more frightening. And now the Underworld has sent the Shikome—foul women whose feathers carry death—to spread a supernatural plague through London. With her best friend in the hospital, Shinobu’s very existence at risk, and the city in chaos, Mio realizes there is no way she can keep everyone she loves alive. What terrible sacrifice must she make to save the world?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763680558
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	11/10/2015
Series:	The Name of the Blade , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	730L (what's this?)
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Zoë Marriott is the author of the young adult fantasy novels The Swan Kingdom, Daughter of the Flames,and Shadows on the Moon, as well as the first book in the Name of the Blade trilogy. She lives in England.

I grew up with an older sister and a younger brother who ganged up on me mercilessly whenever they could get away with it (teaching me to fight dirty at an early age). We had a small menagerie of rescued strays ranging from canaries to kittens, all of whom I liked much better than my siblings. I struggled between being a princess (because I liked frilly dresses and tiaras) and being a tomboy (because I could run faster and spit farther than any of the boys). I resolved this by being a princess whenever my hair had grown long, and being a tomboy whenever my mum noticed how long my hair had gotten and chopped it off with the kitchen scissors.

I decided I was going to be a writer as soon as I finished reading my first book—The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton—and mad as it sounds, I never changed my mind. The first story that I wrote was about a rabbit and a pig having a party. The second was about a girl who found a pair of magic shoes that made flowers grow wherever she walked. I live in a peaceful little house that has the sea on one side and marshlands on the other. Both landscapes provide inspiration for my work. For company I have two cats, one named Hero after the Shakespearian character, and the other Echo after the nymph from the Greek myth. I also have a sprocker—a springer/cocker spaniel cross—called Finn, but normally he’s known as the Devil Hound. I sing a lot, talk to myself a lot (writers are allowed to do this) and read a lot, usually when I’m supposed to be writing.

About My Work:

I usually work in my front room, hunched over a laptop, but I also do a lot of planning and playing around with things in my trusty notebook, which I take with me everywhere. Every time I start a new book I get out a new notebook, label the front page with the working title and the date, and then do lots of elaborate doodling around the title with silver and gold pens to make it look official. By the time I’ve finished the book the notebook is usually stuffed with maps and bits of paper and full of barely readable notes that say things like: “Wingspan? Speed? Eye-Color—Do they even sing? Make something up, useless!” I would never let anyone look in one of my notebooks. I’d be far too embarrassed.

Three Things You Might Not Know About Me:

1. I once cried for half an hour after accidentally standing on a moth and squashing it.
2. I can’t ride a bike, and I never could—but I broke two fingers trying to learn.
3. When I was little, I was convinced that wolves lived under my bed. I still can’t let my hands or feet hang over the edge of the mattress, just in case.

Editorial Reviews

Save this action-packed...adventure for die-hard shonen manga buffs.
—Kirkus Reviews

...this solid and gripping work will keep readers interested in what’s to come.
—School Library Journal

An exceptional pick for myth-loving readers looking to move on to more mature fare.
—Booklist Online

Readers will enjoy spending time with the well-rounded characters.
—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

10/01/2015
Gr 5 Up—When readers first met Mio Yamato in The Name of the Blade (Candlewick, 2014), she was learning about her unique heritage, mastering the katana somehow bound to her (as well as Shinobu, the compelling boy who emerges from inside it), and protecting her friends from legions of monsters from Japanese myth. After that adventure, she has little time to catch her breath before this sequel begins. Mio and her friends are home, but things are not well: hordes of creatures called Foul Women are descending on the town, a terrifying figure called the Harbinger has arrived for the katan, Mio's friend Rachel is recovering badly from her encounter with the legendary Nekomata, and the more the protagonist learns about the katana and her heritage, the more she is convinced things will not work out well for her. It doesn't help that she's developing feelings for Shinobu despite his own history and link to the katana. Much like the previous volume, this entry is well paced and exciting and offers a look into Japanese mythology hard to find elsewhere. The story here is not distinct from that of the first book, as the plot picks up from where it left off and unfolds in much the same way. As a result, this sequel cannot be read without the first. VERDICT While not a dramatic stand-alone title, this solid and gripping work will keep readers interested in what's to come.—Heather Talty, formerly at Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York City

School Library Journal

2015-08-26
The Underworld makes another bid for control of Mio's mystical sword. In this sequel to The Name of the Blade (2014), Mio and her friends are still celebrating their defeat of the Nekomata with their allies in the Kitsune Kingdom when they are attacked again. This time their enemy's tools are the Shikome, the "Foul Women," whose feathers carry a deadly contagion. The gang is ill-prepared to handle the Shikome since they are still coping with the fallout from their first adventure. Mio's connection with her dangerous katana is growing ever more seductive and powerful, while Rachel is discovering that her abduction by the Nekomata has left her terribly changed. Select third-person passages from other characters' perspectives are interspersed throughout Mio's first-person narration, and they emphasize how completely the Shikome plague overwhelms London. The too-tidy ending consequently feels like a cop-out, despite the setup provided for the inevitable third book in the series. Nonetheless, the intense fight scenes and doomed romance will still appeal to many readers, especially if they're inclined to appreciate Marriott's obvious manga influences and willing to overlook generally shallow characterization. At least one major plot twist will immediately remind savvy fans of a similar storyline in Tite Kubo's Bleach. Save this action-packed but derivative adventure for die-hard shonen manga buffs. (Urban fantasy. 13-16)

Kirkus Reviews