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Shadowplay Micah Grey Book 2 Strange Chemistry Laura Lam Books

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Shadowplay Micah Grey Book 2 Strange Chemistry Laura Lam Books

The middle book of any trilogy has the hardest job to do: it has to complicate the overall narrative while still being its own book. Bad middle books feel like filler; hundreds of pages of marked time between two cliffhangers. Good middle books walk the fine line between staying true to the story you fell in love with in the first book and twisting it enough to keep you interested in reading the next installment.

Shadowplay, I am happy to say, is a good middle book. As the second book in Laura Lam’s Micah Grey series, Shadowplay opens after one crisis and ends with another, but the path between them never feels like filler.

The events at the end of Pantomime force Micah into hiding again, this time with Drystan at his side. Drystan calls in a life-debt from the disgraced magician Jasper Maske to secure a hiding place at the dusty Kymri Theater, and thus begins Micah’s second adventure. Again, Micah goes into hiding. Again, Micah takes on a false identity. But the difference in Shadowplay is that he does so in plain sight. And at night he has a place to return to where people know who he really is and accepts him for that. I loved that nuance.

One area ripe for exploration that was missed, though, was Micah’s new identity. In the city of Imachara, while outside on the street, Micah wears a small piece of Vestige which makes him appear to be Temnian. In the book, Temnian people are coded as people of color; visibly foreign and visible different—“from the colonies,” mistrusted. As Sam (Micah’s name when passing as Temnian), Micah should face structural oppression. Unless Ellada is much further along in terms of race relations than we are in the real world, this should probably have been more than a couple of scowls on the street as mentioned in the text. This oversight is compounded when Cyan, an actual Temnian girl, joins the group. She either never speaks of whatever structural oppression she faces or she never experiences any. She seems to have no feelings on the matter that these two White kids are passing themselves off as Temnian. I’m not saying she should be bothered by it, necessarily, but she probably should have had an opinion on it one way or the other. In any case, there is a potential for this element of the book to rub readers of color the wrong way since Micah is literally using race as a costume for large sections of the book without any substantial reflection of what that means.

That said, I did truly appreciate that in Shadowplay Lam began to unweave Micah’s intersexuality from his apparent special abilities around Vestige—which become more pronounced in this book. We learn more about that in Shadowplay; the Phantom Damselfy herself becomes a prominent character with a name and a history and a future. We also learn that there are others with similar abilities in Micah’s world. It’s confirmed more than once over the course of the book that it may just be coincidence that Micah is intersex and has these abilities. Micah is allowed to be just Micah.

Shadowplay is excellently paced and explores a different part of Elladan culture than Pantomime—magic shows and seances. I, actually, am fascinated by the historical spiritualism movement and the practices of debunking seances, so this was an oddly perfect match for my interests. Between Micah’s Phantom Damselfly induced visions, magician training, and tracking down people who are tracking down him, there is plenty of plot to go around. There are double agents. There is a slow-burning, very sweet romance, but not before the trauma of the ending of the first book has to be dealt with and processed by both Micah and Drystan. There is the question of Micah’s weird abilities and the potential and the danger they pose. And there is a hell of an ending and the questions it raises

I cannot wait for Masquerade.


Tags : Amazon.com: Shadowplay: Micah Grey, Book 2 (Strange Chemistry) (9781908844408): Laura Lam: Books,Laura Lam,Shadowplay: Micah Grey, Book 2 (Strange Chemistry),Strange Chemistry,190884440X,Fantasy - General,Love;Fiction.,Magicians;Fiction.,Runaways;Fiction.,Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Fantasy & Magic,Fiction,Juvenile Fiction Fantasy & Magic,Love,Love & Romance,Magicians,Runaways,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Young Adult Fiction Fantasy General

Shadowplay Micah Grey Book 2 Strange Chemistry Laura Lam Books Reviews

Shadowplay absolutely solidifies my complete love and admiration for this series. Not only do the mythology and world grow, but it's all set behind a stunning story of love, trust, and family--with magic!

If you read this book (series, really) for no other reason, read it for Micah and his situation. (In an attempt not to reveal spoilers for those who haven't read the first book, it is a "situation".) It is unique and not something I've seen anywhere else, but that's not why it's so special to this series. What makes this series so special is the treatment. Never does the situation feel exploitative or there for shock value. And Micah's journey into acceptance is lovely and truly wonderful. He comes to feel comfortable in his skin, just as he is.

Part of this comfort stems from his relationship with Drystan, and this whole romance plot line is, honestly, beautiful, yet understated and slow. Drystan seems to take rather a backseat to Cyan, which makes sense given that she needs introduction like Drystan got in the first book, but there would have been no complaints had he been around a lot more. That being said, Cyan is an interesting character herself, with just as many secrets and as much history as the rest.

There is quite a lot revealed in this book, not only explaining certain moments from the first book but also setting up for the final book. We see a lot of Chimera and learn a lot about them and how they disappeared. It's obvious most people can't be trusted, and this should all lead into an explosive finale.

If you haven't read Pantomime, I thoroughly recommend that changes soon. (I've attempted to avoid spoilers for the first book, in the hopes that anyone who sees this will go and read it! Hence vagueness.) Shadowplay is a worthy sequel that expounds on everything set up in the first book and brings new strings into the fold. It reveals new characters and love. It is mysterious and magical. Read it, eh?

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Excellent read
Well written story that keeps you reading. I thought the ending was not the best part of the book, I do not like it when the author cuts off the book abruptly so another sequel can be written.
Such intriguing world-building, and I really love the exploration of the main character's issues with their gender identity/presentation as well as intersex status. I also enjoy the slow build of the relationship between the main character and one of the other characters in the story (trying to avoid spoilers here). Excellent sequel to Pantomime, which I devoured quickly. I would love to read more about this character, or even just this world!
The middle book of any trilogy has the hardest job to do it has to complicate the overall narrative while still being its own book. Bad middle books feel like filler; hundreds of pages of marked time between two cliffhangers. Good middle books walk the fine line between staying true to the story you fell in love with in the first book and twisting it enough to keep you interested in reading the next installment.

Shadowplay, I am happy to say, is a good middle book. As the second book in Laura Lam’s Micah Grey series, Shadowplay opens after one crisis and ends with another, but the path between them never feels like filler.

The events at the end of Pantomime force Micah into hiding again, this time with Drystan at his side. Drystan calls in a life-debt from the disgraced magician Jasper Maske to secure a hiding place at the dusty Kymri Theater, and thus begins Micah’s second adventure. Again, Micah goes into hiding. Again, Micah takes on a false identity. But the difference in Shadowplay is that he does so in plain sight. And at night he has a place to return to where people know who he really is and accepts him for that. I loved that nuance.

One area ripe for exploration that was missed, though, was Micah’s new identity. In the city of Imachara, while outside on the street, Micah wears a small piece of Vestige which makes him appear to be Temnian. In the book, Temnian people are coded as people of color; visibly foreign and visible different—“from the colonies,” mistrusted. As Sam (Micah’s name when passing as Temnian), Micah should face structural oppression. Unless Ellada is much further along in terms of race relations than we are in the real world, this should probably have been more than a couple of scowls on the street as mentioned in the text. This oversight is compounded when Cyan, an actual Temnian girl, joins the group. She either never speaks of whatever structural oppression she faces or she never experiences any. She seems to have no feelings on the matter that these two White kids are passing themselves off as Temnian. I’m not saying she should be bothered by it, necessarily, but she probably should have had an opinion on it one way or the other. In any case, there is a potential for this element of the book to rub readers of color the wrong way since Micah is literally using race as a costume for large sections of the book without any substantial reflection of what that means.

That said, I did truly appreciate that in Shadowplay Lam began to unweave Micah’s intersexuality from his apparent special abilities around Vestige—which become more pronounced in this book. We learn more about that in Shadowplay; the Phantom Damselfy herself becomes a prominent character with a name and a history and a future. We also learn that there are others with similar abilities in Micah’s world. It’s confirmed more than once over the course of the book that it may just be coincidence that Micah is intersex and has these abilities. Micah is allowed to be just Micah.

Shadowplay is excellently paced and explores a different part of Elladan culture than Pantomime—magic shows and seances. I, actually, am fascinated by the historical spiritualism movement and the practices of debunking seances, so this was an oddly perfect match for my interests. Between Micah’s Phantom Damselfly induced visions, magician training, and tracking down people who are tracking down him, there is plenty of plot to go around. There are double agents. There is a slow-burning, very sweet romance, but not before the trauma of the ending of the first book has to be dealt with and processed by both Micah and Drystan. There is the question of Micah’s weird abilities and the potential and the danger they pose. And there is a hell of an ending and the questions it raises

I cannot wait for Masquerade.