Dead Voices by Katherine Arden
Dead Voices (Small Spaces #2) by Katherine Arden
Dead Voices is the sequel to Small Spaces and picks up a short while after those adventures our main characters ran into. For those of you following me for a while, you know that I am a bit obsessed with Katherine Arden, specifically her Winternight Trilogy - The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower and The Winter of the Witch. So I quickly picked up Small Spaces when it came out last year and loved Arden even more, even though this new series is for a younger audience.
Arden has this amazing way of writing such beautiful imagery I can’t compare it to any other books I’ve read. Her descriptions of a winter night or storm in Dead Voices reminds me of some of the scenes in her Winternight Trilogy and I got goosebumps all over again from the perfection. Plus, I felt cold because I could have sworn I was right there with her characters.
Arden’s characters are also so vibrant that I love them all. Yes, even the villains. The first book in this series definitely gives you more background on the main characters - Ollie, Coco and Brian, but I appreciate that Arden doesn’t re-describe everyone each new installment of her series. (Duh, this is why you read a series in order.) So this second book wonderfully adds to each characters’ personality and storyline just like I wanted it to. We also get a few chapters from the Coco’s point of view along with Ollie’s point of view whereas the first one was just Ollie’s POV, which I definitely enjoyed.
A few new characters are introduced along with a new villain, but Ollie, Coco and Brian may have not truly escaped the danger they found a few months ago. In my opinion, the creativity of this adventure and how they must save themselves was a bit better in this second book. It is face-paced and you don’t find yourself groaning at the absurd choices the characters make like in other horror books and situations. Each of these children are smart, brave and fiercely good. Although the first book was more heartwarming, I enjoyed that this book was a darker mystery still with a very strong theme of friendship. It might be aimed at a middle school audience, but I’m loving these books just as much as an adult. Also, I just found out that there will be two more books to this series so now I’m even more excited and anxiously waiting the releases!
Synopsis: Having survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent smiling man in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian are ready to spend a relaxing winter break skiing together with their parents at Mount Hemlock Resort. But when a snowstorm sets in, causing the power to flicker out and the cold to creep closer and closer, the three are forced to settle for hot chocolate and board games by the fire.
Coco is convinced she has seen a ghost, and Ollie is having nightmares about frostbitten girls pleading for help. Then Mr. Voland, a mysterious ghost hunter, arrives in the midst of the storm to investigate the hauntings at Hemlock Lodge. Ollie, Coco, and Brian want to trust him, but Ollie's watch, which once saved them from the smiling man, has a new cautionary message: BEWARE.