In Dark Eden, Will Besting and six other teens were cured of their fears but left with ailments (loss of hearing, debilitating headaches, sleepiness, etc.) while an old - actually, ancient - man diabolically stole their youth to keep living indestructibly. Now, his former wife Eve Goring calls Will and the others back to Eden to get cures from their ailments: vials of blood taken to cure their fears that need to be mixed together and administered to cure their old age. But Eve seems to hold all the cards, and Will knows there's something not right.

I summarized the first book by calling it a "fast, fun, potato chip read of a YA novel," and the sequel is more of the same. Actually, it's even more over-the-top unbelievable than the first book, and I'm still left wondering if that was really it. The plot moves fast and suspensefully, but I had an easy time figuring out faster than Will what was going on and it didn't keep moving so fast that I could suspend disbelief. I would recommend it to readers looking for a fast read after the first book, but my summary in the first paragraph pretty much says it all. If your reaction is "Oh, that sounds fantastic!" go for it, but if you're scratching your head the novel won't clear anything up for you. ( )

When I first saw that there was going to be a sequel to Dark Eden, I wasn't sure what to think. I really didn't know how there could be a sequel, considering how the first book was put together and how it ended. The ending, though not too perfect for the good guys, pretty much tied up all the loose ends and left little for any subsequent novels (unless, perhaps, it involved different characters). I was still optimistic, however, since I enjoyed Dark Eden so much. Though some would say that the plot is thin, I really enjoyed the semi-horror-like feel of the book and the fast-paced thrills (not to mention the Poe references), so I thought Dark Eden 2 was worth a try.

In Dark Eden 2, all of the teens who had their phobias cured, even Will, have been called back to Fort Eden -and no one knows why. It's not long until they find themselves trapped in the Fort once again, and find themselves as nothing but the playthings of others in a much larger -and deadlier -game. It's up to Will to get everyone safely out of the Fort, though the need for revenge is hard to resist.

Dark Eden 2 partially fell into the trap that I was concerned it would: essentially repeating the same story as the first book. Only this time, the point of view didn't switch between each character and the characters weren't nearly as compelling since their they've already worked through their issues. I really felt like, this time, the story was somewhat of a rehash without much new material -at least not enough to warrant a sequel in my opinion.

Despite this, I was still flipping through pages to see what would happen next. Carman still brings his signature thrills to each page, and kept me enthralled until the end. So, not a complete loss, but I feel like Dark Eden 2 really missed some opportunities and just doesn't stand up to the first book. ( )