3/5 stars
Premise– (2.5/5) So I’ll admit, this series is a little young for me. Targeted to more of a middle-grade audience, I definitely would’ve enjoyed the Seven Wonders series more a few years ago. But once I start a series, I hate not finishing it, unless I really, really dislike it. Lost in Babylon is the second book in this sci-fi-fantasy blend, which revolves around the Seven Ancient Wonders of the world and a genetic mutation that provides a rare few with special abilities–but it also kills them before they turn 14. The first book covered the Colossus of Rhodes, and in this one, our main character Jack and his friends are searching for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Characters– (3/5) Our main characters are Aly, Cass, Marco, and our narrator, Jack. All four are 13, and they each have a special skill or super-human ability. I don’t adore any of these characters, but they have a fun group dynamic. The humor is a little young, but it’s there, and though they’re young, the characters aren’t lacking in depth. They come from different backgrounds, but they work well together. As for our side characters, I enjoyed Daria, and am hoping to see more of her in book three. There weren’t a ton of other important characters in this book except among our villains, the Massa. They’re an interesting group, but there hasn’t been a lot of individual development. Maybe that’ll happen too as the series progresses.
Plot– (3.5/5) The plot was reasonably solid with lots and lots of action. This book is full of action, the pace rarely lets up. But what really makes the plot, are the twists. This book had a number of plot twists, and I’ve seen some mixed reactions. Personally, I saw most of them coming, but I still enjoyed them, and a lot of other readers were completely taken by surprise. Even though I suspected quite a few of the book’s twists and turns, they were still interesting, providing new sources of conflict and pushing forward other new plot points. Lost in Babylon was fast-paced, packed with action and plot twists, and I thought the plot was pretty well done.
World– (3/5) This is a little tricky because I’d like to make this rating based largely off the accuracy (or lack thereof) of Lerangis’ portrayal of ancient Babylon. Unfortunately, I know pretty much nothing about the actual historical ancient Babylon. So as a fictional world, I’ll say it was fairly well constructed. The book is short enough that there’s no time to get into the nitty-gritty details of the society, but that’s not surprising in a book marketed to a slightly younger audience. But there wasn’t anything that struck me as blatantly wrong or illogical (except maybe Daria, but that was explained). I have no idea if this alternate Babylon is at all close to the real ancient Babylon, so I can’t judge one or the other there, but as a setting and fictional world, Babylon worked.
Writing– (2.5/5) I don’t love Lerangis’ writing, but I think that’s largely because I’m older than the intended audience. Sometimes, the way his characters talk or the immature humor bugs me. But that’s just because it’s not my style, not necessarily because it’s bad writing. Lerangis does do a good job of keeping his audience engaged by keeping the plot moving and constructing a believable, if not detailed world. His characters aren’t any of my favorites, but I would imagine are quite relatable to a 13-year-old reader.
Overall– (2.9/5) Lost in Babylon is a great sequel. I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more in middle school, but I still enjoyed reading it as a college student. It’s a quick read, fairly short and fast-paced. And I find the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World super fascinating, and that’s not something you get to see all too frequently in fiction. Though I saw the plot twists coming, they caused interesting ripple effects, and the fast-paced action drove the story straight to the conclusion. Lerangis’ writing and characters are a bit young for me, but this would be a great series for young fans of Rick Riordan, or the 39 Clues series. Though I won’t be going out to buy it, if I stumbled across book three I would definitely pick it up.