Fombelle, Timothee de Prince. A Prince Without a Kingdom.

Fombelle, Timothee de Prince.  A Prince Without a Kingdom.  Candlewick Press  2014  443p  $17.99  ISBN 978-0-7636-7950-7  jr/sr  Historical fiction  VG-BN

The sequel to Vango: Between Sky and Earth, this book concludes Vango’s quest to find answers and ties up the loose ends for the many colorful characters involved in his tale.  It is an in-depth historical novel that takes the reader all over Europe and to America, touching on actual historical people and events, such as the explosion of the Hindenburg and the Nazi occupation of Paris and the resistance, while following the myriad paths of Vango’s friends, acquaintances, and enemies.  It does a rather wonderful job of covering events throughout Europe, rather than focusing solely on America or France, although a significant portion of the story occurs in these two places.  The revelations about numerous characters’ backgrounds are handled well, and revelations about Vango in particular were welcome when they were finally revealed to the reader, although this happened long before Vango himself would ever learn them.  The series concludes satisfactorily, leaving the reader with the feeling of having watched a somewhat more dynamic (and less iconic, it must be said) version of Casablanca.  It is important to note, however, that this book does NOT work as a stand-alone, and attempting to read it without reading its prequel will only result in confusion and frustration.                       

Summary: The sequel to Vango: Between Sky and Earth, this book concludes Vango’s quest to find answers and ties up the loose ends for the many colorful characters involved in his tale.

World War II-Fiction, Revenge-Fiction, Romance-Fiction      --Bethany Geleskie