Castle in the stars vol 2 by Alex Alice

Vol 2: The Moon-King

After the dangerous runaway liftoff from the end of volume 1, the aethernauts, the professor, and the king make it to the moon. The ship has sustained some damages from leaving Earth’s atmosphere, and they’ll have to slingshot around the moon using the moon's gravity if they want to get back to Earth. However, the aether has other plans for them and pulls them to the surface of the moon. On the dark side of the moon, they will have 14 days of lunar daylight before descending into 14 days of lunar night. The lunar day brings about melted snow and provides a thin atmosphere, so the crew sets about repairing the ship. More discoveries on the moon help in repairs and preparing them to return without the balloon that helped them float in Earth’s atmosphere. But, many of these discoveries are too alluring for the king, and he decides to explore on while the rest of the crew returns to Earth.

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With this volume, we’ve crossed over into the fantasy realm, with castles on the moon and evidence of "Selenites," moon inhabitants. Séraphin is caught between his father and the king, between helping the family he has and potentially rescuing the family he lost. He is convinced that his mother made it through the aether and is alive somewhere in the vastness of space, but his drive to find his mother puts the others in jeopardy.

The artwork continues to be beautiful and has the etherial quality of watercolors.  Hans is still the only character designed in a comical manner, and it is still unclear why.  The only thing bringing this volume down a hair for me was the design of the solid aether on the moon being clear, so it plays a smaller role in the visual storytelling than if it had at least a shine or something to distinguish it from the air on the moon.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 5-8

Reviews of previous volumes in the series: vol 1

Publisher: First Second
Publication Date: September 4, 2018​
ISBN: 9781626724945 (Hardcover)

Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: Elementary School, Suitability: Middle School, Graphic Fiction, Steampunk, Action Adventure, Family, First Second