2 out of 5

The other-worldliness that allowed the first book to overcome the cheesier elements of its construction was deflated by the second book’s plodding plotting, despite the interesting mother/daughter/mother setup of main characters Shame and Virtue.  Unfortunately, instead of returning to the fairy tale fancy of the start of the trilogy, Lovern and artist John Bolton continue with the more plotted side of things, Virtue now having to break free of Shame’s capture and set things right.  Again, there are cool elements to the story, and Bolton’s eroticized art, while maybe heavy on naked, young girl depictions, has gotten more and more realized from book to book in how Bolton wants to define the Shame world; its gorgeous colors against the negative backgrounds are enthralling to study (though if you’re reading this on the train, it’s the kind of thing you just peep at the pictures for fear of being seen as a pervert).  But the plot swoops into dramatics that now feel somewhat random and not potentially part of something larger, and the dialogue continues to feel sort of clunky, though that’s again a consequence of writing this like a story instead of as a recitation of a type of myth.

It’s a handsome book – although the binding is a little too close cropped to the art – with a nice sense of design and, overall, a compelling Sandman-like dreamy vibe with some cool central ideas, but Lovern’s writing simply lacks a sense of scope, instead reading like a foreign interpretation lain atop the images.