As for the story, this goes further into the “Amulet” series as new characters are introduced, new alliances are made, and we see Emily start getting more used to becoming a “Stone keeper”. She is developing more control and she becoming more comfortable with his new-found power. Emily is a young girl given power and this volume reveals a secret to the enchanted stones, and what’s more, there is a huge revelation on the part of Trellis as there seems to be more to him than fans had expected. New characters are introduced as older ones were fleshed out. I enjoyed the way the writing makes the devices transition into continuity very easily. Kibuishi gives his characters a lot of personality, and I have to say I can tell why many could easily be hooked on this book.
For some reason, some parts of the graphic novel reminded me of “Star Wars episode IV”. A pilot in a bar and the scene with Emily and Leon the fox as they practice ‘defense’ just screamed Luke and Obi-Wan with the remote, only this time it was with a bottle. There is some devices to ponder about with this volume, as Emily may have unknowingly become more attached to her stone than she had first thought. Gabilan is one hunter with a lot of tools to counter the attacks of a stone keeper; I did think of the bounty hunter in “Return of the JedI” clashing with the “Witch King of Mordor” for some reason once I saw him. “Amulet” is very rich with fantasy elements and so references to other fantasy installments should be expected.
Many would say that “The Cloud Searchers” may be a ‘transitional phase’ as the series prepares for a showdown. It does do one thing right and that is it managed to get my full attention; Kibuishi’s writing had enough rhythm to generate momentum and I found that it was really easy for me to get into its story. This is a credit to the writing, he manages to keep fans invested while attracting new readers into the fold. Hey, I am not its intended audience and it is to his credit that I liked it.
Recommended! [3 ½ Out of 5 Stars]
