RECREATED

The romance between an immortal Egyptian and a modern 17-year-old now ventures into the underworld.

In series opener Reawakened (2015), Lily, a white, privileged high schooler, found her life and heart taken over by a reanimated Egyptian mummy, Amon. To save him, Lily must now travel to the mythical netherworld where Amon has hidden himself. It turns out not to be so easy, as she has first to become a sphinx. In order to do this she melds both mind and body with a lioness named Tia. Like legions of protagonists before her, Lily faces countless trials before actually reaching Amon, notably the Cosmic River, where cranky Cherty the ferryman resists carrying her because she’s a living soul. Throughout the journey, Lily experiences dream communications with Amon, so she is fully aware that he is being hunted and tortured in the netherworld. Despite her determination to save Amon, Lily finds herself with a libidinous spilt personality, at least partly courtesy of Tia, as she keeps getting distracted by handsome gods and Amon’s own brother (in a particularly lubricious interlude). The quest unfolds in Lily’s frequently melodramatic voice. Overstuffed ad nauseam with tribulations, the journey is nevertheless anecdotally imaginative, with wonderfully awful creatures such as giant grubs and wasp-esque reapers, and the final battle with the demon Devourer is thrilling.

An overlong ramble through Egyptian lore—and it ain’t over yet.