MOONCUSSERS

In this sequel to Oddity (2021), 14-year-old Clover Elkin intrepidly leaves hard-won safety to battle malign magical vermin that are plaguing the countryside.

As the Second Louisiana War between the Unified States and the Emperor Bonaparte grinds to a stalemate in the background, Brown sends his large-hearted hero out on the road to join allies old and new—some, like Clover herself, are gifted with magical artifacts and abilities. They face vicious rows with scarecrowlike Daub Jacks and other undead menaces, but there’s a worse danger literally rising up in the trackless Merichote swamp. An old foe and a far older fungus have melded into a massive mushroom monster with frightening powers and plans. The glories of this tumultuous yarn are both the array of rousingly creepy creatures and the diverse cast of doughty girls facing them. Readers will be hard-pressed to pick a favorite character among Clover and the rest of the self-styled Mooncussers, notably her sinuous soulmate, Sweetwater the rattlesnake, and her beloved cloth oddity Doll, Susanna, a small storm of super-strength and bloodthirsty intent (“Now break legs?”). The white lead is surrounded by a racially and ethnically diverse supporting cast. Rytter’s atmospherically dark linocut engravings bring to life both grotesque gremlins and brisk action scenes.

Inventively original, as well as strong both in shivers and in characterization.