THE FEROS

The lukewarm sequel to the tepid supervillain series opener The Vindico (2012) underwhelms.

The five former protégés of the villainous Vindico have only two more months of life among the ordinary before at last being allowed to join the League of Heroes. The kids find their time in the doldrums cut short when they are attacked by a splinter group of the League—what gives?—and one of them, computer-genius Emily, is kidnapped by a mysterious third party who controls a team of superpowered Wraiths. Could her abduction be connected to the recent disappearances of League members? James, Lana, Sam and Hayden travel from one superbase to another in search of their friend, leaving a trail of wreckage in their wake as they fend off rebel Heroes, Wraiths and the Vindico, who are, predictably enough, released from their imprisonment to join the fray. King’s sequel suffers from the same flaws that characterized the first book: bland protagonists, double and triple crosses that don’t do anything but move the plot from point A to point B, less-than-compelling motivations behind the various villains’ actions, overwrought dialogue and clumsy exposition. Readers new to the series will be lost in a thicket of comic-book names and superpowers, and even those familiar with the first book may find keeping track of the expanding cast a challenge.

Ultimately forgettable.