Book Review: “Amulet #7: Firelight” by Kazu Kibuishi

Many Potter fans were introduced to Kazu Kibuishi and his graphic novel series Amulet after Kibuishi illustrated new covers for the American editions of Harry Potter in 2013, just before the release of the sixth Amulet book, Escape From Lucien. It didn’t take long for Potterheads to get hooked on the series, and you’ll be happy to know that Amulet #7: Firelight has just been released!

Firelight picks up right where Escape From Lucien leaves off: Navin, General Pil, and Aly are trying to reach Valcor, hoping to reunite with Emily as she takes on Elf King, and Emily and Trellis are trying to locate Trellis’s stolen memories, which they believe will give them information they need to defeat the Shadows once and for all.

Kibuishi’s richly imagined world only becomes more complex and fascinating in this volume, as the origin of the Shadows – and their true purpose – comes to light, coinciding with deepening tensions within Emily as she struggles to do the right thing despite the sinister power of the Stone vying to control her. My one complaint about the previous installment was that I wished I had gotten the chance to see more of Emily’s internal development – amid all the action and plot twists, we hadn’t seen what was going on inside her head for quite some time. I’m happy to report that I have no such complaints about Firelight! Emily and her internal development is front and center – and with some truly thrilling/terrifying consequences!

Firelight had me on the edge of my seat, maybe more than any other installment in the series so far. Perhaps because we are drawing near to the close of the story, the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before, and I can honestly say that I don’t know where Kibuishi is going to take us next. If you haven’t yet given this series a try, I highly recommend it!

There are two volumes left in the series, and sadly probably a few years yet before we’ll be able to take in Amulet in all its glory – but I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.