The aspect of Prospero and his books as laid out in the opum of "The Tempest" presupposes certain ideals but through the use of metaphor makes his journey as a story of caution. With "Prospero In Hell" [L. Jagi Lamplighter/Tor/347pgs], the second in a book following the offspring of the elusive wizard, the interaction of a family is at the core of what the novel suggests. While again, the establishment of the world takes a bit to lock onto, once the groundwork is layed (especially for a newcomer to the series), the progression makes infinite more sense. Seen through the eyes of the oldest offspring of Prospero: Miranda, this ode takes places in a modern world where, through the Water Of Life, the still unstained handmaiden can keep all of her siblings (who number more than six) immortal. Like Kings of a land, each sibling from the mad Mephisto to the snobbish Eramus to the lost Gregor each commands a staff made from trees on Prospero's Island which give them each a power (i.e. silence, transportation, decay, etc.) which serves them in their day-to-day quests for knowledge, power and the like. When Prospero goes missing, Miranda, who runs their company Prospero Inc. which deals with supernatural phenomena all over the world investigates (along with her detective/fairy-like PI: Mab) the disappearance of her father under mysterious circumstances. While the book hardly shows much interaction with the modern world, "Prospero In Hell", like "Interview With A Vampire" is aware of modern times but does not embrace it. Many interludes within the novel speak more to the Victorian Era which is an interesting interaction. Eventually as the progression takes over, the family has to band together and journey to Hell to try to find their patriarch. The imagery contained within the underworld is interesting but not altogether new. The idea of bringing this notion into modern times is unique as a read but its intent rings not specifically true. That said, especially with the inlays of Caliban reformed as an NYU professor and an incubus, infatuated with Miranda, who impersonates her long dead Ferdinand to his own ends, offers some neat side trevails. Out of 5, I give it a 3.
