The art is actually worse than the first book, as hard as that is to believe: in one panel Rue's mother is helping her dress, and in the next panel on the very same page both of them are wearing completely different dresses. I don't mind when there is less detail in a small frame, but Naifeh is a disaster. It's still ridiculously difficult to tell any of the characters apart.

There are a few new characters in this one, which adds drama but not depth because their relationship to the other characters is never fleshed out. There is a lot of good action, at least, and the ending was exciting.