Zianno Zezen ("Z" to his friends) and his fellow Meq—perpetually 12-year-old Basque immortals—embark on more world-spanning adventures in this enjoyable if not particularly memorable sequel to Cash's debut, The Meq
(2005). Z and company seek the renegade Fleur-du-Mal and his accomplice, Zuriaa, the sister of Z's friend Ray. Their urgency increases when the renegades capture Susheela the Ninth, the oldest living Meq and the only person who knows the location of the mystical Sixth Stone. Like The Meq
, the tale is a whirlwind of historical detail and name-dropping, mostly related to the 20th century, from Babe Ruth's home runs to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Though some of the coincidental connections are unlikely to the point of absurdity, they provide a good anchor for the times. Cash has smoothed out his writing style, improving the story's flow, but in the process has lost some of the original's sparkle. (May)
