Unknown Soldier, Vol. 2: Easy Kill

The second volume of this unflinchingly intense series set in war-torn Uganda continues to deliver a powerful mix of action, espionage, and real life–inspired tragedy. Dr. Moses Lwanga was once a pacifist doctor who left America and returned to his birthplace to help those caught in the middle of Uganda's civil war. But horrible events and mysterious voices in his head have changed him into a one-man army out to stop rebel leader Joseph Kony and his forces. In this volume, Lwanga is approached by a militant cell and drawn into a plot to kill a Hollywood actress making charity visits to the country. In the second story, Lwanga guides an escaped child soldier named Paul back to his home village. Both sections examine the series' recurring theme, Lwanga's belief that Africans must be able to solve their own problems rather than relying on First World nations for aid. Dysart's writing is thought provoking, tense, and holds nothing back. Ponticelli and Masioni, the latter a political refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, both excel at using characters' expression to convey the desperation, fear, and hope driving the story. (Mar.)