First thing--this is a sequel and you should read the first book before picking this up. It's good, I promise. There's a lot of character and worldbuilding you'd be missing out on, and while Latchkey doesn't pick up exactly where Archivist Wasp left off, this story is a clear continuation of what came before (vs something episodic like the Dresden Files). (Which, by the way, I find pretty impressive--the first wraps up neatly enough to stand alone, though I am thrilled to pieces to have a sequel.)

But rest assured you're getting the same post-apocalypse scifi ghost story witch's brew as the first time around.

Wasp, now going by Isabel, has managed an uneasy truce between Catchkeep's traumatized former acolytes and the town of Sweetwater even as she tries to recover from her long journey through the underworld. But the death of the high priest is a signal that perhaps the goddess no longer favors Sweetwater, that she has abandoned them for their blasphemy and the town is ripe for the picking. As raiders approach, the town looks to Isabel as Archivist to divine Catchkeep's will, to come up with a way to keep them safe--do they retreat into the barren wastes to risk starvation, or stay and risk a slaughter? And all the while Isabel has to deal with the consequences of her near-death experiences, of the strange hold that the underworld has on her and of her mysterious connection to Catherine Foster, spectral super-soldier extraordinaire.

I read this for free through Netgalley, though I would have bought it anyway on the strength of the first. I mean, if you'll notice, I read it in two days to the detriment of my beauty sleep. I'm also 100% going to buy the third book--do you hear me, Mythic Delirium? I will buy a third book! ( )

Latchkey is the sequel to Archivist Wasp which I read and enjoyed a couple of years ago. I didn’t expect a sequel (the storyline in AW is complete) so was excited to see Latchkey listed as part of Early Reviewers recently.

For a description of Latchkey and AW I’m going to defer to the author’s description in the acknowledgements: ’a weird little cross-genre novel about a far-future post-apocalyptic ghosthunter priestess, the ghost of a near-future genetically-enhanced supersoldier, and their adventures in the underworld’

Latchkey is slow-moving in comparison with other young adult books but I enjoyed the slower pace and the focus on friendships between Isabel and the other upstarts and Isabel and the ghosts (it's very refreshing to read a YA book with absolutely no romance and I understand this is a deliberate choice on the author's part). Whilst the post-apocalyptic world can be dark the focus on friendships and the way the different people in the world end up coming together to try to help each other means there’s quite an optimistic feel overall.

Although the stories in each book are complete it still feels like there’s a lot to learn about the Before-time and what happened to the ghosts and to the world and I hope Kornher-Stace has plans to reveal more about these elements in future books. ( )

Isabel, our heroine and former Archivist is now the leader of a group of young girls who have survived the brutal Catchkeep Priest's regime. She must help her small community survive the raiders of the Waste and she does this with the help of two ghosts she befriended in the first novel - Archivist Wasp. She is still looking for answers to the time before and ends up discovering underground tunnels that help to keep her protect her charges. The interaction between the ghosts and Isabel is interesting and kept my attention. I would recommend reading the preceding book first to give you a better background. ( )

(Cross-posted from: http://www.nerds-feather.com/2018/08/microreview-book-latchkey-by-nicole.html)

Latchkey takes the genre-bending mythology of Archivist Wasp and grounds it in a bigger, busier world, creating a different but worthy reading experience.

First, a confession: I was never on the Archivist Wasp bandwagon when it first came out. While it was on my radar, it never quite bubbled up to the top of the list, and by last year it was just another title to sigh over when browsing the Small Beer Press catalogue. Maybe someday, I thought, once I've read all the other books, I can read that one... Anyway, it turns out the fastest way to push a book up your to-be-read pile is to win an ARC of its sequel, and thanks to the generosity of Mythic Delirium, Latchkey's publisher, I ended up doing just that. While I'll focus the rest of this review on talking about the book whose title is at the top of the page, let me just quickly note two things. First, my response to Archivist Wasp is that it's an objectively very accomplished and unusual book that was enjoyable but didn't quite hit me in the way it seems to have done for others. (It also needs noting that this is a rare female-led YA without any romance plot). Second, it's going to be hard for me to review Latchkey without comparing it to its predecessor, which means there will be mild spoilers for Archivist Wasp itself. If you haven't had the pleasure of the first volume yet, I recommend you do so before reading on.

Latchkey opens several years after the events of Archivist Wasp, in a post-apocalyptic world where the ghosts of the dead are a constant presence. Isabel, formerly known as Wasp, used to be the Archivist - a young woman chosen through ritual combat to be the ghost hunter for a religious sect dedicated to an entity named Catchkeep. Following her adventures in the Underworld with a nameless ghost, learning about a pre-apocalyptic child soldier project called "Latchkey", Isabel has overthrown the abusive systems governing her own life and that of the girls around her (who, side note, were all being trained up to murder her in ritual combat themselves), and built a tentative relationship with the neighbouring town of Sweetwater. But her upbringing and experiences in the underworld have left Isabel with serious trauma, and its hard for her to connect with communities of people who had previously seen her as a rival or a weapon. In Latchkey, an existential threat to the village collides with the (literal) return of ghosts from Isabel's past, as it becomes clear that the route to saving her people's future, and to helping undo some of the harm inflicted on the ghosts of the Latchkey Project, are inextricably linked and in Isabel's hands.

Despite being a continuation of the story told in Archivist Wasp, with many of the same characters and a similar tone, Latchkey ends up hitting quite different notes to its predecessor. Where the first book was a slim, focused narrative with strong notes of a mythological journey - Wasp is literally travelling through the underworld, after all - Latchkey feels in some ways like a more straightforward blend of mystery and action. That's not intended to be a criticism, as the space the book opens up is put to great use showing us how Isabel's world has changed and expanded since her journey with the ghost, bringing a strong sense of wider community and more in-depth worldbuilding to the series. One basic but obvious thing is the different use of names: in Archivist Wasp, almost nobody has a name except for Catherine Foster, the ghost Wasp and her companion are tracking down; Wasp herself only reveals her true name under serious pressure, as part of a pivotal scene for her character. In contrast, Latchkey has a "normal" level of background names for all the people in Isabel's orbit, which immediately throws the questions of identity in Archivist Wasp into much sharper focus by contrast. As Isabel uncovers information about more of the Latchkey children, their names obviously become an integral part of the process of reclaiming their identities, and it makes the lack of name for "the ghost" (i.e. the original spirit who took Isabel to the underworld, who is himself a product of the Latchkey project) even more poignant.

The stronger plot thread for Isabel's "present" also means that Latchkey is a much busier book than Archivist Wasp. Most of the time, this is handled well, although I felt some of the balls got dropped on occasion. For example, a lot is made about evacuation of Sweetwater's non-fighting population into the subterranean tunnels, which ultimately only seems to serve as a vehicle for getting Our Heroes underground for an adventure despite lots of signalling about the kids not having enough supplies or responsible adults which ultimately comes to nothing. Also, the last 15% of the book feels like it's transparently heading for a cliffhanger ending, which is frustrating: if these scenes are setting up your next book, dear author, is it possible to put them in that book so I will actually have the right, fresh emotional reaction to them by the time that books comes out? I can see the logic behind subverting expectations and ending Latchkey with some quieter scenes completing the arc about reclaiming identity, rather than the more traditionally climactic battle, but because there's so obviously too much to do to wrap it up in the remaining pages, the execution didn't work for me.

In the end, I'm left personally very happy with where Latchkey took the story, but with some questions about execution and a sense that for some, the tonal direction this sequel takes might undermine the unique, detached feeling of the first volume. Archivist Wasp was so self-contained that this doesn't feel like a necessary continuation, but it's certainly one that makes the most of its foundations and delivers a strong, intriguing new facet to Isabel's world. I'm still not sure this is a series I'm ever going to love, but it's one that continues to interest me, and Kornher-Stace is doing a lot of very thoughtful, interesting things with Isabel's story that are sure to appeal to those who enjoy well-crafted genre-bending YA. ( )

Latchkey picks up 3 years after where the previous book, Archivist Wasp, left off. It is a somewhat seamless transition, but there are still plenty of unanswered questions. The young heroine, Isabel, is wounded (somewhat permanently) and struggles with this constantly throughout the book. Once you start reading, the book seems to pick up pace, but repeats the same issues, the same story arc, over and over. I just want to get some answers! The book leaves you with an ending that left me anxious and angry. Anxious because everything could have been summed up or answered with another chapter and still left a line out there for more books; angry because I felt that the book rambled on and on with the same predicaments and never addressed the issues or gaps presented in the first book! It was a decent read and I found myself immersed in the world, much to my enjoyment. It was very easy to put the book down for long periods of time, though. I look forward to another sequel...if its only so some of my questions are answered. ( )