Double-Down-Final-CoverBy Gwenda Bond

Switch Books (US); Curious Fox (UK), out now

Lois discovers that having friends brings new opportunities – and new dangers…

The second of Gwenda Bond’s stories featuring – and narrated by – Lois Lane is as much fun as the original, with the added advantage that Bond doesn’t have to spend too much time setting up her unique take on the Superman mythos. (Quick version: teenage Lois, living in Metropolis; communicates with SmallvilleGuy in Kansas via various social media groups.) Bond very much can have her cake and eat it with this: Lois and Clark aren’t interacting in person in Metropolis, but via the game, they do have a chance at more than just chat.

There’s two core stories running – a longer term one, involving Lois, SmallvilleGuy and another chatroom user TheInventor, and their attempts to investigate someone who claims he knows about flying people; and the immediate threat posed to two of Lois’ Metropolis friends. The latter dominates, and has plenty of twists and turns, giving Lois insight into what can go wrong in a sibling bond, as well as lessons that will hone her skills as a reporter – and as with the first book, Bond presents information to the reader via Lois’ narration in such a way that you pick up far more than the teenage reporter does herself.

The chatroom thread is great fun to read, partly because with our own knowledge of the Superman story (and the characters therein) we can read considerably more into what’s going on… such as who TheInventor may well be, and what some of SmallvilleGuy’s coded messages actually mean.

Both plots are tightly controlled, with Bond never allowing her protagonists to be merely junior adult versions of their older selves (a failing that unfortunately hits at least one other series recently released) and factoring in some of the usual teenage misunderstandings and angst. It all makes for a fast and highly enjoyable read.

Verdict: Lois Lane triumphs again. 8/10

Paul Simpson