Seeds of Rebellion (Beyonders Book 2)

Seeds of Rebellion is a typical "second book" in a series. The first book reached a conclusion, with the "hero" returning to his world at the end. It could stand alone (though it would not have been very satisfying.) This book starts out with Jason back in his world. He was a "missing person" for a while, then suddenly appeared in a cornfield in Iowa without any recollection of what happened. People just chalked it up to the concussion that he suffered before he went missing. However, he knew better. He went to the zoo one day to see the hippo and reminisce about the portal that took him to the other world. He heard music again, and this time jumped into the cage and forced the hippo to let him through the portal. From there he meets up with old friends, finds some new friends and goes on a quest.
The quest is the typical epic fantasy quest. A group of beings gets together. The group includes a grandfatherly figure, the reluctant heroes and some not-quite humans ("Displacers" that can remove limbs, others that can be reborn by planting their seed after death, and others that live their full life in a full year.) They are out to protect the world from big mean bad guy who is trying to dominate everything. They go through a number of trials to finally reach their goal (an oracle). The young "beyonder" girl gradually develops stronger, new powers (by speaking certain words.) It just seems a lot like every epic fantasy story. I found myself fading through some of the "quest". Luckily, this was shorter than most fantasy books.