A sequel to the paperback Her Majesty's Wizard (1986) finds Stasheff in the same vein as his popular ``Warlock'' series—with a youngish hero learning the ropes of magic in a medieval fantasy kingdom. The story features a college student from Earth transported to a world where every spoken word becomes reality. As an English major, Matt has a rich fund of ``spells'' at hand in the form of the poetry he remembers from Earth, and so he becomes a powerful magician, saves a kingdom, and wins the heart of its young queen. Here, Matt loses his temper and swears an oath to conquer a neighboring kingdom; of course, he immediately finds himself bound to carry out his word—no small task, since the ruler of the territory is Gordogrosso, an evil wizard of great power. Stasheff introduces a number of amusing characters to help his hero: a cyclops, a dragon, a damsel in distress, Friar Tuck, the Fates, and others more exotic, including a dracogriff. He also gets good mileage out of the tag-ends of mangled verse that Matt recites as the basis of his ``spells.'' Palatable (if unambitious) light fare, likely to be popular with the Piers Anthony crowd.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-345-34713-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1992
Third entry in Jordan's monumental Wheel of Time series (The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt). Here, the various factions head toward the city Tear, where, in the Heart of the Stone, hangs the magical sword Callendor that none but the Dragon Reborn may wield. Young Rand, the only man able to use the One Power, already half convinced that he is the Dragon Reborn, strikes out alone. Rand's friend Perrin the blacksmith—he's accompanied by Moiraine, the Power-wielding Aes Sedai, and warrior Lan—suspects that he's turning into a wolf. The junior Aes Sedai, Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve take Mat to Tar Valon to be healed of his evil-magic wound; here, they are given the dangerous new task of flushing out the evil Black Ajah in their midst while evading the latter's deadly traps. Eventually, all will converge at Heart of the Stone, where Rand will seize Callendor and destroy their current evil opponent. Some good plotting here and there, and a rousing finale, but most of the rest is merely embroidered heroic travelogue. Not too bad—if you like monuments.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-312-85248-7
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1991
Since Frank Herbert, author of the mighty Dune series (ending with Chapterhouse: Dune, 1985) died in 1986, rumors have been circulating that his son Brian (Sudanna, Sudanna, 1985) would continue the saga. Finally, in collaboration with Anderson (Star Wars novels, X-files novels, thrillers, etc.) he has: the action of this prequel occurs several decades before that of Dune, the series opener. In a far-future galactic empire, everything from commerce and politics to interstellar travel and longevity depends on a miraculous spice, mÇlange, whose sole source is the desert planet Arrakis. The Emperor, Elrood IX of House Corrino, sends scientist Pardot Kynes to Arrakis to study its puzzling ecology. Elrood’s son Shaddam, meanwhile, plots with the assassin Hasimir Fenring to murder his father, while simultaneously prodding the old emperor to conspire with the despised, genetic-whiz Tleilaxu to develop an artificial source of the spice. A young, lean Baron Harkonnen oversees Arrakis and spice production, while his deadly rival, Paulus Atreides, sends his son, 14-year-old Leto, to planet Ix to study its sophisticated machines. The manipulative Reverend Mothers of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood require both Harkonnen and Atreides genes to achieve their long-standing objective of breeding an omniscient psychic that they can control while remaining dependent on a poisonous spice-liquor to ignite ancestral memories. Undeniably, the authors have accepted a formidable challenge. So how does their effort stack up against Frank Herbert’s originals? Well, the plotting’s as devious and complicated if less subtle, and it’s comparable in scope, with gratifying inventive touches. Still, the disappointingly lightweight characters make for less powerful drama. In a word, satisfying: all Dune fans will want to investigate, newcomers will be tempted, and it should promote fresh interest in the magnificent original series. (Author tour)
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 1999
ISBN: 0-553-11061-6
Page Count: 624
Publisher: Spectra/Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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