THE DRAGON AND THE FAIR MAID OF KENT

Addition to Dickson’s series (The Dragon in Lyonesse, 1998, etc.) set in a 14th-century England where magic works, and where former college professor Jim Eckert, now Baron James of Malencontri, can turn himself into a large dragon. As usual, Jim’s beset by a host of troublesome visitors. His master-in-magick, the AAA Magickian Carolinus, tells Jim he’s up for promotion to the exclusive Collegiate of Magicians. Prince Edward, accompanied by his beloved, Joan of Kent (first cousins and therefore forbidden to marry), complains of plots by the evil Duke of Cumberland against King Edward III. Jim’s loyal neighbor, Sir Brian Neville-Smythe, is getting married. And the bubonic plague, already devastating London, creeps steadily closer: it’s being spread magically by goblins, who want revenge against humanity. Overall, a rather sluggish, politically heavy entry in this mostly entertaining series.