FAERIE LORD

The clever dénouement of the series is crisper than the middle installments but strikingly obsolete in its depictions of gender and race. Two years after refusing Queen Blue’s marriage proposal, Henry’s in a rut: Exams are pending, he’s expected to become a teacher (boring) and he still lives in that blasted “all-female household.” So when Pyrgus and Mr. Fogarty contract a bizarre disease, Henry translates to the Faerie Realm to help. The illness ages Faeries rapidly, burning up their future with untreatable fever. As Henry, Blue, Madame Cardui and others are separated by geography, the narration zigzags from thread to thread, gleefully keeping characters (and readers) in the dark as long as possible. In his quest to save Blue, Henry’s aided by a blue-skinned desert boy with “body odour” from a stereotypically mystical, “primitive” tribe. Henry finds Blue inside a mountain, taken hostage—shirt torn, breasts showing, “chained, abused, frightened . . . sexy.” The disturbing definition of female sexiness just tops off this queen’s notably passive and love-focused role, and may well outweigh Brennan’s sweet touches and lovely final revelations. (glossary) (Fantasy. 10-14)