STORMBOUND

Star, the most powerful pegasus in Anok, must learn to control his gift of starfire or risk succumbing to evil as his predecessor, Nightwing the Destroyer, did.

Uneasy in his legacy and his role in the newly formed River Herd, Star must decide whether to follow the path of a healer and peacemaker or that of a warrior. When word of a plague sweeping the herds reaches the young pegasus, he offers to help. However, his compassion may be his undoing. He and his friends find themselves in the middle of a feud between the herds that may claim the lives of those Star holds most dear. When Star’s closest friend, Morningleaf, is captured by Rockwing as part of his plot to claim the Sun Herd’s land, it may be the death of the dream for unity among all of the herds. This epic adventure is filled with complicated ethical dilemmas and life-and-death choices. Fliers and walkers alike must decide between power and humility, bitterness and forgiveness, and war and peace. While this second installment is more richly developed than series opener Starfire (2014), it is still hobbled by a too-large cast with unnecessarily complicated names that have a tendency to run together: Rockwing, Grasswing and Nightwing, Hazelwind and Bumblewind, Echofrost and Frostfire, Darkleaf and Morningleaf—these are just a sampling.

The compelling if formulaic plot is muddled by confusing nomenclature.