Mortalis

July 3, 2000
This hefty fantasy by bestselling author Salvatore (The Witch's Daughter), which launches a new Demon Wars saga, finds the beautiful and powerful gemstone-mage, Pony, grieving for her lost husband, Elbryan. She also faces a major decision: to become mother abbess of the Abellican Church, or to accept King Danube's offer to make her a baroness and secular ruler? Pony agonizes over whether to stand with the church and fight its corruption or to help the king restore order to a shattered kingdom; she opts to travel to her homeland to ponder. Thus, with no demons to kill, the saga starts off detailing the power struggle between church and state. There is a new enemy to defeat in the land of Corona, howeverDa goblin-spread plague that is the deadly legacy of Bestesbulzibar, the evil "demon dactyl" who has already been killed off three times (once in each volume of the first Demon Wars trilogy). Filled with far more angst than action, this volume still contains enough adventure (including, finally, a magical battle against a tigerish monster) to keep it moving at a happy pace. But for fans looking to vicariously shed the blood of evil goblins, fomorians (giants) and powries (dwarves), this may not be enough. And readers with a more mature perspective might find greater enjoyment and similar conflicts in any well-written medieval history. 6-city author tour.

March 1, 2000
Salvatore launches a new DemonWars saga, again set in Corona, where a deadly plague proves too much for the woman known as Pony, who wields considerable magic.

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2000
This hefty fantasy by bestselling author Salvatore (The Witch's Daughter), which launches a new Demon Wars saga, finds the beautiful and powerful gemstone-mage, Pony, grieving for her lost husband, Elbryan. She also faces a major decision: to become mother abbess of the Abellican Church, or to accept King Danube's offer to make her a baroness and secular ruler? Pony agonizes over whether to stand with the church and fight its corruption or to help the king restore order to a shattered kingdom; she opts to travel to her homeland to ponder. Thus, with no demons to kill, the saga starts off detailing the power struggle between church and state. There is a new enemy to defeat in the land of Corona, however-a goblin-spread plague that is the deadly legacy of Bestesbulzibar, the evil "demon dactyl" who has already been killed off three times (once in each volume of the first Demon Wars trilogy). Filled with far more angst than action, this volume still contains enough adventure (including, finally, a magical battle against a tigerish monster) to keep it moving at a happy pace. But for fans looking to vicariously shed the blood of evil goblins, fomorians (giants) and powries (dwarves), this may not be enough. And readers with a more mature perspective might find greater enjoyment and similar conflicts in any well-written medieval history. 6-city author tour. (July)

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 15, 2000
Readers of the Demon Wars trilogy won't be surprised that Salvatore is continuing Jilseponie Wyndon's career beyond the loss of her beloved Elbryan. Many may be surprised, though, at the heights this resumption of her adventures reaches. Grief-stricken and believing that her son by Elbryan is dead (actually, elves are raising him in secret), Pony is offered a barony in Palmaris, the rank of mother abbot of the tumultuous Abellican Church, and the prospect of becoming queen to King Danube of Honce-the-Bear. Then an outbreak of the rosy plague sweeps aside mundane considerations and a large part of the population, including many of the book's characters. Plots, counterplots, cowardice, and heroism are evident in every walk of life as Pony gropes toward making healing magic effective against the plague. The key to healing is in the power of the heretical Master Avelyn's spirit, and with a despised heretic becoming a source of miracles, the Abellican Church may never be the same. Salvatore's style isn't always equal to his themes, but his other skills have grown by leaps and bounds, with Jilseponie a protagonist whose company it is hard not to enjoy. ((Reviewed May 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)