Diviner

September 1, 2011

A convoluted Christian fantasy offers up sadistic theology in place of comprehensible narrative.

While Koren the Starlighter wrestles with whether serving the evil dragon Taushin is worth the greater good, Elyssa masters the healing gifts that come with her Diviner powers. Meanwhile, Jason's friends keep fighting to free the slaves, and the former dragon rulers visit Darksphere to raise a human army. From the opening paragraph, readers are thrown into the middle of several over-cluttered storylines--dozens of characters from two different worlds, human and dragon and ghost and otherwise, each with back story and agenda and secrets--from constantly shifting viewpoints, all of which sound pretty much the same. Most of these plots eventually cohere, somewhat, but the tale does not so much conclude as simply stop mid-action. Although the language can be elegant and the imagery exquisite, such craft is mostly lavished upon detailed, sensuous descriptions of physical and mental tortures. Since this suffering is explicitly deemed essential to "freedom," and characters keep being resurrected from near- and actual death (although fatality seems no hindrance to continued activity), it is hard to distinguish or even take seriously the deeds and experiences of individuals presented as either "good" or "evil."

Even the most devoted fans may find themselves frustrated to the point of giving up by the end. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

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