Diviner

October 10, 2011
The fourth book in Davis's Dragons of Starlight series begins with the human slave Koren going on a special mission for her dragon master, Taushin. As she seeks to do his bidding, her human friend, Jason Masters, who is from another world, continues to fight to free all humans in both worlds from bondage. Alternating between Koren's journey and Jason's battles, Davis's novel is steeped in the mythology he has constructed in the three previous novels. In Davis's worlds, stars are magical vehicles that not only transport but become one with Starlighters, who themselves are specially gifted prophetesses. Bits of these stars, called stardrops, have properties that can either severely injure or magically heal humans and dragons alike. This densely constructed universe is chock full of characters, perhaps too many, and is also persistently allegorical. The Starlighters' prophecies, like scripture, are beneficial only when listeners receive them with a humble heart. For those already immersed in Davis's fictional worlds, this latest installment is sure to please, as well as to answer burning questions and raise some new ones.

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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