Cartomancy

January 16, 2006
Bestseller Stackpole's second book in his Age of Discovery series (after 2005's The Secret Atlas
) offers more complex geopolitical intrigue shaped by magic—in particular, the chaotic "wild" magic released more than seven centuries earlier by "the Cataclysm," when the Empress Cyrsa split the realm into "the Nine Principalities." Grandmaster cartographer Qiro Anturasi, despite being the prisoner of Imperial Prince Cyron of Nalenyr, has somehow been able to create a brand new continent in what had hitherto been an unoccupied portion of the ocean. Meanwhile, Qiro's grandson, Kelos, who has been sent to map the wild lands of Ixyll, has been captured by Prince Pyrust of Deseiron, who, like Cyron, schemes to unite and rule the Nine Principalities. A profusion of characters and subplots slows the pace, but there's adventure aplenty for those who like their fantasies big and bloody.

February 15, 2006
As the world faces an invasion from an unknown enemy, brothers Keles and Jorim Anturasi, grandsons of the Royal Cartographer, along with their sister Nirati embark on perilous quests to reawaken the sleeping legends of the past. The sequel to A Secret Atlas continues the author's ambitious tale of love in a time of danger and faith in a time of no hope, with his carefully layered plot and intriguing characters adding depth. A good choice for most fantasy collections.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2006
The prolific and gifted Stackpole continues the fantasy saga he began in " A Secret Atlas" (2005). Its setting is based on the great age of European exploration in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In that era, maps were rare, expensive, and often credited with supernatural or, at least, mysterious powers. In the world of Stackpole's fiction, maps constitute a potent form of magic and are expected to bring together two brothers and a sister from alternate worlds to complete a collective quest: a life-or-death search for their homeland, which is menaced by invaders who can be defeated only by legendary champions who shall rise from the dead (shades of the legend of Frederick Barbarossa!). Sufficient suspense, enough action, intelligent characterization, and detail drawn from this-world history all boost " Car"tomancy well above the ruck of the standard quest tales, though to its credit, it can be enjoyed simply for the quest, too. Another feather in Stackpole's already well-plumed cap.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)