Forest Mage

October 1, 2006
Continuing adventures begun in " Shaman's Crossing" (2005), Nevare Burvelle comes home to find that the plague from which he was magically healed has stricken his homeland and family. (First-person narration heightens the impact of his guilt and horror.) He returns to the forest to find a cure in ancient magic that is extraordinarily demanding to employ and can wreak more havoc than healing. The forest is drawn in delicate, vivid language reminiscent of Hobb's treatment of the rivers and ocean in the Liveship Traders trilogy. A fine example of how to avoid middle-book slump. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)