Vincalis the Agitator [Paperback]

In this novel, Wraith is a Warrener who has awakened from the Sleep. He stopped eating the Wayfare that caused the stupor and instead stole his meals from the surrounding city, sneaking out of the Vincalis gate to salvage food from the garbage. Over a period of time, he found others who are not quite lost in the Sleep and weaned them from the Wayfare, but only he can pass through the gate into the city without being destroyed.

One day, as he is searching for food for Smoke and Jess, Wraith finds a market square where people are apparently taking food without paying. He fills a basket and leaves, but is noticed and pursued as a thief. He ducks into an open gateway and is hidden by Solander Artis, the only child of the Master of Energy, third highest position in the Empire.

Solander discovers that Wraith is immune to magic; the magical force just passes through him as if he wasn't there. Solander wishes to study this immunity and conceives a plan to establish Wraith and his friends in the Artis household as remote cousins from the hinterlands. Solander involves his cousin Velyn in the plans and Wraith becomes infatuated with her on sight.

Wraith returns to the Warrens with a box of Artis edibles to find that Smoke has returned to the Sleep when the food gave out, but that Jess is still waiting for him. He tells her of the plan and then leaves to meet Solander and Velyn. They return with an official aircar and smuggle Jess out of the Warrens.

In this story, Solander and Wraith discover that the Dragon Council has discovered a new, more powerful source of magic based on destruction of the souls of the Warreners. They resolve to liberate the Warreners, with Solander working from within and Wraith writing plays to enlighten the populace to the harmful side of magic. In order to protect their identities, Solander underwrites the first play through intermediaries and Wraith pretends that the plays were written by someone else called Vincalis.

This story shows the callous disregard of the Dragons toward the people in the Warrens; the Dragons label them as inhumans and thus not to be considered when the welfare of the whole Empire is at stake. Unfortunately for the Dragons, the god Vodor Imrish disagrees with them and is helping the rebels. From the destruction that results comes the world of The Secret Texts.

This work has many of the strengths of The Secret Texts trilogy, but the storyline does not flow as naturally as the trilogy. Since this is the prequel, the ending is a foregone conclusion, but some of that inevitability appears to have crept into the development of both characters and plot, causing a sense of abruptness. Nonetheless, this story is fully enjoyable, both as a prequel and on its own.

Recommended for Lisle fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of strange societies and stranger magic together with political intrigue and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin