From Publishers Weekly
Like 2002's well-received Voyage of the Shadowmoon, this second novel in Australian author McMullen's Moonworlds Saga expertly blends fantastic melodrama and broad farce. It also demonstrates the truth of the old saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Vain sorcerers create Dragonwall, a world-encircling magical barrier, to improve the weather, but they discover that the wall's etheric energy offers them an irresistible temptation to incinerate their rivalsâ€"or any entity that imagines it could exist outside their control. It's up to more cautious, self-doubting people to destroy Dragonwall, including a cowardly court musician, a centuries-old reformed vampire, a guilt-laden priestess and a drunken but chivalrous young lout who wishes to better himself. It takes a while for all those characters to get to where they need to be, literally or figuratively, and meanwhile agents of the Dragonwall sorcerers are plotting to thwart them. McMullen tells a lively tale that jumps from person to person as the plot meanders along, but the book is especially attractive for its tricky shifts from dark, passionate intrigue to sly but rowdy slapstick, like a Storm Constantine story line performed by Monty Python. There may be a lot of story to come before the world's balance of magical powers is restored, but readers won't mind if additional books in the series are as entertaining as this one.
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From Booklist
In 2002, on the heels of his critically acclaimed Greatwinter trilogy, a saga firmly rooted in sf territory, Australian rising star McMullen launched the Moonworlds series with
The Voyage of the Shadowmoon, a story owing more to fantasy. In the second helping of the saga's eccentric wizards, embattled medieval cities, and enigmatic "glass" dragons, McMullen adds to a nucleus of characters from
Voyage a few colorful new ones: Laron, a 700-year-old vampire in a 14-year-old body; Terikel, an ancient sage from a vanishing magical sect; and Wallas, a royal musician masquerading as a commoner after being falsely accused of regicide. While
Voyage featured an insidious device known as Silverdeath, here the itinerant protagonists confront Dragonwall, a series of megaliths designed by powerful wizards to undo Silverdeath's destruction that, unfortunately, may prove just as deadly. McMullen has a gift worthy of the best mainstream authors for creating memorable, finely nuanced characters, making him must-reading for fantasy enthusiasts weary of routine sword-and-sorcery outings.
Carl HaysCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
