cover image King of the Dead: Book II in the Lens of the World Trilogy

King of the Dead: Book II in the Lens of the World Trilogy

Roberta A. MacAvoy. William Morrow & Company, $19 (286pp) ISBN 978-0-688-09600-7

In a remarkable sequel to Lens of the World , the wandering optician Nazhuret, who has renounced his birthright as a powerful noble, is sent from his native Velonya to the neighboring land of Rezhmia to forestall a disastrous war. Accompanied by his lover Arlin, Nazhuret sets off to see his great-uncle Sanaur Mynauzet, ruler of Rezhmia. Their arrival coincides with an earthquake, which shatters the city and offers an ominous portent for their mission. Nazhuret is greeted fondly by the sanaur and bitterly by Reingish, heir to the throne and Nazhuret's double. The Velonyans survive Reingish's attempts to kill or dominate them, and Arlin saves the life of the sanaur. They fail in their peacemaking attempts, however, and race back to warn their compatriots, along the way uncovering the truth behind the war-provoking incidents. MacAvoy triumphs again in his second chronicle of a man who seeks neither power nor adventure but finds himself in the center of events only he can alter. (Nov.)