A Guile of Dragons: A Tournament of Shadows, Book 1

Morlock Ambrosius, son of Merlin Ambrosius and Nimue Viviana, roams the world of Makers, developed in Enge’s first trilogy (Blood of Ambrose, etc.), in this efficiently excellent epic fantasy. Morlock returns to the Whitethorn Mountains and the dwarfs of the Seven Clans under Thrymhaiam, who fostered him from infancy, and is placed under the charge of clueless Summoner Earno. The Ranga region has stopped shipping provisions to other areas of the Whitethorns, and Guardians have gone missing. Morlock and his foster father, clan elder Tyr syr Theorn, suspect foul play. Earno, on the other hand, assumes the son of traitor Merlin is concocting nefarious schemes. Enge’s engaging portrait of Morlock—who identifies much more as a tallish, less gray dwarf than as the son of a fabled mage—will have readers hunting down earlier books to learn more about the adventurer and his history. Agent: Michael Kabongo, OnyxHawke Agency. (Aug.)