Awaken the Three

Jennings returns to the world of Gift of the Shaper in the sweeping second fantasy of his Highglade series. Young blacksmith Thornton Woods returns to the city of Ellenos with the Athrani army, hoping to reunite with his father and his childhood friend, Miera, who has become a goddess known as the Shaper of Ages and has sealed herself in the Otherworld to contain her newfound powers. When Thornton meets the High Keeper of Ellenos, he learns that his father is dead and that the only way to find Miera is with the help of the dangerous sleeping gods known as the Three: the Traveler, the Holder of the Dead, and the Ghost of the Morning. Meanwhile, General Duna tries to retake her home from the Chovathi invaders, and Kuu, a wolfwalker, works to awaken the Ghost of the Morning. Jennings peppers his world with inventive details (such as how the Chovathi spawn from the severed limbs of their matriarch), but with so many plotlines, new readers may have trouble connecting to the characters. Returning fans, however, will be pleased to see the action still going strong. This is a solid series entry. (Aug.)