Bell visits many of the same themes as in her The Goblin Wood
, but with few of the complexities of that novel. This fable takes place in the walled medieval city of Tharn, where the people mistrust the wizards and view magic as a necessary evil. Dayven has just turned 14 and, like all boys his age, is tested for magical abilities—and discovers that he, like his grandmother, possesses the gift. Lord Enar recruits Dayven to join the ranks of the wizards in order to spy on them and to report their intentions; the Tharn are on the brink of war with the neighboring Cenzar, and Lord Enar fears the wizards may be sympathetic to the enemy. Early on, readers learn that Dayven's grandmother was sentenced to death for her betrayal of Tharn, planting a seed that things may not be as they seem. In a predictable turn, the author reveals that the Cenzar are a peaceful, agrarian people who were displaced from their home by the manifest destiny of the Tharn years before. Dayven and his wizard master, Reddick, visit the Cenzar, ostensibly to spy on their military preparations, and the hero learns of their true motive: the wizards are working to help the Cenzar in their peaceful purpose. Unfortunately, the characters here are not as well-rounded as the author's previous cast; the wizards are good-hearted busybodies, the Cenzar peace-loving farmers, and the Tharn come across as destructive bigots. Well-intentioned but thin fare. Ages 10-up. (Mar.)
