Stone of Tears

This satisfying sequel to Goodkind's powerful debut novel, Wizard's First Rule, has everything one could ask for in an epic fantasy. In the earlier book, Seeker of Truth Richard Cypher tricked the sorcerer Darken Rahl by using Wizard's First Rule (that people are stupid and can be easily misled) into opening the wrong Box of Orden. Though this saved humanity from the evil mage's tyrannies, it also tore the veil between worlds, so the diabolical Keeper of the Underworld can now reach through and seize permanent control of the living. To stop this from happening, Richard must now learn how to be a wizard. The Sisters of the Light promise they will teach him to wield his powers, but they require that he wear a collar of obedience, something he has sworn he would rather die than do. Events sweep Richard and his betrothed, the Mother Confessor Kahlan Amnell, apart from one another; later, in one of the most vigorous battle sequences written for a heroine in modern fantasy, Kahlan leads her underage troops against battle-hardened soldiers, the young warriors naked except for a spectral coat of whitewash intended to make them look like ``spirits.'' Those who like their fantasy big and brassy will revel in this exemplar of the genre. (Oct.)