A Wizard in Peace

Interstellar fix-it men Gar and Dirk and their trusty computer, Herkimer, battle injustice again in Stasheff's fourth Chronicle of the Rogue Wizard (after A Wizard in War). On a long-lost colony world, Puritanism, ""the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy,"" has dominated the lives of the planet's citizens for a thousand years. To combat Puritanism and its Cromwellian Protector, who rules with an iron fist, Gar--aka Wizard Magnus Gallowglass--recruits dissenters such as Miles, who's fleeing from a state-mandated marriage, Orgoru, a quixotic misfit, and Ciletha, an embryonic feminist. Stasheff's usual wit is in sleep mode here, overwhelmed by gratuitously grisly torture scenes and heavy-handed injections from the Bill of Rights. Insipid characterizations and limp dialogue will enhance only the ennui likely to strike all but the most loyal Stasheff fans. (Oct.)