Not Quite Scaramouche

This sequel to Not Quite the Three Musketeers (1999), part of the Guardians of the Flame series, is not quite honed to rapier sharpness. The story proper doesn't begin until 50 pages into the book, when a contentious group of protectors sworn to Baron Jason Cullinane sets out to transport Jason and his mother to a session of parliament convened by Emperor Thomen. The road to Biemestren, where the parliament is to congregate, is fraught with danger in the form of assassins from rival baronies. Along the way, modern colloquial expressions annoy more than amuse; slang and topical allusions used within this essentially fantastic realm fail to superimpose a contemporary sensibility on these mythic archetypes of dragons, swordsmen and wizards. The novel does contain patches of witty and vivid prose, such as the scene in which Baron Cullinane's guardians attempt to force a potential assassin to reveal his hiding place by using themselves as targets in a zigzag flight across an unnaturally silent meadow. Rosenberg may be off his mark this time, but he is quite capable of a smartly executed riposte in the next adventure in this series. (Jan.)