The Rogue

In the solid sequel to 2010's The Ambassador's Mission, healer Lorkin leaves Kyralia to live among the Traitors. Being both male and a foreigner, he must cope with his lowered status in Sanctuary, the Traitor's homebase. Meanwhile, Dannyl, Kyralia's ambassador to Sachaka, investigates ancient Ashaki texts that might shed light on the recent use of highly controlled black magic. In the mystical Magician's Guild, beautiful novice Naki draws awkward teen Lilia into a world of sex, illicit drugs, and black magic. Meanwhile, Lorkin's mother, Sonea (protagonist of Canavan's Black Magician books), and the thief Cery deal with the threat of the titular rogue who threatens Cery's life and livelihood. As the midpoint in the trilogy, it's still hard to see how all of these stories will connect, but Canavan nicely moves the plot along as her characters grow and change. Canavan does a solid job of providing textual exposition for returning readers who might need refreshers on this ever-expanding world, but newcomers would be best off starting with the previous book. (May)