The Road Home

The seventh entry in the Guardians of the the Flame fantasy series carries on the heroic adventures in magic of 18-year-old Jason Cullinane, world-weary Walter Slovotsky and their creaturely companions. The recent war with Faerie has left the land devastated and Jason's father dead. Newcomers to the series must discover for themselves that the present action occurs on This Side and that wisecracking Walter is from the Other Side, where in another life he dug Snoopy, the Grateful Dead, Nick and Nora and other anachronisms that slip into Jason's medieval world. Also on hand is Ellogen, the flying dragon who taxis Walter around. The plot has the Slavers Guild arising and trying to enlist Jason and Walter in its toils. More interesting are Walter's personal travails, e.g., whether he will divorce his wife, pregnant by another man, and marry Aeia, whom he long ago delivered from the slavers. This helter-skelter story, whose vulgarity will be best enjoyed by teens, suggests Rosenberg may have run dry with this series. (Feb.)