Beyond the Starlit Frost

Frequently pompous and very nearly humorless, Brandewyne's dull plot and heavy-handed lessons on the perniciousness of technology will give readers of fantasy the feeling that they've seen it all before. This sequel to Passion Moon Rising follows Iskander sin Tovaritch (``the only Druswid for the job'') and Rhiannon sin Lothian (a woman raised by giants) on their quest to preserve Tintagel (the post-nuclear holocaust earth) from the forces of evil. Armed with the magical Sword of Ishtar and their ability to change shape at will, the protagonists and a band of followers journey to ``the heart of the Darkness'' to battle scaly knaves called the UnKind, whose sinisterly sibilant speech hints that they trained in elocution with the Hobbit's Gollum. When Iskander and Rhiannon infiltrate the villains' stronghold, they learn that the UnKind possess the machines of the ``Old Ones'' as well as a scroll from those days. A wicked magician is attempting to decipher the ancient text; only Iskander and Rhiannon can stop him--if they combine their powers--requiring Rhiannon to offer Iskander ``what a woman can give to a man only once in her life.'' (Apr.)