Mystic Skies

Denzel completes his Mystic trilogy (after Mystic Dragon) with a fun if bog-standard quest fantasy, which finds Pomella AnDone having been aged by her decision, in the previous book, to merge the magical and human worlds. Now the high mystic Yarina is dying at 102 and must pass on her title, but Vivianna, her intended successor, suffers dementia and is elderly herself. The inheritance process leaves Yarina dead, Vivianna comatose, and the land of Kelt Apar masterless. To fill this power vacuum before leadership of the land falls into the wrong hands, Pomella herself must become the High Mystic. She embarks on a quest to earn the power by rediscovering the true name of the land. The more mature version of Pomella that readers encounter in this volume will put many in mind of the heroine of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Tehanu. Her age and wisdom are on proud display as she battles both external forces, like the Hunters, and her own regrets from the past. Those that loved the first two novels will not be let down by this epic finale. Agent: Eddie Schneider, JABberwocky. (Oct.)