Touch of Power

In this pallid series launch, Snyder (Spy Glass) attempts to combine fantasy and romance, to the detriment of both. In the Fifteen Realms, healers had once been admired for their lifesaving abilities to remove illness and pain. Then a plague swept through the Realms, and healers were blamed and hunted. Avry of Kazan is the last living healer, and using her power is a hanging offense. Kerrick of Alga, a bewilderingly handsome man, believes that Avry’s powers can be used for good. When he breaks Avry out of jail the night before her execution, Avry is thrust into the midst of political intrigue and romantic entanglement, both of which she finds confusing and exhilarating. The encounters between Avry and Kerrick are bland and only faintly romantic, but hints of intriguing concepts may be fleshed out in the volumes to come. Agent: Bob Mecoy. (Jan.)