Skybowl

This surprisingly toothless final volume of the Dragon Star fantasy trilogy (after The Dragon Token ) reads more like a melodramatic Russian play than like an epic adventure tale. Pol, sorcerer and High Prince of the Desert, must come to terms with his fanatical cousin Andry, High Lord of Goddess Keep, so the two can pool their magic and influence to defeat a barbarian horde that threatens their people. While Pol and Andry strike an uneasy truce in Pol's castle, surrounded by the intrigues and agonizing of their friends and relations, far away the High Warlord of the barbarians holds Pol's wife and child hostage. The major characters languish passively in their lush surroundings while the reader learns of desperate battles for survival through occasional off-stage reports, a device that makes the entire conflict seem unreal. Rawn writes fluidly and creates reasonably complete characters, but there's not enough action to justify the book's excessive length. The tragic climax, when it comes at last, is lost amid the general angst suffered continuously by all. (Feb.)