The Red Country

Kelso's third installment in the Rihannar Chronicles (after 2007's The Moving Water) has a rich, imaginative storyline, but that vision is blurred by an excess of invented language that tends to distract. Arrogant, irrational Princess Sellithar runs away from home, followed by her unflappable tutor, Kastir. As they encounter numerous strange creatures and characters from earlier in the series, Kastir pits residents of the desert against inhabitants of the farmlands, and the princess must find a way to patch up both the kingdom and her quarrelsome relationship with Zam, a telepathic mage who becomes her paradoxical love interest. While Kelso's invention is tremendous and his love-hate bantering somewhat engaging, his hyper-stylized narrative drags down the fun.