A Hero’s Throne

The second installment of Lawhead’s Ancient Earth trilogy (after The Realms Thereunder) is a bleak and gruesome affair in a world untouched by joy or decency. The unlikely duo of Freya, obsessive and paranoid, and Daniel, a sword-happy bundle of testosterone, undertook a first quest at age 13, venturing into the underground city of Nidergeard. Eight years later, distrust and miscommunication between the two youths leads to a rocky start for their new task: gathering information about the dark forces that have overwhelmed the city and slaughtered the sleeping knights who were meant to be its salvation. The grisly details are effectively described and the characters, though two-dimensional, are vividly drawn. What is lacking is a side to root for. So unpleasant are Freya, Daniel, and their hectoring mentors that one wonders why the world that produced such “heroes” is worth defending to the death. (Jan.)