The Return of the Sorceress

Bestseller Moreno-Garcia (Mexican Gothic) packs an impressive plot into limited space in this dark sword-and-sorcery secondary world fantasy. After Yalxi’s childhood friend turned lover, Xellah, steals the Diamond Heart that powers her magic, Yalxi is ousted as Master of the Guild of sorcerers and imprisoned. She escapes and seeks out a nahual, a magic spirit that can take the form of an animal and must drink blood to perform magic. After bargaining with the nahual to heal her wounds, the pair set out to regain the diamond, which is tainted with the essence of Yalxi and Xellah’s former master, Teotah, and will consume Xellah if he continues to use it. Along the way, Yalxi must make deals with those she has wronged in her ascent to the top and confront a past she has long repressed. This well-plotted novella zips along with the darkly fascinating Yalxi at the helm. The steep price tag marks this as being for the devoted Moreno-Garcia fan, but Yalxi’s rage and ambition are sure to entrance any fantasy reader fond of antiheroines. [em]Agent: Eddie Schneider, JABberwocky Agency. (June) [/em]