Christie Golden, In Stone’s Clasp

In Stone's Clasp

Christie Golden

Luna, Sept, $13.99, 400 pp.

ISBN 0373802293

Four times the Shadow came to different worlds and on two occasions the Dancers, along with their Loremasters and Companions have been able to defeat it. The trio is reborn onto each world and the Loremaster remembers their previous times. Jareth knows nothing about the Shadow but when he was thirteen he became the Spring-Bearer able to change the seasons, allow crops to grow and commune with the earth and the animals. Twenty years, later perpetual winter came and Jareth's powers deserted him. He decides to find the gods and demand that his powers be returned otherwise all of Lamath will die.

Kevla the fire dancer and her companion a dragon know that Jareth is the Stone Dancer. They accompany him on his quest to find the gods, knowing he will find his Companion the tiger to help him accept his true destiny. Before searching for the other Dancers, he must find and destroy the Ice Maiden who blocked his power and stopped spring from returning to Lamath. Working together, Jareth and Kevla find the Ice Maiden and if they are able to stop her they must set out to look for the other Dancers to fight the coming Shadow.

The Dancers are elementals who wield magic that is basic to their nature. Readers will love this romantic fantasy whose happily ever after is not a guarantee and the quest to unite the dancers leads to danger, treachery and romance. There is one enemy who wants to see the Dancers fail. He is the emperor and what he is will be made clear in future books in this series. Christie Golden is a brilliant world builder and her characters are people it is easy to care about.

Harriet Klausner