Mel Odom, The Quest for the Trilogy

The Quest for the Trilogy

Mel Odom

Tor, Mar 2007, $25.95

ISBN: 0765315173

After Grandmagister Edgewick "Wick" Lamplighter vanished while searching for rare books and fighting off evil doers, his assistant recently promoted Grandmagister Juhg wants to stay home studying how to establish schools throughout the realm. However, wizard Craugh directs him to continue Wick's quest so Juhg searches for three encrypted journals that belonged to the missing Grandmagister.

Upon completing the first leg of his literary quest by finding the journals, Juhg reads the Wick entries of seeking three magical weapons lost after the battle of Fell's Keep. Craugh says these artifacts are needed to stop an evil person from employing a weapon of mass destruction. As he goes into the field on his quest, Juhg also battles the malevolent Goblinkin who care little that the world is in peril.

This is a terrific entry in one of the best fantasy series on the market today (see LORD OF THE LIBRARIES). The storyline is fast-paced even when the plot pays homage to libraries. Especially fascinating is Juhg "reading" Wicks' journals as if he is Wick (that segment is worth the price of admission). Fantasy quest fans will appreciate Mel Odom's latest thriller in which once again the hero hopes to prove that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Harriet Klausner