ELVENBLOOD

Independent sequel to The Elvenbane (1991). After the rebellion of Shana, the Elvenbane, and her half-blood and dragon allies against the cruel and oppressive Elvenlords, nothing much has changed except that the half-bloods are left more or less alone. But now Lord Tylar has decided to marry his daughter, Rena, advantageously off to an aristocratic dolt; meanwhile, Tylar's son, Lorryn—not really his son, but a human-elven half-blood—is threatened with exposure. Assisted by Myre, a dragon disguised as a human slave, Rena and Lorryn plan to escape. Myre, however, hopes to use the pair to track down and destroy Shana's half-bloods and their dragon allies. Shana, meantime, is captured by nomadic Iron People—their iron jewelry and mental shields protect them against magic—and learns that Jamal, their War Chief, intends to pillage the half-blood settlements, while their Iron Priest, Diric, desires only cooperation and trade. Eventually, Rena and Lorryn arrive among the Iron People to help Shana and Diric overthrow Jamal, while Myre is defeated by her brother, Keman. Finally, they all arrange to break the power of the Elvenlords by providing their slaves and downtrodden relatives with magic-proof iron jewelry. A dreadfully slow start—the first 100-plus pages could have been collapsed into a few paragraphs—but thereafter modestly appealing and involving, if lacking real bite.