THE LADY OF THE SORROWS

Second part of Dart-Thornton's trilogy following her fine debut, The Ill-Made Mute (2001). Once disfigured and mute, Imrhien has recovered her beauty and her voice but not her memory. Disguised as Lady Rohain to fool her unknown pursuers, she must inform the King-Emperor of the treasure she discovered, and find Thorn, the handsome ranger with whom she has fallen in love. But the King is absent, battling rebels and unseelie hordes. Unfamiliar with palace etiquette, Rohain must continue the masquerade despite the intrigues that swirl about the court. Thorn, it turns out, is the King-Emperor! Concerned for Rohain's safety, Thorn sends her to the mystical isle Tamhania-Tavaal when he returns to battle. But Huon, the unseelie leader of the Wild Hunt, still pursues Rohain; his agents deceive her into opening the island's magical defenses, and the creatures turn the island into a volcano. Rohain and a handful of others survive the eruptions and tsunamis, and now she's drawn to the eerie place known as Huntingtowers. There, caught in a waking dream, she regains her memory. It gives little away to reveal that the plot involves the Pied Piper and a power struggle between the leaders of the Fair Realm, Prince Morragan and his brother, High King Angavar.

Generously padded with rococo description, pseudomedieval blather, and thinly disguised folk tales, thus far less original, satisfying, or involving than volume one. Still, Dart-Thornton's clearly talented, and fans of the previous will want to check this one out while keeping fingers crossed for book three.