DANCING VALLEY

Magical beings, both human and otherworldly, defend mystical plants from sinister creatures in Black’s fantasy novel, one in a series.

Backpacking botanist Anita, lost in a California valley, finds herself at Carolyn’s cottage door. Carolyn is the 140-year-old guardian of Dancing Valley who protects elves, pixies, and leprechauns. Not everyone can see or communicate with these “little ones,” but Anita, like Carolyn, has that ability (“When Anita went camping with the girl scouts and came home and told her parents she’d seen elves riding on the backs of turtles, they called a psychiatrist”), and she’s more powerful than she knows. She’s likewise unaware that she’s already had her hands on something magical: seeds she collected when studying plant life in the Amazon. They’ll grow into magical flora, which Anita can cultivate right there in Dancing Valley. The warlock Bagrim certainly doesn’t want that, as these plants provide a cure for a rare supernatural illness; if the cure is readily accessible, Bagrim can no longer wield the virus as a threat. He sends his minions—towering, snarling dogmen— to steal the plants, or, if need be, destroy them. Fortunately, Carolyn’s neighbors the Goldfields, who include mother-daughter witches in their numbers, are just a few of the myriad available allies. Black’s sophomore series installment moves at a brisk pace as readers meet engaging characters, from the nefarious goblin Wormley to the charming “telecat” Eliza, who communicates telepathically. This momentum comes with bare-bones descriptions, particularly regarding the diverse cast of new and returning beings; some of them, like a dragon, a gargoyle, and a calculating troll clan-leader, get next to no details. The author, however, supplies plenty of entertaining plot turns, starting with a scheme Wormley cooks up that takes full advantage of Bagrim’s plan. Potential romances enliven the pages as well, such as one between Anita and the archaeologist who was her guide in the Amazon jungle and who will surely be surprised to learn that she engages in telepathic banter with a cat.

This lively fantasy parades a gleefully diverse batch of supernatural characters.