THE SORCERESS

Weaving yet more figures from history and myth into the third of his six-volume fantasy, Scott whisks teenage twins Sophie and Josh to London, the stronghold of archnemesis John Dee, for an encounter with Gilgamesh—a half-senile street bum in this era but a master of Water Magic and the oldest human immortal of them all. The twins feel their ways into new powers in the course of a running battle toward (where else?) Stonehenge with the Horned God, the Wild Hunt and other foes. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, their guardian Flamel’s gifted wife Pernelle survives clouds of poisonous insects and attacks from the octopus-legged Old Man of the Sea to escape from Alcatraz Island. Master yarnspinner that he is, Scott expertly cranks up the suspense while keeping his now-large cast in quick motion. He also continues to blur the line between the two sides, injecting notes of ambiguity that will leave readers wondering. Ending in a welter of revelations, reunions and unresolved plotlines, this page-turner promises plenty of action to come. (Fantasy. 11-13)