WOLF-SPEAKER

Pierce continues the story of Daine and her mentor Numair (Wild Magic, 1992). Answering a call of distress from Daine's wolfpack, the two go to Dunlath Valley, where they find not only widespread destruction but a plot to overthrow the king. Once again, it's Daine's "wild magic''—her empathy with animals—that allows them to destroy a magical shield created by evil mages over the valley. Mysteries concerning Daine's father and a magical badger who visits her were introduced in the first book. This disappointing sequel does little to resolve them; in fact, aside from a conventional sword-and-sorcery good-guy/bad-guy tale, there's little here to move the plot along. Daine's conversations with wolves, mice, birds, and horses are unconvincingly sophisticated, while characters behave with as little logic as a TV cartoon. Fantasy fodder, but only for the famished. (Fiction. 10+)