A pretty fun read, although the majority of the novel is taken up by disorganized running around (in the literal sense, not just a plot sense). The depth of characterization is lacking in this book, as — somewhat like in The Blood of a Dragon — we're in the head of a mostly unremarkable, not-super-intelligent young person. (In this case, she just happens to be a wizard's apprentice.) We don't see a lot of the other characters as she goes about her frantic business.

I also agree with one of the previous reviewers that the wife's reactions ring false (although to me, her increasing obnoxiousness as the book goes on and its resulting thwarting of the apprentice's quest are illogical enough to almost seem like realistic human behavior), and I'll add that I'm not inclined to completely believe in the wizard himself, either — he behaves as might be expected of a wizard dealing with his apprentice, without a smidge more personality. Really, no one in this book is absorbing or extremely realistic, except maybe the spriggan and the children, who aren't expected to have much depth...

The climax and wrap-up are pretty satisfying, if quick; better than in The Blood of a Dragon, but The Spriggan Mirror and The Misenchanted Sword were much better. ( )

Yet another one of Lawrence Watt-Evans' loosely connected Legends of Ethshar series. This one wasn't bad, it's prose is workmanlike, the protagonist engaging, but it didn't thrill me.

The title character is a wizard named Ithanalin (sounds like a prescription medicine to me) who accidentally petrifies himself while answering the door and various parts of his mind end up animating the furniture in his living room. They then run off into the city through the open door, carrying Ithanalin's mind with them, and his apprentice -- a young woman named Kilisha -- has to retrieve all the pieces of furniture then restore Ithanalin.

The story takes place concurrently with the events depicted in "The Spell of the Black Dagger," so none of the experienced wizards are available to help Kilisha, and Ithanalin's wife doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry to restore Ithanlain (which rang false to me), so Kilisha is pretty much on her own. She has to proceed through a series of urban mini-quests to get the furniture back.

Some complaints about the story: (1) As mentioned, the wizard's wife reacts very lackadaisically to the crisis, leaving the apprentice on her own. (2) Retrieving each piece of furniture should have been trying. Some were way too easy -- why even boher to include them if they're that easily retrieved? (3) The ending -- the restoration spell, also cast by the apprentice -- was shown off-screen for the most part, and apparently went off without a hitch. Where's the conflict (and interest) in that?

It's not a bad book, it does show some interesting bits about wizardry and the limitations of magic, but it's also a kind of plot "flowchart," where the protagonist simply ays out a complex solution to a problem then goes about methodically crossing off each step of the process. Not enough dynamism and unexpected happenings for my liking.

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers ( )

OK, I must just be in a mood to tolerate silly. I've started and put down this book at least twice because I couldn't handle it - but this time I didn't find it unbearably silly. It's a silly _situation_, yes, but the story is quite rich. It's a coming-of-age story with several happy endings and some hints at happy beginnings...I don't know if he intends to continue this storyline (probably not, looking at previous ones) but it's very nicely not all-loose-ends-wrapped-up - just most of them. The spriggan and Kelder may have more to say in her story... ( )