Angel of Storms

Canavan’s disappointing second worlds-spanning Millennium’s Rule novel (after Thief’s Magic) introduces two characters living small existences in the worlds of their birth and then draws each of them into the grand setting of many worlds connected by magic and the sorcerers who are powerful enough to journey between them. Rielle Lazuli is an artist who is invited to leave her isolated and magic-poor world by a powerful sorcerer; Tyen Ironsmelter is an inventor and a teacher at a magic school. When the Raen, the ruler of all the worlds, returns after a long absence, Rielle and Tyen are drawn into the struggles of the powerful: one trained by the Raen’s most trusted leader, the other at the head of a gathering rebellion. This secondary-world epic develops slowly. Tyen has an interesting personal goal and pursues it avidly, but Rielle is mostly passive, her characterization limited to her instant attraction to any powerful man in her vicinity. It’s a shame to see such an interesting setting dragged down by weak characterization and a tepid plot. Agent: Fran Bryson, Bryson Agency (Australia). (Nov.)