The Third Sign

Wilson's cliché-laden fantasy debut opens with callow youth Calen fleeing from an unprecedented attack upon his city. He seeks out forestwalker legend Arvan Eleron to help deliver a critical message to the rulers of his land: the attackers are renegade arlic, Minotaur-like creatures who have traditionally been friends of humankind. It's up to Arvan and Prince Rell Krollner to gain the support of the human lands and their remaining arlic allies before the prophesied “Destroyer” arises. Wilson's laughably flawed prose (“He could have sworn he had heard, or felt, someone ask an unanswerable question”) alternates between gratuitous minutiae and insufficient information, easily overpowering a simplistic and hackneyed plot populated with talking animals and a headstrong, rebellious princess. Even the most generous and undiscriminating fantasy readers will find little to like. (June)