The Wanderers

The final volume of Brandon’s genre-fusing trilogy (after The Traitor’s Daughter and The Ruined City) concludes in grand style. Jianna Belandor’s beloved, the altruistic physician Falaste Rione, has been imprisoned and sentenced to death. Jianna embarks on a desperate mission to free him as the increasingly unstable magical wellspring known as the Source threatens to destroy every living creature on the Veiled Isles. As the world becomes more surreal—hordes of undead Wanderers, “devoid of memory, intellect, emotion,” are appearing everywhere, while amphibious humanoid Sishmindris begin a revolt against the oppressive human regime—Jianna’s father, accompanied by a dysfunctional group of arcanists, sets off on a quest to somehow cleanse the Source before it’s too late. The audacious fusion of fantasy, romance, and zombie fiction combines with Brandon’s exceptional character development in a highly imaginative, action-packed narrative that provides tremendous fun and escapism, lacking only an adventurous ending. (Aug.)