The Goblets Immortal

Overmyer (Circus in a Shot Glass) fails to deliver on the promising premise of this slow-moving series opener. Six goblets grant magic powers to anyone who drinks from them. Once protected by a group of magic users called the Circle, the goblets are now lost. Aidan is one of the Blest, the revered offspring of former Circle members, but he lives with the crushing guilt of having unintentionally used his powers to make his family disappear when he was a child. Aidan’s seemingly impossible hopes of getting his family back are kindled when the dangerous mage Meraude appears to him in a dream and offers a bargain: if Aidan finds her the Questing Goblet, one of the six, Meraude will return Aidan’s family. Aidan embarks on a wild-goose chase while skirting another enemy, Lord Dewhurst, who has put a price on his head. Overmyer’s plot is dense and well-constructed, but a sluggish opening makes it difficult to invest in the characters and will lose impatient readers before the story picks up. The conclusion, meanwhile, leaves too many threads dangling. Epic fantasy fans will be disappointed. (Feb.)