The Lady of Seeking in the City of Waiting

Editor and writer Brozek (In a Gilded Light) offers solid fantasy that tempers some clichéd adjectives (dark elves are “ebony”) and ill-conceived names (e.g., the axe-warrior Derax) with solid world-building and a good gothic plot line. In the mysterious city of Shadeside, where people show up from different times and worlds, a woman named Jane appears, having lost her memories. She’s adopted by a family of dark elves, and she and Derax head out to the seedier parts of the city in search of both her identity and the flickering memories of her true love, a man named Gil. Much of the book seems designed as an introduction to the shared world of Shadeside, introducing different denizens (a card-reading seer, a group of fantasy-world traceurs, an honorable cannibal-for-hire) and landmarks like the Ghost Clock, but Jane’s quest coalesces nicely near the end. (Apr.)