Bursts of Fire

Forest eases into her seven-book Addicted to Heaven Saga with an emotional story of familial love, tension, and mistrust among three sisters and three brothers in Shangril, a land of seven kingdoms devastated by conquest and fanaticism. Three teenage sisters—sensible elder Meg, spoiled Janat, and fearless little Rennika—live in peace in Orumon with their mother, Talanda Falkyn, a powerful magiel (magician). Talanda controls the Amber prayer stone used to petition Heaven and the Many Gods. Troubles begin when King Artem Declan invades Orumon and the other kingdoms in a vicious holy war. Guided by the ruthless evangelical magiel Wenid, Artem outlaws worship of the Many Gods in favor of the One God and imprisons or kills all other magiel. The Falkyn sisters escape Orumon and encounter the revolutionary peasant Sulwyn Cordal, who brings hope to stopping Artem’s advance. Meanwhile, Artem’s three sons confront the war differently: illegitimate Uther is loyal to the cause, teenage prince Huwen is reluctant, and young Eamon, who has a tragic past, is suicidal. Emphasizing characters and lessons of tolerance, Forest employs the fantasy world as an allegory to address issues of religious intolerance, immigration, xenophobia, refugees, and mental illness; this gives the novel a timely feel, but allows the plot to drag. Readers who relish adventure mingled with a message will be engrossed in the plights of the two sets of siblings. (Aug.)