In the Red Lord's Reach (1977 original; edició 1989)

I've been looking ofr this for along time as I considerably enjoyed the first boo in the series. I had hoped for a more developed plot, but this is just more of the same. Not bad, at all, but could be better.

Alaric having escaped from his estranged family makes his way over the mountains befroe having some more adventures. Again each is very piecemeal and reads as if a standalone for a magazine. I had hoped/ expoected tis would be mroe of a defined novel, but it isn't, although at one point he seems almost settled and accepted inot a new community, events prove otherwise and he's ready to move on, although another book in the series was never written.

Alaric's magical power seems ot have no limits on distance, which is somewhat odd - especially as in the previous book the family memebers did seem to be distance limited. But other than that ti is all very well concieved - all of the characters acting in completely belivable manner without too many sycophants rolling over at the slightest change in direction. There is an increased mystical content, although it never bcecomes completely clear how much real power Kata held. Again there is space in the unwritten next book to develop this more - but it probably wouldn't manage in a series of short stories. It is the depth of the minor characters that make this stand out from the average 70s fantasy, and a with a well detailed world in the bargain, it is worth reading, if not exceptional.

Not quite what I'd hoped for, but still an entertaining read. ( )