THE NINTH TALISMAN is the second book in Lawrence Watt-Evans’ “The Annals of the Chosen” series, and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since the series opener, THE WIZARD LORD. That book discussed the convoluted political structure of Barokan: The Wizard Lord rules all of the land, but in turn, he is monitored by eight Chosen – normal humans who are granted supernatural magical powers.

The Chosen’s powers are intimately tied to those of the Wizard Lord, so if the Lord kills one of the Chosen, the Lord loses the associated one-eighth of his own power. It’s a fantasy novel of political checks and balances, and normally the system works very well.

But every once in a while, a Wizard Lord goes mad and needs to be removed from power. The Chosen gather and attempt to kill the Lord in order to restore the land and the people to safety and peace.

In THE WIZARD LORD, we learned of the system and witnessed the Chosen bring down the Dark Lord of Galbek Hills. Now, in the second installment, we start a few years after that event, in the town of Mad Oak, with the Chosen Swordsman. And he is there when a road (a road!) is built from the neighboring town. Roads like this are unheard of in this part of the Wilderness, and when he asks, he learns that the current Wizard Lord is embarking on a huge campaign of nationwide public improvements. Well, no Wizard Lord has ever done that before.

And so the Swordsman leaves town to visit the new Wizard Lord and see what’s going on. What’s going on is pretty amazing. The Wizard Lord is intent on improving the lot of Barokan citizens, but he is also intent on ruling for life, and to do so without the use of magic. This would mean there is no use for any wizard, or indeed, any of the Chosen. Uh-oh. And just what is this mysterious ninth talisman? Does this mean there is a ninth Chosen?

Watt-Evans’ brilliantly imagined world of Barokan is really fascinating. The complicated political structure of its numerous towns and the intricate national governmental structure is a joy to behold, but would probably be a nightmare in the real world. And since we’re seeing two very dangerous Wizard Lords in the space of a few years – and the first two books of this series – perhaps it is time for this Wizard/Chosen system to change. Exploring this potential upheaval is what this series is all about.

There are some drawbacks: Watt-Evans is too fond of repetition, and it does seem odd that Barokan hasn’t progressed towards a more coherent social network in hundreds of years. But these are minor quibbles.

When so many of today’s fantasies are nothing more than magical wilderness romps, Watt-Evans’ “The Annals of the Chosen” series is a gripping study of power balances and the morality of what’s right and what’s wrong. Very highly recommended. –Mark Rose

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• THE WIZARD LORD by Lawrence Watt-Evans