Launched with much fanfare,
The Fifth Sorceress unfortunately does not live up to the hype. Instead, Robert Newcomb's debut novel sadly fulfills the stereotype of big fantasy epics as wordy and loosely plotted, with thin characterization. Newcomb does have an interesting, apparently novel approach to magic talent--it is genetically determined. Unfortunately, the talent resides in "pure blood," making magicians qualitatively different from other humans, and giving the book an unhappy subtext. Also, the wizards (male) are good, while the sorceresses (nearly all the female characters) are evil. One hopes the sequel will address this imbalance.
The wicked Sisters of the Coven were exiled and apparently killed centuries before Prince Tristan was born. The son of a peaceful age, the magically talented prince doesn't want to be a wizard. He also doesn't want to become the King of Eutracia--but his coronation is only hours away. Then the sorceresses' specially bred army invades the palace. In the resulting massacre, Tristan, his twin sister, and the Lead Wizard are taken prisoner. Crossing the mysterious Sea of Whispers, Tristan finds himself in an unknown land--a land long since conquered by the Coven, and more dangerous and cruel than he ever could have imagined. --Cynthia Ward
