Whisperings of Magic

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Commencing three years after the conclusion of Dragonfire, this fine
fantasy sequel features Catryn, the Seer of Taun, whose duty it is to
safeguard her world.

Catryn has returned from being trained in magic by the Elders to warn
her friend and Taun’s king, Dahl, that an unknown evil has arisen in
the north. A disguised Dahl, along with Catryn, Bruhn, and Sele the
Plump, sets off to identify this evil and destroy it if necessary. While
Dahl describes Bruhn as “my most loyal and faithful friend,” Catryn
distrusts him. She later learns that her instincts were not misplaced
when Bruhn is seduced by offers of power provided by Launan, Dahl’s
uncle, the person who had originally placed the Usurper on the throne of
Taun.

Feeling betrayed by the Usurper, Launan now seeks revenge, but since
the Usurper has been “absorbed” by Dahl, Launan needs to kill Dahl
in order to destroy the Usurper. One of Launan’s agents is the dragon
Caulda, whose offspring was slain by Dahl in Dragonfire. Caulda has been
stealing the souls of Taun’s citizens, leaving them Launan’s
mindless slaves. In addition to defeating Launan, Catryn and Dahl must
also rescue the souls from Caulda’s cave.

In a climactic battle, Launan dies, Bruhn redeems himself, and the
souls are released. However, Caulda lives because of a promise made by a
new character, Norl, a boy with his own “whisperings of magic,” and
someone who will undoubtedly play a major role in the third novel.

Though Whisperings of Magic is a satisfactory independent read, those
who have previously read Dragonfire will have a richer experience.
Highly recommended.