THE SHADOW WORLD

The second episode in this formulaic fantasy shifts the scene to the otherworldly Secret Country. Returning after 15 years in this plane, Queen Isadora enlists help from the Horned Lord Cernunnos to rally opposition to the evil Dodman, a dog-headed sorcerer whose plan for conquest calls for draining the land of its magic. Following her on impulse, her drama-queen daughter Eleanor is quickly taken hostage by the Dodman, who demands an exchange. To the rescue marches Isadora’s courageous son Ben with feline sidekick Iggy, plus a centaur, a pair of selkies and other creatures from folklore. Petty, vicious and commanding a corps of clownishly stupid goblins, the Dodman lacks any credibility as a threat; captured and thoroughly drubbed in the climactic battle, he is nonetheless inexplicably left alive and in power to continue his scheming. The author evidently couldn’t think of any other way to keep the series going—but there’s a Prophecy to fulfill, and you know what that means. (Fantasy. 10-12)