THE SEARCH FOR DELICIOUS

What is the definition of Delicious? The King's all for apples, the Queen favors Christmas pudding, and soon the entry in Prime Minister DeCree's dictionary is a bone of contention throughout the court. Alarmed, the King dispatches young Gaylen, DeCree's foster son and Special Assistant, to take a poll of the whole kingdom. But the Queen's churlish brother Hemlock has preceded him, and the question not only raises tempers, it also seems to prove Hemlock's contention that the King plans to ban certain foods. In short order, the country is on the brink of civil war between Squashies and Crisps. So far it's a spoof of society; then Gaylen discovers, in encounterswith a woldweller, dwarfs and the winds, what the reader already knows—that long ago, before they withdrew in disgust at the folly of men, Ardis the mermaid lost the whistle that opens the door to the spring house under the lake that's the source of all water; her doll is there, and she still wants it back. Though the storm in a saucepan tempts Gaylen to echo the spirits' "It's nothing to me," loyalty and love and his own humanity prevail, and, realizing that he has the whistle (bestowed by a minstrel descended from Ardis' diverster), he bargains for her help in thwarting Hemlock's plan to dam the lake and gain control of the kingdom. A tricky, twisty plot but an intriguing one, stylishly spun by the author of The Forty-ninth Magician and other short conceits; she's doing the drawings also, which should be something to look forward to.