Greenwood, Ed. A dragon's ascension.

(A Band of Four novel). Tor. 366p. map. c2002. 0-765-34144-1. $6.99. SA

This second volume of the Band of Four fantasy series finds the land of Aglirta in turmoil. Under the protection of the Serpants, the warrior Bloodblade assumes the throne. However, he is not much of a king, and does not muster the support needed to calm the chaos that grows as the dragons return to destroy the landscape. The overlord band of four must try to deal with the threats within the country as well as those that come from outside. In sum, it is a bloody mess for all. The Lady Silvertree gains power and is able to smite some of the evil surrounding her, but even she cannot withstand the archwizard turned into The Serpant. It is up to the band and their friends to bind together to fight for survival.

While the basic plot is adequate, the action itself gets monotonous for those readers who like to skip battle scenes. Furthermore, the characters do not stand out individually. The author provides a brief description of the numerous main figures at the end of the book; it would have been handy at the start, since the names themselves are hard to remember and distinguish (e.g., Vaelros. Valath, and Varaeur; Saraedrin. Sarandor, and Sathrar). This reviewer did not think the first volume was particularly strong; this second one is even more disappointing except for a few bright moments. Dr Lesley SJ. Farmer, Lib. Svcs., CSULB, Long Beach, CA