Wild Magic (book 2 of Fool's Gold) by Jude Fisher
01/12/2003 . Source: Phil Jones 

pub: Earthlight/Simon and Schuster. 565 page enlarged paperback. Price: £10.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-7434-6128-2.

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His daughter Katla, having her hand restored by a seither, she comes to realise her gifts. Her ability to sense the earth, rocks and minerals that lay beneath. Bored with home life in Rockfall, she smuggles herself onto a ship in the place of her brother, heading for the northern capital.

The ship sets sail on a mission to kidnap the King's chief ship builder so that Aran can build a ship capable of traveling through the ice far to the north.
In the south, hatred is being generated by Tycho Issian, having fallen under the spell of Rose of the world.

He saw it that the northern King had stolen her to be his Queen. Driven by lust, he pushes for a new war against the north to get the Rose of the world back. The apprentice sorcerer Virelai is caught up with his new master Tycho's murderous plans. He has to witness the slaughter of numerous nomadic folk. His life now worse than his previous life on Sanctuary.

Peace loving Saro is forced to take up arms and train to be a soldier. His brother, now disabled and believed to be bedridden, manipulates their father, making Saro's life more and more miserable. He escapes but gets hijacked by Virelai who knows he has the death stone and is also seeking his escape with Bëte his magical cat.

This is the second book in the 'Fool's Gold' trilogy and often the problem with second books or films for that matter is they often seem like fillers or stop gaps for the really good stuff that is to follow in the final book. This isn't the case with this book. It has carefully balanced plotting with good character development and a few good surprises thrown in.

Unlike a lot of fantasy, it is not just a straight cut fight against good and evil. The lines are smudged, with no side better or worse than another. There are down right evil characters such as Tycho, who is a murderous dictator. Also, characters who are diametrically different such as the nomadic people who are both peace loving and deeply caring about the environment and world they live in.

The characters do seem to live and breath in this world. This approach allows a lot more freedom. There's a healthy balance between straight character and story development and grand set pieces. The book never feels overwhelming or slow.

There is plenty of humour throughout the book along with sex and violence. Some scenes are quite graphic in their description but this, I feel, just adds depth to what is a good story. Jude Fisher pushes further with this second book.

It's not always a comfortable read but it's always enjoyable and a page turner. You are left quite a lot of the time wondering what some of the characters are really like and where they are going. Characters such as the Sell Swords who should be hedonistic and just in it for themselves show really compassion which you just don't expect.

Nothing is really given to you on a plate. The storylines are easy enough to follow but you feel there is a lot more going on and you are just given glimpses of the whole picture occasionally. This on the face of it looks like standard fantasy with magic, warring nations and the like but it takes on a whole new spin.

I would say it's probably a good idea to read the first book before starting with this one but I think most fans and non-fans of fantasy will enjoy this series and this book. Also, if you're a fan of Robin Hobb then you'll love these books. It has a beautiful depth that needs exploring but also is a good read, too.

Phil Jones