Transformations - Hardcover

Grade 7-9 A sequel to Daymaker (Orchard, 1987). Once machines were the dominant force in Inland: now it is the magic of the Covenant, a magic created by cooperation between and among all living and non-living things. Women with special magical talents are trained as coveners, becoming the integral part of each community's life. The best known of these is Zanne of Garth, who has been sent to the desolate mining area of Minither to locate and destroy a hidden machine. Readers will be hooked after reading of Zanne's quest and meeting bright, inquisitive Siri, so chaffed and restrained by her dour, self-reproving community. This severity of Minither is indirectly captured by Halam as she uses descriptors such as ``cold silver-and-black stream,'' ``glittering gray blocks,'' or ``sharp-cut face of the mountain.'' A fast-moving conclusion compensates for some plot-dragging when Zanne's quest seems to be set aside. The strong heroine offers a good accompaniment to Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword (1982) and The Hero and the Crown (1984, both Greenwillow). Pam Spencer, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Fairfax County, Va.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.