The Perilous Sea

Iolanthe and Titus (The Burning Sky) wake in the desert, stripped of their memories and being hunted by Atlantis. Scenes of their attempts to evade capture alternate with the events of seven weeks prior, when Titus and Iolanthe (the latter disguised as Archer Fairfax) reunite at Eton after a summer apart. With sparkling repartee and Bond-like magical gadgets, Thomas's likable characters navigate a steadily unspooling plot.

In The Burning Sky (rev. 11/13), His Serene Highness Prince Titus, Master of the Domain, had secured the help of Iolanthe Seabourne, the most powerful elemental mage in centuries, to help in his fight against the semi-immortal tyrant of New Atlantis, the Bane. The Perilous Sea opens with Iolanthe and Titus awakening in the Sahara Desert, stripped of their memories and being hunted by Atlantis. Scenes of their attempts to evade capture (and their growing attraction, despite not knowing their history together) alternate with the events of seven weeks prior, when Titus and Iolanthe, the latter disguised as Archer Fairfax, reunite at Eton after a summer spent apart. Their plan to take down Atlantis (and to deepen their relationship) suffers a blow when a classmate, bumbling barely magical Lee Wintervale, suddenly comes into elemental powers in such a way that makes Titus believe that Wintervale, and not Iolanthe, is the mage prophesied to assist him. Rejecting Titus's slavish dependence on prophecies, Iolanthe continues in her fast-quipping Eton-boy disguise while nursing a broken heart. With sparkling repartee and Bond-like magical gadgets, Thomas's hugely likable characters navigate a steadily unspooling plot whose twists and surprises lead to a climactic full-throated war cry against the Bane; if, as expected, Thomas extends the series into a third volume, she's stocked enough narrative gunpowder here for a truly impressive explosion. anita l. burkam