Lord of the Forest

Although this book is titled "Lord of the Forest", I sometimes wondered if it shouldn't have been Lords of the Forest & Flame, as Vane, Lord of Fire/Lava, was in this book a LOT. While Marius' story was quite good, and the supporting characters we're introduced to (Querky & Esau), were great, it didn't engage me quite as much as Gideon's (Lord of the Dark) story. I haven't had a chance to pick up Lord of the Deep/Simeon's book, so I can't speak of it. Ironically, this book made me want to chuck it, and move onto Vane's story. As the author is dead, I hope it will still appear.

The shapeshifting Lord of the Forest Marius is tired of the annual midsummer revelry in which he must perform super-deity like sexual escapades as the trysts have become increasingly meaningless to him. He even considers skipping the gala, which would bring issues with the summer solace that his festival renews. However, as he hides in his secret pool preparing himself mentally for another ordeal, Linnea the goddess of the hunt finds him. She peaks his interest and suddenly sex seems perfect. Meanwhile Ravelle the malevolent shapeshifting demon plans to take the Forest Isle. While his only potential opposition are making love and ignoring his presence or that of his horde, his minion abducts Marius in his centaur physique. They take their prisoner to the land of the humans with only his beloved huntress capable of rescuing him. The third Elementals tale (see LORD OF THE DARK and LORD OF THE DEEP) is more a straightforward fantasy with a somewhat minor romantic subplot. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action including a few erotic encounters between Marius and Linnea although their interludes are much less than in the first two stories. Still Dawn Thompson provides a fine entry in her thrilling Elementals saga. Harriet Klausner