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Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the first
Review: I picked up this book with the hope of being as impressed as I was with Deitz's "Soulsmith". While he does succeed in developing newcomer, Brandy Wallace into a very interesting character with a fantastic goal--an artist who is going about building a castle (dubbed Brandy Hall) in Welch County that is straight out of Tolkien or Mervin Peake, Deitz seemed to struggle with providing adequate reasons as to why Brandy and Ron Dillon should build a relationship. Sure, they were both artistic geniuses with the ability to realize their wonderful dreams; but they also had planet-sized egos and neither one of them wanted to bend. While characters like this can still be interesting and believable, in comes the improbable Van Vannister: handyman extraordinare with the almost magical ability to do everthing around Brandy Hall perfect the first time. Throw in the idea that Vannister seemed to be insane, and that he (along with Ron) wanted to engage in amorous activities with Brandy on an almost constant basis, and you come away with a scenario that's more R-rated soap opera than good fantasy. Not Deitz's best work.
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