September 28, 1998
The veteran Norton concocts a heady mixture of Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and aromatherapy in this new magical adventure. Scullery maid Willadene, 16, no sooner escapes from her cruel Aunt Jacoba's tavern than her gift, the ability to nose out the auras of Good and Evil, leads her into the service of innocent young High Lady Mahart, the victim of gorgeously wicked Aunt Saylana, who is scheming for the ducal throne of Kronengred--and more. To counterpoint her adolescent girl heroines Willadene and Mahart, Norton swirls familiar ingredients into her time-tested story recipe (the Witch World series), such as the intrepid spy Nicolas, the dashing warrior-prince Lorien, assorted evil uglies both human and unearthly and an enigmatic creature named Ssssaaa, the most intriguing of the lot. After 60 years of creating popular fantasy worlds, Norton can be forgiven the few dangling ends and generally conventional approach of this aromatic Disney-esque sword-and-sorcery tale.