BEACH READING

The Red Wolf Conspiracy
By Robert V.S. Redick (Ballantine Books, $26)

They don't make 'em like the Chathrand anymore — because they can't. The ship is so ancient that the secrets of its creation are lost to the centuries. Gigantic and majestic, the Chathrand is a mobile city, a floating palace meant to spark awe and fear at the glory of the Empire of Arqual anywhere it goes. Its latest mission is one of global significance: to deliver a young bride to her promised husband, a prince of the neighboring land of Mzithrin, and seal peace between the warring nations.

But something more sinister is going on in the bowels of the Chathrand, where assassins prowl, stowaways lurk and a decidedly unpeaceful conspiracy is being secretly hatched. Young Pazel, a ship's boy with a tragic history and unsettling psychic abilities, is one of the first to catch on, followed quickly by the bride herself, a smart and feisty chick who wasn't too thrilled about her fate to begin with. Others soon join their alliance, including her gentle-butdeadly guardian, a tribe of tiny mythical warriors, a shape-shifting wizard and one very frightened rat.

As snatches of the plan come together, the real mission of the Chathrand begins to come to light, and it is anything but diplomatic. Everything seems to center around the mystery of the Red Wolf — what is it, where can it be found and what is its connection to an evil that was supposedly destroyed years before?

Prophecy, betrayal, integrity and justice all play a part in this twisty tale, the first in a promised series, and characters good, evil and ambiguous populate the pages. Many common fantasy elements are present — talking animals, wee people, mermaids, wizards — but tweaked in new ways that give the old ideas fresh life. With its authentically salty shipboard setting and well-realized world-building, "The Red Wolf Conspiracy" is a rollicking read that fantasy fans should enjoy.