The Lost Prince    by Edward Lazellari Order:  USA  Can Tor, 2013 (2013) Hardcover, e-Book      Reviewed by Hilary Williamson Edward Lazellari's The Lost Prince is the sequel to Awakenings, an urban fantasy in which New York City cop Cal MacDonnell and sleazy photographer Seth Raincrest discovered, triggered by redheaded centaur sorceress Lelani, that a big part of their pasts had been hidden from them. They had come from the medieval realm of Aandor in a parallel world, fleeing enemy invaders from Farrenheil with an infant prince. They intendd to raise him in safety on Earth. But, in the transition, their memories were erased. Now they must balance the duty they brought from Aandor, with their lives and actions on Earth during the past thirteen years. Cal, who dearly loved his fiancée Chryslantha in Aandor, is now married to Catherine and they have a small daughter, Brianna, while Seth (a novice wizard whom Lelani is working with) has done much that he now regrets and must atone for to those on his long karma list. They also must locate the missing prince, who has grown up as Daniel Hauer, an abused foster child, unaware of his background and on the run for murder. And of course, the bad guys are after him too, led by Lord Dorn, a ruthless prince of Farrenheil, 'an elitist sociopath' and a powerful magician who possesses forbidden scrolls and is rapidly losing his sanity. Dorn creates minions by stealing their hearts and so enslaving them to his will - one such is Colby Dretch, the crafty PI who has found and protected Daniel, but has not told Dorn. As The Lost Prince opens, readers are introduced to more of the prince's original entourage, and those they have grown close to since they arrived. There's Malcolm Robbe, a dwarf who once was Cal's subordinate, now 'America's greatest weapons builder' in a relationship with Scott; Timothy Mann, lead guitarist of Babies Ate My Dingo and his lover Clarisse; Elizabethan lit professor Balzac Cruz; reverend Allyn Grey, once an Aandor cleric who now leads a church in Alabama and is married to Michelle, with whom he has a daughter; and ex-chef mobster Dominic Taglatore. As good guys meet, ally with Colby, and they and the villains converge on Daniel, he's having his own adventures in the trailer camp where Colby left him with his half-sister and her free spirited daughter Luanne, whose boyfriend is a drug dealer. There are captures and escapes, betrayals, and fierce battles (both physical and magical) as Lord Dorn performs increasingly more vile and horrendous acts to ensure Daniel's death. Fortunately, Daniel's protectors fight back, Seth's talents begin to manifest, and Daniel starts to assert leadership. Though I had not read the first book, I had no problem catching up with the events and action in The Lost Prince. It's a thrill ride from start to finish and I can't wait to see what happens when Daniel and his new found friends and protectors take the fight back to Aandor! Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Fantasy books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews