It's no longer as clear as in the first book whether to call Jason Merlin's friend or Medea his enemy, but he is still as involved as ever in their lives. Furthermore, he feels a responsibility to help the Celtic king Urtha, who is being attacked by an army of ghosts and unborn men for uncertain reasons. Another major character is the Pohjoli (that seems to be ancient Finnish) enchantress, Niiv. She seems fairly stereotypical, a rash, power-hungry and seductive witch, but it's unclear how much of that is her real characterization and how much is Merlin's paranoia.The constantly aggressive attitude of most of the characters sometimes gets wearing, though the amount of actual violence described is small in proportion. I find the most rewarding parts of this series to be the descriptions of magic, which convey an otherworldly feeling even while they have more understatement than hyperbole to them.
The second volume in the Merlin Codex trilogy is a lesser work than the first. Merlin has decided to stay in Taurovinda with Urtha, being drawn to both the place and the man for reasons he is not entirely clear about. Jason is using Argo to get to Alba in search of his lost younger son, having survived the serious wound dealt him by the older son. On the ship is Niiv, searching for Merlin and a motley assortment of Argonauts, dead, alive, older, newer, mortal, immortal, Legendary and supernatura
