childbirth; Maia deduces she is the daughter of Nokomis' younger sister and therefore a Suban. Fornis causes Tharrin's death. Maia makes a desperate attempt to kill Fornis, but is thwarted by Occula, who was indeed inducted into the queen's household. Occula intends to take revenge on Fornis when the time is right; meanwhile she is performing the sort of sado-masochistic services of which Maia had been incapable. As civil war breaks out in Bekla, Maia learns that Bayub-Otal and Zen-Kurel have been brought there as prisoners. In danger of Fornis' murderous fury, Maia frees the two men, and with them and Zirek and Meris (who have been hiding since assassinating Sencho), she flees Bekla. Part 4: The Suban The former prisoners are bitterly angry at Maia for betraying them at the Valderra, which she had idealistically considered an attempt to save their lives. Nevertheless, they agree to return with her to Suba or Terekenalt. Maia and her companions travel for a time with rebel freebooters. Meris, always a troublemaker, gets herself killed by one of them. Maia gradually regains Zen-Kurel's and Bayub-Otal's trust by her sincere efforts to help them. After an arduous boat escape from the Beklan Empire to Terekenalt, Bayub-Otal is killed and Maia receives a marriage proposal from the man she loves most. Two years later, Maia (with her little son) visits the capital of her new country and by chance meets Occula. Occula describes how she killed Fornis, aided by supernatural forces, and how the rebels overthrew the Leopards' regime. The story ends with Maia refusing Occula's plea to go back to Bekla; she would rather help Zen-Kurel and his father manage their farm. Invented terms Much as Adams had invented words of the Lapine language for the rabbits of Watership Down, he employs some "Beklan" vocabulary for honorifics, natural objects, and sexual terms; the last "allows adults to leave the book within reach of children." Some are also used in Shardik. Reception The New York Times reviewer considered the book far better than Shardik, especially in prose style. She called it "a sexy, swashbuckling, and hugely long romp," and said it resembled his previous novels in "its mood of personal exorcism and self-indulgence." She praised Adams's inventive fantasy world and said the plot was "just so much 'Star Wars' and lots of fun." However, she said that what appeared to be an attempt at feminist