While the fantasy worldbuilding often goes heavy on magical argot, this series kickoff makes a decent foundation for...
After her archaeologist uncle and his associate are slain by mystery fiends, Boston teenager Norah goes on the run; she is both hunted and protected by more-than-human warriors in this young adult novel.
The best conceit of author Clark’s fair opening to a planned YA fantasy series sort of lurks in the background scenery and takes a while to catch the viewer’s attention: Imagine a modern world in which fantasylands such as Atlantis and Hyperborea (Conan the Barbarian’s realm) were accepted historical facts. Thus, in the present day, intrigue surrounds their lost relics and lingering power. Except Clark focuses on her own mythic MacGuffin, an Icelandic civilization from 280 million years ago called Cobbogoth. There, the natives possessed mystic-crystal technology and enhanced cell structures giving them long lives and superpowers, and a sort of werewolf-bat-demon species called Dogril lurked. Norah Luken, 17, is a chosen-one type living in modern-day New England. Her uncle Jack, an archaeologist, explored the Cobbogothian ruins, even making scientific history by unearthing a Dogril skeleton. When Jack is brutally slain and his closest colleague ends up likewise, stunned Norah becomes the cops’ prime suspect. With her photographic memory and fragments of knowledge that Jack had, in fact, met with real, live Cobbogothians and found the great subterranean Cobbogoth city, Norah careens from one mysterious guardian-type to another (“I’m one of the last three qualdrine-wielding Naridi,” explains one Nordic hunk). The action (some of which causes pretty ghastly wounds, but the good guys invariably bounce back via crystal EMT) gets further and further from the mundane, human world and into the Cobbogothian one; amid all the nomenclature, shape-shifting characters and teleportation into TARDIS-like environments (ones that are bigger on the inside than the outside), Norah has a tough time telling up from down and friend from foe. Readers may be equally confused, though appreciable thought has gone into the author’s dense system of “elementalist” magic and pantheon of gods and demigods, more so than the typical dragons/Vikings stew. Stylized illustrations and marginalia are handsome touches, resembling the art of illuminated manuscripts more so than comic-book literal renderings.
While the fantasy worldbuilding often goes heavy on magical argot, this series kickoff makes a decent foundation for forthcoming mystic crystal revelations.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-1463732318
Page Count: 336
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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