While it needs more editing and polish, this engaging fantasy tale delivers an appealing heroine.
A young princess of Northern Ireland, raised by leprechauns and fairies, strives to reclaim her stolen kingdom in this debut novel, steeped in Irish history and mythology.
After the death of King Desmond of Ulster in the late 13th century, the queen’s bastard son, Randall, is chosen to succeed him rather than Desmond’s legitimate heir, Brandon, who fumes over this outcome. He plots against his half-brother and ultimately has Randall and his wife assassinated in front of their 4-year-old daughter, Fruenil. Although rumors spread that the young girl was murdered as well, in actuality, she is rescued by a leprechaun, Puck, who spirits her away to Fairyland, where he raises her with Morganna, high priestess of the fairies. In Fairyland, “Fruenil grew into a lovely young girl that also possessed a strength of body and sharpness of mind that continually surprised Morganna and Puck, as well as the fairies that she interacted with.” Years later, however, she is banished to the kingdom of the dwarves by Fairy King Gregor after she refuses the sexual advances of a male fairy called Rory. Morganna and Puck decide that she should be trained in the art of war while she’s with the dwarves in order to eventually take back her own kingdom from her Uncle Brandon, known as the Usurper. Containing echoes of the Romanov princess, Anastasia, blended with mythological and historical references encompassing Irish tradition, Shakespeare, and more, Leslie’s fantasy story is rich and largely well told, with solid if unremarkable prose and an admirable sense of building momentum. Although it doesn’t offer the most complex characters, Fruenil remains a strong and believable heroine. At the same time, the threat of rape unfortunately recurs repeatedly, which somewhat undermines the narrative’s feminism. In scenes set in the human world, the characters’ dialogue often seems to be trying too hard to be abrasively gritty, with an endless string of excrement references. But, thankfully, most of the novel is set in more fantastical realms that feature a gentler tone. The book also ends abruptly, and while this is because a second volume in the series is forthcoming, this first installment seems to cut off without warning or a sense of culmination.
While it needs more editing and polish, this engaging fantasy tale delivers an appealing heroine.Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4993-1846-3
Page Count: 314
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.
After 1,000 years of peace, whispers that “the Nameless One will return” ignite the spark that sets the world order aflame.
No, the Nameless One is not a new nickname for Voldemort. Here, evil takes the shape of fire-breathing dragons—beasts that feed off chaos and imbalance—set on destroying humankind. The leader of these creatures, the Nameless One, has been trapped in the Abyss for ages after having been severely wounded by the sword Ascalon wielded by Galian Berethnet. These events brought about the current order: Virtudom, the kingdom set up by Berethnet, is a pious society that considers all dragons evil. In the East, dragons are worshiped as gods—but not the fire-breathing type. These dragons channel the power of water and are said to be born of stars. They forge a connection with humans by taking riders. In the South, an entirely different way of thinking exists. There, a society of female mages called the Priory worships the Mother. They don’t believe that the Berethnet line, continued by generations of queens, is the sacred key to keeping the Nameless One at bay. This means he could return—and soon. “Do you not see? It is a cycle.” The one thing uniting all corners of the world is fear. Representatives of each belief system—Queen Sabran the Ninth of Virtudom, hopeful dragon rider Tané of the East, and Ead Duryan, mage of the Priory from the South—are linked by the common goal of keeping the Nameless One trapped at any cost. This world of female warriors and leaders feels natural, and while there is a “chosen one” aspect to the tale, it’s far from the main point. Shannon’s depth of imagination and worldbuilding are impressive, as this 800-pager is filled not only with legend, but also with satisfying twists that turn legend on its head. Shannon isn’t new to this game of complex storytelling. Her Bone Season novels (The Song Rising, 2017, etc.) navigate a multilayered society of clairvoyants. Here, Shannon chooses a more traditional view of magic, where light fights against dark, earth against sky, and fire against water. Through these classic pairings, an entirely fresh and addicting tale is born. Shannon may favor detailed explication over keeping a steady pace, but the epic converging of plotlines at the end is enough to forgive.
A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63557-029-8
Page Count: 848
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.
A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.
Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune (The Art of Breathing, 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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