THE DANDELION TREE

In Gelpi’s second installment of a fantasy series, a young woman struggles with a fire demon who both curses and empowers her.

Kharis, a princess of the Empire of Zahar, longs for freedom. The 20-year-old, as the Djinnshirukh, is the human vessel for the Akumi king, essentially preventing the immortal demon from destroying the world. With this responsibility comes incredible magical abilities (including enhanced strength, speed, and self-healing), but it also comes with a rage that Kharis must fight to keep in check. She lost control of that anger years ago, which resulted in an infamous massacre—and now many in the Empire fear and avoid her. Still, there are a few people she trusts, such as her sister, Saya, who acts as a magical guardian known as the Sorukhipa; Kharis also grows to like the kingdom’s soft-spoken gardener, Noam. She also interacts with a disembodied Voice who cryptically implies he and Kharis have long known each other. Kharis vows to free herself from her situation; if the rage takes over too often, it may lead to resealment—a ritual that ends with the Akumi king inhabiting a new vessel, and Kharis’ death. In Gelpi’s follow-up to A Land of Shadows and Moss (2024), she offers a multilayered protagonist who bravely faces assorted enemies—from doltish men convinced they can best her in combat to someone who craves her otherworldly abilities. Although the demon is the source of her powers, Kharis’ mental robustness is her own; for example, every previous Djinnshirukh eventually descended into a madness that she’s managed to avoid. This epic tale engagingly takes readers to the spirit realm of Andaheimur, stirs up romantic possibilities for each sister, and reveals a shocking family secret. All of it comes at an unhurried pace; a journey to a temple in the mountains (still in Zahar) comprises more than a third of the novel. However, the prose is crisp throughout, making abstract notions tangible with highly visual descriptions; the Voice, for instance, is characterized as “constellations, night and shadows, and devotion spun from timeless threads.”

An extraordinary hero energizes a measured but absorbing fantasy.