by Adam Greven ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 9, 2016
An often entertaining story of swords and sorcery with a dash of the macabre.
A father and daughter find themselves on opposing sides of an unwinnable war in Greven and Deller’s debut fantasy novel.
For the last 15 years, Castle Riesenstadt and the surrounding countryside have been besieged by undead hordes—part of an unrelenting conflict between a necromantic society of witches called the Trauergast and an order of knights called the Konig Protectorate. Although the Trauergast were once an integral part of the kingdom, iron-fisted knight-lord Renton Talmaris has been persecuting them, forcing them into hiding. Now, the exiles are mounting a rebellion under the leadership of their own powerful leader, Mela. Renton’s son, Edwin, is Mela’s father, and her mother was a necromancer whom Renton killed. Edwin is now imprisoned in his dad’s keep with no hope of release—that is, until a wily, cunning bard named Cassandra Lethellon breaks him out in the name of reuniting him with his estranged daughter. Edwin, beset on all sides by strange magic, former comrades, and a desperate populace, must do whatever he can to stop Mela’s war before vengeance steals her away from him for good. Over the course of this novel, Greven and Deller craft an intriguing world with an engaging central cast, and they present readers with a fast-paced story with some fun sequences. The tale might have benefited from deeper exploration of the setting’s history and of the story’s numerous supporting characters. Sometimes, the narration fashions itself almost like a screenplay, attempting to intercut images, internal monologue, and exposition in a jarring way, with relatively little nuance or expressiveness. This approach does, however, lend itself to the work’s many battle sequences, which offer high-octane action and gore that genre fans are sure to enjoy.
An often entertaining story of swords and sorcery with a dash of the macabre.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-942645-26-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Quill
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Hannah Kaner ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 12, 2024
A bold series continuation from a fantasy author to watch.
In a world where old gods can pass away, new divinities may be born.
Hseth, the fire god whose cult murdered Kissen’s family in Godkiller (2023), is no more. However, problems continue to mount for the intrepid young warriors who managed to kill her. The orphaned Inara and her minor-god companion, Skedi, persevere on a seemingly unending search for answers—she to the questions surrounding her paternity, he to an illustrious past he cannot recall. In the aftermath of the climactic battle, King Arren has chosen a path that his best friend, Elo the baker-knight, cannot bring himself to follow, and Elo must reckon with the ramifications of turning his back on his liege. Just as Arren stokes the fires of his own illicit cult—with himself as figurehead—a resistance movement to save what remains of the world’s outlawed gods begins to heat up. Unable to come to terms with Elo’s desire to keep her away from the dangers of war, Inara makes a rash decision that ultimately sets the stage for mass unrest shortly before Arren’s victory tour arrives at their doorstep. Meanwhile, a presumed-dead Kissen fights her way back from the shores of the god who saved her life, only to find herself at odds with her friends’ and family’s goals. You see, Elo, Inara, and the rest have forgotten one very simple rule: Dead gods can always come back. Tested alliances fuel this tightly plotted found-family thrill ride. The worldbuilding is complex, but the reader never feels bogged down beneath its weight. As with the previous installment, queerness and disability are woven into the fabric of the narrative; Kissen and her sisters are queer and disabled, a prominent secondary character is transgender, and several tertiary couples are gay and lesbian. Although the pacing does become a little too frenetic in the novel’s final chapters, as the point of view switches rapidly among protagonists, Kaner has penned another page-turner in this projected trilogy.
A bold series continuation from a fantasy author to watch.Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780063350106
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
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by Hannah Kaner
by Brandon Sanderson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2023
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.
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New York Times Bestseller
A fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit.
Tress is an ordinary girl with no thirst to see the world. Charlie is the son of the local duke, but he likes stories more than fencing. When the duke realizes the two teenagers are falling in love, he takes Charlie away to find a suitable wife—and returns with a different young man as his heir. Charlie, meanwhile, has been captured by the mysterious Sorceress who rules the Midnight Sea, which leaves Tress with no choice but to go rescue him. To do that, she’ll have to get off the barren island she’s forbidden to leave, cross the dangerous Verdant Sea, the even more dangerous Crimson Sea, and the totally deadly Midnight Sea, and somehow defeat the unbeatable Sorceress. The seas on Tress’ world are dangerous because they’re not made of water—they’re made of colorful spores that pour down from the world’s 12 stationary moons. Verdant spores explode into fast-growing vines if they get wet, which means inhaling them can be deadly. Crimson and midnight spores are worse. Ships protected by spore-killing silver sail these seas, and it’s Tress’ quest to find a ship and somehow persuade its crew to carry her to a place no ships want to go, to rescue a person nobody cares about but her. Luckily, Tress is kindhearted, resourceful, and curious—which also makes her an appealing heroine. Along her journey, Tress encounters a talking rat, a crew of reluctant pirates, and plenty of danger. Her story is narrated by an unusual cabin boy with a sharp wit. (About one duke, he says, “He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”) The overall effect is not unlike The Princess Bride, which Sanderson cites as an inspiration.
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781250899651
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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by Brandon Sanderson & Janci Patterson ; illustrated by Charlie Bowater & Ben McSweeney
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