A complex and fantastic introduction to an epic new world.
Two teens struggle to survive in their conquered homeland.
In the city of Haak’gong, Lan gets by as a songgirl, performing and demeaning herself for the Elantians who colonized her homeland, the Last Kingdom. Lan seeks answers behind the curious scar on her wrist, a mark left by her mother, who died at the hands of an Elantian magician. After she is saved from a life-threatening attack by a boy named Zen, Lan discovers that qi practitioners and heroes of legend still exist and that hidden masters hold the truth behind the meaning of the mysterious mark she carries, a secret that could save—or destroy—the kingdom. The complex history of the Last Kingdom is based on Chinese history and reveals the deep impacts of war, forced assimilation and annihilation of clans into one central Hin identity, and colonization, with its rewriting of culture and history. The Elantians read as fantasy equivalents of White Europeans. The magic system is intriguing, with the Last Kingdom’s focus on balance and the elements juxtaposed with the Elantian’s martial, destructive metal-based magic. The explorations of free will and how strength is used are nuanced and contrast wonderfully within the two lead characters. While some major plot points are predictable and some villains feel one-dimensional, the fast pace and evocative prose are intriguing. Although the romance begins with instant attraction, its slow, realistic progression shows growing trust and support.
A complex and fantastic introduction to an epic new world. (chronology, map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-48750-1
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell...
Adolescent criminals seek the haul of a lifetime in a fantasyland at the beginning of its industrial age.
The dangerous city of Ketterdam is governed by the Merchant Council, but in reality, large sectors of the city are given over to gangs who run the gambling dens and brothels. The underworld's rising star is 17-year-old Kaz Brekker, known as Dirtyhands for his brutal amorality. Kaz walks with chronic pain from an old injury, but that doesn't stop him from utterly destroying any rivals. When a councilman offers him an unimaginable reward to rescue a kidnapped foreign chemist—30 million kruge!—Kaz knows just the team he needs to assemble. There's Inej, an itinerant acrobat captured by slavers and sold to a brothel, now a spy for Kaz; the Grisha Nina, with the magical ability to calm and heal; Matthias the zealot, hunter of Grishas and caught in a hopeless spiral of love and vengeance with Nina; Wylan, the privileged boy with an engineer's skills; and Jesper, a sharpshooter who keeps flirting with Wylan. Bardugo broadens the universe she created in the Grisha Trilogy, sending her protagonists around countries that resemble post-Renaissance northern Europe, where technology develops in concert with the magic that's both coveted and despised. It’s a highly successful venture, leaving enough open questions to cause readers to eagerly await Volume 2.
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell into a family . (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62779-212-7
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
BOOK TO SCREEN
A disappointing delivery on a potentially gripping second volume.
Evangeline faces new dangers in her quest for happiness in this follow-up to 2021’s Once Upon a Broken Heart.
As Evangeline Fox seeks a cure for her poisoned husband, Prince Apollo, the enticing and infuriating Fate Jacks reappears, offering to save Apollo if she unlocks the Valory Arch. Remembering the long list of ills brought upon her by the Fate, Evangeline refuses. When the new heir arrives and Apollo wakes with a new curse and glowing red eyes, she is forced to delve into the mysteries of the Valors and find the arch’s four missing magical stones whose powers are luck, truth, mirth, and youth. The inclusion of expanded Valor lore alongside the preexisting blend of fairy-tale and paranormal creatures is intriguing and fits the overarching theme of storytelling as history. The ongoing use of emotions as a scale for displaying and determining one’s humanity, especially by Fates, is equally interesting. Unfortunately, the impact of Evangeline’s often amusing narration and numerous surprising plot twists is diluted by the meandering pacing, convoluted sensory descriptions, and close focus on Evangeline’s fluctuating attraction toward her potential love interests. Despite the positive emphasis on hope and happily-ever-afters, Evangeline’s romantic relationship with Jacks borders on manipulative and toxic. Evangeline reads White; side characters are fantasy diverse.
A disappointing delivery on a potentially gripping second volume. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-26842-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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