The sheer amount of jaw-dropping plot twists and bombshell revelations make this a must-read for fans of grand-scale fantasy.
The second installment in Stewart’s Hollow Covenant trilogy continues the impressively epic narrative set on a world where magic has been all but destroyed and gods and mortals battle for survival, supremacy, and freedom.
After mortals selfishly—or ignorantly—“broke the world” (called the Shattering) by the deforestation of all the giant Numinar trees for their magic (and inadvertently destroyed the gods’ subterranean realm of Unterra), the self-proclaimed “one true god” Kluehnn set out on a mission to kill all the other gods, punish the mortals, and restore the world in his vision. But not all the gods are dead—some have been in hiding for centuries—and Kluehnn’s bloody grand plan has increasing opposition. Revolving in large part around the fractured relationship between two sisters, Hakara and Rasha, who were separated when their realm was restored—killing half of the inhabitants and turning some into “altered” beings (with any combination of fur, wings, horns, tails, etc.)—the storyline gains scope and depth with multiple points of view, which also includes Mullayne, an explorer and scholar who, failing to find a safe passage to the gods’ mythical underground realm, is bent on unearthing the mystery surrounding Kluehnn’s origins, and Sheuan, Mull’s scheming cousin who knows how to make the filters needed to survive the magical but poisonous aether of the underworld. The complex dynamism between characters and stand-up-and-applaud plot intricacy are obvious strong points, but the originality and rich description of the worldbuilding are arguably the most memorable aspects. Here Stewart gives readers a glimpse into Unterra before the Shattering: “But those who have returned described masses of glowing roots from the Numinars above, birds with iridescent feathers, equine creatures with cloven hooves and shimmering green coats. And above it all, in the very center of our world, the inner star.”
The sheer amount of jaw-dropping plot twists and bombshell revelations make this a must-read for fans of grand-scale fantasy.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780316564830
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
A freewheeling, action-packed fantasy with a dash of romance.
Kova offers a fantasy novel set beyond the Nightgale Mountains in the walled fortress of Vinguard where citizens live in fear of the next deadly dragon attack.
Vinguard’s residents are always on guard against the threat of dragons, but they must watch more than just the skies. Living among them, hiding in plain sight, are the “dragon cursed”—people who, at any moment, may transform into terrifying winged beasts and destroy the city from within. For most of Isola Thaz’s life, she’s been told she’s the reincarnated savior of Vinguard. But just as she begins to suspect that she may be dragon cursed, she’s tossed into Vinguard’s Tribunal—a contest in which every 18-year-old competes in tests of skill and might to separate loyal citizens from the dragon cursed. As she’s sequestered for this rite of passage, Isola hesitantly allies herself with a handsome fellow competitor named Lucan. However, as the teens face such trials as fire-breathing automatons (“The silver beast comes to life with a swing. Its claws shear through the dim light”), starvation, and actual dragons while unarmed, Isola begins to feel that Vinguard’s traditions come at a cost that’s too steep. Meanwhile, Vicar Darius, Lucan’s father and the leader of Vinguard’s shadowy theocracy, the Creed, is desperate to take Isola’s powers for himself—and, to that end, he puts her into increasingly tortuous situations. However, neither he, nor Isola’s teenage rivals, are very compelling antagonists; instead, they come across as caricatures of cruelty. Still, the novel is fast-paced and action-oriented with a punchy prose that prioritizes movement over fantasy aesthetics. A sometimes-fraught romance between Isola and Lucan slowly blooms, but Isola’s relationship with her family forms the true emotional core of the narrative. Although the worldbuilding in fairly simple, the story sets up a massive mystery that promises big payoffs in a potential future installment.
A freewheeling, action-packed fantasy with a dash of romance.Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9781649377838
Page Count: 448
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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