The sequel to The Temple of Doubt (2015) further explores the conflict among the god Nihil, the magic-wielding Azwans, and narrator Hadara.
Sixteen-year-old pale, golden-eyed Hadara of Port Sapphire in the world of Kuldor is wondering if she is possessed. Ever since she thwarted the Azwans’ attempt to sacrifice her, she has been able to understand the languages of the lizardlike Gek and the Feroxi, pale-skinned, blue-eyed giants. The Feroxi have been sent to Port Sapphire to put the populace back on track in the pious worship of the god Nihil, whose creed has to do with doubting certainties and being certain of doubts. It’s a fuzzy premise that doesn’t get any clearer because plot and character consistency is a deep and ongoing problem. The amplification of the fledgling romance between Hadara and tawny-skinned, brown-eyed Valeo—a half-human, half-Feroxi guard—is fraught with so many emotional reversals that readers will be forgiven for thinking that they are manufactured solely to conveniently fit themselves into the plot point of the moment. Hadara’s overabundant interior monologues do not add any clarity, instead coming across as contradictory and obtuse. Worldbuilding is trivialized by the characters’ ostentatious habit of taking Nihil’s name in vain, à la “Nihil’s nuts,” “Nihil’s scrawny buttocks,” “Nihil’s knuckles,” etc.
A jumble of inconsistent plot, by-the-numbers romance, artless characters, and muddled theme. (Fantasy. 14-16)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-63450-193-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Categories: TEEN FAMILY | TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEEN FICTION
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BOOK REVIEW
A fantasy series opener pits adolescent angst against an all-powerful religion.
Living in Port Sapphire, on the island of New Meridian in the world of Kuldor, almost-16-year-old Hadara chafes under the tenets of a religion headed by the god Nihil that teaches that magic is superior to anything in nature. Since Hadara and her mother continue the passed-down-in-the-female-line family business of concocting healing potions from plants, the two are regarded with suspicion even as their services are sought out by townspeople. When an object falls from the sky into the marsh, Azwans (mages of Nihil) and their oversized Feroxi guards arrive to investigate, complicating things for Hadara and her family, not least because Hadara begins to have feelings for one of the guards. Although Hadara is a delightfully pert narrator, the story’s foremost tension—her subversive doubt of Nihil’s tenets—fails to reach its full potential because the religious concepts are not convincingly clear enough to weave themselves inextricably into the story. Levy shines brightest in her potent descriptions of settings and her imaginative scenes. Continuity, however, is a recurring problem. Among other lapses, the first two chapters seem to be two separate beginnings.
It’s imaginative enough, but it lacks the convincing philosophical worldbuilding essential to successful fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-16)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-63220-427-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: June 6, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
Categories: TEEN DYSTOPIAN FICTION | TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEEN ROMANCE
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BOOK REVIEW
She’s going back in time; he’s going forward; they meet in 1961.
Still raw from her grandmother’s death, 18-year-old Abbi takes comfort in the fact that she is starting her freshman year at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It’s the perfect place, one where the white narrator can make a fresh start and stay close to the memory of Grandma, who once walked the very same halls. But in her wildest dreams, Abbi never could have imagined just how close the two would be. For reasons she is desperate to understand, Abbi finds herself traveling backward through time, with each new stop providing clues to a mysterious family secret. To add to the intrigue, Abbi discovers she’s not the only time traveler. Will, a handsome white farm boy from 1927, is on his own journey forward through time, and Abbi gradually realizes that Will is not only linked to her family’s past, but also holds the key to her heart—past, present, and future. Though this may provide a quick fix for fans of time-travel romance, the novel fails to distinguish itself from the rest of the pack. While Abbi is a likable-enough protagonist, the story meanders, and the dialogue often feels stilted. However, the greatest disappointment is that a potentially delicious romance between Abbi and Will fails to gain any traction for the first two-thirds of the novel.
Without sparks to sustain it, the story fizzles. (Science fiction. 14-16)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63079-070-7
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Switch/Capstone
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Categories: TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEEN ROMANCE | TEEN FAMILY
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