An ambitious but slow-moving secret-society tale.
In Anonymous’ fantasy novel, new members of ancient, secret council strategize ways to make the world a better place—and wonder if they should even accept this responsibility at all.
During the First Civilization, which fell 12,000 years ago, a council of spiritual leaders called the Ohm ce Alefa was established to act as the guiding force of morality, form religions, and connect members of the global population. Through the centuries, descendants of the council members, known as the Auromzed, have continued the mission of the Ohm ce Alefa. When the current council members all choose to die, as is the custom, their children come together to prepare for their predestined ascensions. Each are assigned different duties, based on their ancestral lines, which are Indh, Abe, Edinak, Ren, Aryan, and Ehirman, and oversee innovation, knowledge, nature, trade, communication, and war, respectively. Gathering at the estate of Auromzed elder Akram Ehirman, whom they call “Grandfather,” the incoming members (Alexander, Ahana, Adisa, Aurelio, An-Sun, and Antigonus) discuss the council’s responsibilities, ponder the ethics of its existence, and try to think of ways to heal society. Conflicting perspectives disrupt the group’s harmony, and secrets are uncovered, allegiances are tested, and hidden forces pose an existential threat. Alexander was raised away from his fellow Auromzed and is a newcomer to the inner workings of the Ohm ce Alefa, so he effectively serves as the reader’s surrogate as he learns about each backstory, each cultural detail, and each advanced tech gadget. Set in the present day and featuring millennial central characters, this book can best be described as a blend of high fantasy and urban fantasy, and the novel’s world is built with rich detail. The author also presents readers with a well-developed ensemble cast, resulting in a story that’s thought-provoking throughout. However, the novel’s slow pace and multiple, drawn-out philosophical debates (“To say that decisions should come from morals and morals come from God would be to say that men without God have no morals and thus, should make no decisions”) may be off-putting to some.
An ambitious but slow-moving secret-society tale.Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9798989287932
Page Count: -
Publisher: Vestige Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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 smart and highly original work of modern fantasy.
After the events of Book of Night (2022), Charlie Hall is forced to hunt down the perpetrator of a terrible massacre.
Charlie Hall is the Hierophant: It’s her job to be tethered to a powerful, independent shadow—a “Blight”— and hunt down other Blights for the Cabals, the heads of their respective shadow-magic specialties. The Cabals use the difficult job of Hierophant as a punishment, but Charlie agreed to take it on so she could be the person tethered to Vince, aka Red, the Blight who posed as a human and ended up dating and falling in love with Charlie. The Cabal leaders used magic to steal the part of Red’s memory that contained his relationship with Charlie, and so Charlie is determined to steal Red’s memories back. And she needs to move fast, because if Red doesn’t remember loving her, he just might be OK with Charlie being killed if it means his own freedom. Meanwhile, Mr. Punch, a terrifying Cabal leader who specializes in using shadow magic to possess other people’s bodies, has a job for Charlie: He wants her to find the culprit behind a terrible massacre that was attributed to a cult. He suspects that the people were actually killed by a Blight, and he doesn’t want the Cabals to face the blowback if the truth becomes public. Mr. Punch could do terrible things to Charlie if she fails, but if she succeeds, he’ll help Charlie and Red be free of the Cabals for good. The sophomore novel in a series is always tough, but this sequel proves that the second book can be even better than the first. Black turns the screws on the magical world she set up in Book 1, creating complicated political motives between Charlie and the Cabal leaders and making the question of what it means for a shadow, like Red, to have their own consciousness more interesting. Veteran con artist Charlie makes some truly brilliant moves, especially toward the end, where the last few chapters have one terrific surprise after the other.
A smart and highly original work of modern fantasy.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781250812223
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
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