A unique take on Jewish history and legend, with the prospect that it will pay off further in later books.
This debut fantasy follows two young Jews escaping the Inquisition who discover their connection to another world.
In a region resembling Renaissance-era Spain—to the extent that it includes Christians, Muslims, Jews, and the works of medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides—the Inquisition is coming, and Jews must flee or convert. Naftaly Cresques, a bad tailor tormented by true visions and odd dreams of familiar-seeming places peopled by square-pupiled inhabitants, is among the refugees. Strong-willed fellow refugee Elena Peres soon drags Naftaly into the search for her lost granddaughter, Toba. Toba is a strangely weak and strangely gifted young woman—she cannot run or shout but can simultaneously translate a book into Latin with one hand and Arabic with the other—who has disappeared into a burst of light within a pomegranate grove. She has been transported to the realm of the square-pupiled people, the magical, long-lived race known as the Maziks, who are still suffering the effects of a brutal political coup and spiritual upheaval centuries before. As Toba explores her own mysterious connection to the Maziks and struggles for control of her newly discovered magical gifts, Naftaly faces deadly challenges both on the road and in his dreams, and both become entangled with the Maziks’ dangerous intrigues. It is perhaps a bit confusing that the mortal world of the book, which specifically names the languages, religions, and politics of our own history, is set entirely in imaginary lands. On the other hand, a great deal of Jewish-inspired fantasy tends to employ a coded version of Judaism, and some might find it refreshing to read a book with clearly identified Jewish protagonists and that directly draws on Jewish rituals and culture instead of cloaking them in author-invented terms. It is also refreshing that although the introductions of Naftaly and Toba initially suggest to the experienced reader of traditional fantasy novels that they are destined to become a couple, that expectation is shattered fairly definitively. The worldbuilding is intricate and takes up most of the plot, which unfortunately causes the pacing to drag somewhat. The climax is exciting, but it's clear that the book is mainly a setup for actions that will take place in future volumes, which makes this installment an intriguing tease but not entirely satisfying in and of itself.
A unique take on Jewish history and legend, with the prospect that it will pay off further in later books.Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781645660576
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Erewhon
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road meets Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in this frightful medieval epic about an orphan girl with visionary powers in plague-devastated France.
The year is 1348. The conflict between France and England is nothing compared to the all-out war building between good angels and fallen ones for control of heaven (though a scene in which soldiers are massacred by a rainbow of arrows is pretty horrific). Among mortals, only the girl, Delphine, knows of the cataclysm to come. Angels speak to her, issuing warnings—and a command to run. A pack of thieves is about to carry her off and rape her when she is saved by a disgraced knight, Thomas, with whom she teams on a march across the parched landscape. Survivors desperate for food have made donkey a delicacy and don't mind eating human flesh. The few healthy people left lock themselves in, not wanting to risk contact with strangers, no matter how dire the strangers' needs. To venture out at night is suicidal: Horrific forces swirl about, ravaging living forms. Lethal black clouds, tentacled water creatures and assorted monsters are comfortable in the daylight hours as well. The knight and a third fellow journeyer, a priest, have difficulty believing Delphine's visions are real, but with oblivion lurking in every shadow, they don't have any choice but to trust her. The question becomes, can she trust herself? Buehlman, who drew upon his love of Fitzgerald and Hemingway in his acclaimed Southern horror novel, Those Across the River (2011), slips effortlessly into a different kind of literary sensibility, one that doesn't scrimp on earthy humor and lyrical writing in the face of unspeakable horrors. The power of suggestion is the author's strong suit, along with first-rate storytelling talent.
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-937007-86-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
Spanning centuries and continents, this is a darkly romantic and suspenseful tale by a writer at the top of her game.
When you deal with the darkness, everything has a price.
“Never pray to the gods that answer after dark.” Adeline tried to heed this warning, but she was desperate to escape a wedding she didn’t want and a life spent trapped in a small town. So desperate that she didn’t notice the sun going down. And so she made a deal: For freedom, and time, she will surrender her soul when she no longer wants to live. But freedom came at a cost. Adeline didn’t want to belong to anyone; now she is forgotten every time she slips out of sight. She has spent 300 years living like a ghost, unable even to speak her own name. She has affairs with both men and women, but she can never have a comfortable intimacy built over time—only the giddy rush of a first meeting, over and over again. So when she meets a boy who, impossibly, remembers her, she can’t walk away. What Addie doesn’t know is why Henry is the first person in 300 years who can remember her. Or why Henry finds her as compelling as she finds him. And, of course, she doesn’t know how the devil she made a deal with will react if he learns that the rules of their 300-year-long game have changed. This spellbinding story unspools in multiple timelines as Addie moves through history, learning the rules of her curse and the whims of her captor. Meanwhile, both Addie and the reader get to know Henry and understand what sets him apart. This is the kind of book you stay up all night reading—rich and satisfying and strange and impeccably crafted.
Spanning centuries and continents, this is a darkly romantic and suspenseful tale by a writer at the top of her game.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7653-8756-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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