Complete with otherworldly surprises, this tale delivers an inventive adventure.
A debut fantasy novel traverses the modern day and a strange ancient time.
A graduate student named Nikki Ricks finds herself at a paleontological dig deep in the jungles of South America. When a blue metal sword that seemingly exhibits vast power is unearthed at the dig, Nikki and her colleagues become perplexed. While they never expected to stumble on a mysterious sword in the jungle, they certainly aren’t prepared for the events that follow its discovery. After Nikki’s world is upended, the story shifts to a young man named Rogaan. Rogaan lives in a bygone era where dangerous animals lurk, and it is only with immense bravery that men dare to stalk them. Rogaan and his friend Pax are excited to go on an organized hunt, although the activity is much more severe than a casual turkey shoot. Rogaan and Pax must obey militarylike commands and endure grueling conditions just to get to their prey, let alone kill anything. As the two return from their mission, they learn of great unrest in their homeland. Not only are people being arrested, but the authorities happen to be looking specifically for Rogaan as well. Should the two surrender or try to find out what is happening? Choosing the latter, they take the reader on a journey that echoes classic buddy escapades like The Lord of the Rings series, with dashes of fantastical beasts. Although details, such as preparations for Rogaan and Pax’s epic hunt, can be overly explained (“A sense of foreboding taunted Rogaan”), the book’s true excitement builds once they have returned from the wilderness. Packed with action and the lingering question of Nikki’s fate and how it relates to Rogaan, Vonsik’s series opener offers an engaging plot to keep the fantasy fan reading. Although Pax’s manner of speaking recalls an unpopular character from a galaxy far, far away (as when he questions Rogaan with “Ya be honestly wantin’ ta go there?” or expresses discontent: “This not be right!”), the heart of the story is the various secrets it has to reveal. Avoiding many clichés of the genre, the narrative provides a bevy of tantalizing threads to savor.
Complete with otherworldly surprises, this tale delivers an inventive adventure.Pub Date: March 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-578-13861-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celestial Fury Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
