A cinematic, fantastical adventure rooted in a complex protagonist’s fight for her soul.
O’Connell offers a 19th-century Western set in a fantasy realm.
The American Civil War is over, but in this novel’s version of history, elven clans fought alongside Native Americans, and dwarves sided with the Union. The elves and Indigenous people lost, and most were killed or pushed onto reservations. Talen, an elf who survived, is the last of her clan, now working as a bounty hunter for the Magistrate by hunting humans who’ve been “stained,” or corrupted by dark magic. She’s a dual caster, more often called a “two-gun witch,” able to brandish magic-based guns called “spell irons” with both her hands (most casters can only use their right) as well as cast appearance-changing “glamours” and other basic spells. When her latest bounty case, a young, disabled, mixed-race woman named Margaret Jameson, turns out not to be stained, Talen begins to unravel a broader conspiracy to wield dark magic against innocents. Talen and Margaret become friends and soon join Talen’s formerly enslaved old flame, Wilfred, who crafts magical weapons. The three travel across the United States, facing bigotry involving race, species, gender, and ability. And although Talen wields her spell irons better than anyone, she remains plagued by the trauma of war. The premise makes for a compelling allegory of racism and the ugliest aspects of American history. However, the ending and the revelations of the villain feel thin after all the narrative buildup. The meat of the story is Talen’s journey to regain her empathy and hope after a yearslong period of nihilism, and her thoughts absolutely sear with self-flagellation; by the end, which leaves room for a sequel, she sees a way to forgive herself: “She stood at a crossroad, several paths before her. Each pulled at her heart, her mind, her soul or all three.”
A cinematic, fantastical adventure rooted in a complex protagonist’s fight for her soul.Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64554-133-2
Page Count: 356
Publisher: Falstaff Books, LLC
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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