This action-packed apocalyptic SF yarn will please attendees of comic book conventions and gamer expos.
In Gillespie’s YA SF series opener, a young female survivor of a radiation-ravaged planet becomes the protector of a psychic child.
The first installment in the author’s Riders of the Stars series takes place in a space-faring future in which human-colonized worlds throughout the cosmos are devastated by an alien species called the Kraal, who come from a mysterious void to feast on human beings. The only way to deter the scourge is to detonate nuclear warheads. The world of Arcadia, 25 years after the invasion, is now one of numerous hell-planets where people attempt to survive in the “badlands” despite radiation, zombies, other void-spawned monsters, brigands, and a heavy-handed military. Ashe is a young woman raised in safety in a subterranean Arcadian enclave until her family perishes when the ruling “Commissioner” suddenly evicts them. The vengeful Ashe scrounges among the surface ruins and falls in with a couple of misfits on a self-described treasure hunt. Joining their raid on a bandit lair, Ashe becomes the guardian of a captive held there: Jade, a 6-year-old boy who soon displays unusual psychic powers. Jade, the product of a laboratory project, is also known as JDE-82 and is urgently sought by sinister authorities. The protagonists face assorted perils, typically in the form of video game–like “boss” battles; the author is also a game developer with a taste for cinematic action (“An explosion rattled the walls from the path behind them, shaking bits of gravel loose—the raiders were coming. With renewed energy, they continued running, slowing only when approaching cross tunnels”). The plot ultimately transcends video game conventions, growing more twisty and compelling by the final act. The author works in a microgenre defined as astropunk, characterized by post-apocalyptic settings and violence blended with a space-opera sensibility (in a nice touch, the chapter titles are vintage pop-song titles). Many elements here strongly evoke Japanese anime, but the material is devoid of raunch or profanity—the body count among the supporting ensemble gets pretty high, though.
This action-packed apocalyptic SF yarn will please attendees of comic book conventions and gamer expos.Pub Date: June 22, 2023
ISBN: 9780998749921
Page Count: 322
Publisher: Revenant Press
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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