Readers who like their fantasy dark, multi-threaded and political will sink their teeth into this one.
The first installment of the Godless World trilogy, this debut from U.K. author Ruckley is epic fantasy in the mode of George R. R. Martin and R. Scott Bakker, but with some Scottish flavor.
After two of the world’s five races exterminated a third, the despairing gods abandoned their creation. Hundreds of years later, the great kingdom of the Huanin (i.e., humans) shattered into bickering clans, or Bloods, each ruled by a Thane, with one High Thane above them all. A further split occurred when a fisherwoman began preaching the Black Road, a harsh creed of predestination that promised the gods’ return once the entire world was converted to the Road’s teachings. Those Bloods that followed the Black Road also followed the path of exile into the barren northern lands bordered by the Vale of Stones. One hundred and fifty years later an invading army of Black Road Bloods determines to reclaim what once was theirs, setting off a conflict that will engulf humans, the forest-dwelling Kyrinin race and the magically gifted Huanin/Kyrinin crossbreeds known as na’kyrim. The Black Road army is a substantial threat to the so-called True Bloods, but as the plot progresses it becomes clearer (to the reader, at least) that the greatest potential danger—to all sides—is the desperately needy, always angry and extremely powerful na’kyrim Aeglyss. Well-crafted world-building and sympathetic, fully rounded characters make wading through this complicated setup (typical for such novels) worthwhile.
Readers who like their fantasy dark, multi-threaded and political will sink their teeth into this one.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-316-06769-0
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Orbit/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
Perfectly fine despite second-book syndrome.
Cerúlia must grow up and learn to fight for her destiny in Kozloff’s (A Queen in Hiding, 2020) second Nine Realms novel.
Her mother, the Queen of Weirandale, is dead, and Cerúlia isn’t a child any more. She’s left her adoptive peasant family in order to escape evil Lord Matwyck’s clutches and eventually escapes Weirandale altogether. Using her ability to talk to animals and several bird-related aliases, Cerúlia manages to trek her way over the mountains and into the nation of Oromondo. Cerúlia knows that the Oros killed her mother, and she wants to avenge her death. She’s heard of a group of raiders who work to disrupt the Oros as they invade and pillage neighboring nations. When Cerúlia finally manages to find them and convince them to let her join up, she discovers not only new friends, but a newfound sense of purpose. But is any of that enough to win back her throne or even save herself from the Oro army? Interspersed with Cerúlia’s plotline are various threads centering on the Oro army and people, Lord Matwyck’s kindhearted son, and the raiders themselves. This is the second of a four-part series, and, as such, it falls into the expected pitfalls. The self-contained plot works, but it inevitably feels more like a buildup to further books in the series than its own story. It rises above filler, though, and Kozloff is clearly laying the groundwork for something good, particularly with the very last chapter.
Perfectly fine despite second-book syndrome.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-16856-6
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
Shannon’s prose style is serviceable, but her legion of fans will once again be here for the propulsive plot rather than...
Paige Mahoney, the Pale Dreamer of The Bone Season (2013), returns in this second volume of a projected seven-volume fantasy/science-fiction epic.
The novel begins with Paige’s escape to London as she eludes pursuers of all stripes and becomes public enemy No. 1. On the plus side, she’s with a gang of clairvoyants, and her cohort is headed by Jaxon Hall, one of the mime-lords of the title. (Mime-lords and mime-queens are leaders of clairvoyant gangs who form a subgroup within the various cohorts.) London becomes the main setting of the novel, and it assumes various guises, some comforting but most harrowing. Cohorts inhabit spaces that seem vaguely familiar (Covent Garden, Camden Town, Soho) yet remain mysterious and sinister. Readers of the first volume might also remember the emphasis on a specialized and arcane vocabulary applicable to the alternative universe the author creates. The glossary is again a welcome necessity. The prime mover of action here is Paige’s relentless pursuit by Scion, a governmental organization that sees her as a threat to its status and power. Eventually Paige meets up again with Arcturus Mesarthim, her Warden and a Rephaite—a physically immortal being. He has some advice for her—to be wary and to “manipulate [her] mime-lord…as he has spent his life manipulating others”—good advice for a world that is arcane, complex, multilayered and at times almost incomprehensible.
Shannon’s prose style is serviceable, but her legion of fans will once again be here for the propulsive plot rather than lyricism.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62040-893-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
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