A purple page turner.
This sequel to Clockwork Angel (2010) pits gorgeous, attractively broken teens against a menacing evil.
There's betrayal, mayhem and clockwork monstrosities, and the Shadowhunters have only two weeks to discover—oh, who are we kidding? The plot is only surprisingly tasty icing on this cupcake of a melodramatic love triangle. Our heroes are Tessa, who may or may not be a warlock, and the beautiful Shadowhunter warrior boys who are moths to her forbidden flame. It's not always clear why Tessa prefers Will to his beloved (and only) friend Jem, the dying, silver-eyed, biracial sweetheart with the face of an angel. Jem, after all, is gentle and kind, her dearest confidante; Will is unpleasant to everyone around him. But poor, wretched Will—who "would have been pretty if he had not been so tall and so muscular"—has a deep, dark, thoroughly emo secret. His trauma puts all previous romantic difficulties to shame, from the Capulet/Montague feud all the way to Edward Cullen's desire to chomp on Bella Swan. Somehow there's room for an interesting steampunk mystery amid all this angst. The supporting characters (unusually well-developed for a love-triangle romance) include multiple compelling young women who show strength in myriad ways. So what if there are anachronisms, character inconsistencies and weird tonal slips? There's too much overwrought fun to care.
A purple page turner. (Fantasy. 13-16)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7588-5
Page Count: 528
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
Readers who stick it out to the action-packed climax will be curious about what's coming next
The first of a two-book adventure series sends a gifted warrior-in-training out into the desert to die.
In a fantasy world with the flavor of the Central Asian steppes, Raim is a 15-year-old nomad determined to join the elite forces of the Khanate. Since he was a child, he's been best friends with the Khan's heir, and if he passes his tests he'll be young Khareh's most trusted fighter. He need only make an Absolute Vow, an oath sworn on a knot. If the maker of a knotted promise is forsworn, the knot burns a hideous scar on the oathbreaker's body, and a grotesque shadow appears, haunting the breaker of the promise and causing his countrymen to drive him into the wilderness. With a loaded gun like that hanging on the wall, readers know it will soon be fired. Yet when Raim does set a promise knot afire, it's through no choice of his own but from some terrible misadventure. If he can only survive the shame of banishment, the desert's poisonous bugs and the city of the oathbreakers, Raim can learn his terrible family secrets—except those best left for the sequel. Worldbuilding grows through exposition that plods as slowly as Raim's trudge through the sands.
Readers who stick it out to the action-packed climax will be curious about what's coming next . (Fantasy. 13-15)Pub Date: Feb. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4405-6
Page Count: 408
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
This finale is recommended only for completists.
In the conclusion to the Prophecy trilogy, Kira must decide if she can fully embrace her destiny as the Dragon Musado.
A malevolent dragon has abducted Kira’s royal cousin, Taejo, and given her just 10 days to exchange the two magical treasures in her possession for Taejo’s life (Warrior, 2013). Making the trade isn’t an option: Kira needs the treasures to defeat the Yamato invaders and their demon lord, and she needs Taejo to survive to become king. So Kira and Jaewon race to rescue Taejo and claim the third and final treasure before the final battle. Though the story starts slowly—Kira and Jaewon’s journey has more awkward flirting than fight scenes—it offers readers plenty of action by the end. However, reading the novel is rather like watching another person clear the levels of a video game en route to a showdown with the final boss: It’s hard to feel much emotional investment in the outcome. Old friends and enemies return, but they don’t make much of an impression thanks to their flat characterization. In addition, the colloquial dialogue continues to feel too contemporary for a story set in an alternate feudal Korea. It takes a skilled stylist to pull off such a fusion, and Oh’s attempt unfortunately falls short.
This finale is recommended only for completists. (map, glossary) (Fantasy. 13-16)Pub Date: March 30, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-209115-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
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