Stuffed with cameos from nearly every character of note from the Shadowhunter universe, there's not even enough room here...
Ten previously published short stories take Simon from amnesia to Ascension.
After losing both his memory and his vampirism at the climax of City of Heavenly Fire (2014), Simon Lewis can't bear to be around the nigh-strangers who were once his best friend, his Shadowhunter allies, and his girlfriend, Isabelle. What better way for Simon to regain his lost life than to attend demon-fighting school, prepare to drink from the Mortal Cup, and hope Ascension grants him both phenomenal cosmic powers and his lost memories? Over the course of two years, the white, Jewish Simon goes from being a gangly nerd to someone who fits in among the "near perfect specimen[s] of humanity" who are his classmates. Though Simon builds a social network among both Shadowhunter and mundane students, the institution itself never becomes any less stunningly discriminatory (the mundanes, as "dregs," live in the slime- and rat-infested basements, for instance), making Simon's efforts feel futile. Simon himself measures his own improvement by gaining enough bulk to "trade in his ladies'-sized gear for a men's size." With chapters originally published as individual e-books over the course of 2015, this compilation shows its seams; the characters and setting are reintroduced every 60-odd pages.
Stuffed with cameos from nearly every character of note from the Shadowhunter universe, there's not even enough room here for fan service . (Fantasy. 12-15)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4325-8
Page Count: 672
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development.
A portal fantasy survivor story from an established devotional writer.
Fourteen-year-old Eva’s maternal grandmother lives on a grand estate in England; Eva and her academic parents live in New Haven, Connecticut. When she and Mum finally visit Carrick Hall, Eva is alternately resentful at what she’s missed and overjoyed to connect with sometimes aloof Grandmother. Alongside questions of Eva’s family history, the summer is permeated by a greater mystery surrounding the work of fictional children’s fantasy writer A.H.W. Clifton, who wrote a Narnialike series that Eva adores. As it happens, Grandmother was one of several children who entered and ruled Ternival, the world of Clifton’s books; the others perished in 1952, and Grandmother hasn’t recovered. The Narnia influences are strong—Eva’s grandmother is the Susan figure who’s repudiated both magic and God—and the ensuing trauma has created rifts that echo through her relationships with her daughter and granddaughter. An early narrative implication that Eva will visit Ternival to set things right barely materializes in this series opener; meanwhile, the religious parable overwhelms the magic elements as the story winds on. The serviceable plot is weakened by shallow characterization. Little backstory appears other than that which immediately concerns the plot, and Eva tends to respond emotionally as the story requires—resentful when her seething silence is required, immediately trusting toward characters readers need to trust. Major characters are cued white.
Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development. (author’s note, map, author Q&A) (Religious fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780593194454
Page Count: 384
Publisher: WaterBrook
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
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