An enjoyable historical fantasy with a conflicted hero.
Spader (Feast of the Raven, 2016) returns to the epic of Gerwulf the Wulfhedinn in this second installment of her series.
Weeks after he was sent to investigate the cultic practices at the center of the Saxon rebellion, Gerwulf reappears in Frankish territory missing his wolf skin but sporting a giant wound on his stomach—an injury that, by the look of it, he should not have survived. Gerwulf, the half-Saxon half-Frankish Wulfhedinn (or wolf-demon), was recently the prisoner of a Saxon witch known as the Walkyrie. But the full nature of their relationship is known only to Gerwulf and the witch. Despite her efforts to convert him to the pagan Saxon cause, he is intent on remaining in the service of his Christian God and the Frankish King Karl. Now a conditional member of the Frankish aristocracy, Gerwulf is no longer interested in being a Wulfhedinn, even if the skills that come with it are the exact reasons he is a valuable servant to the king. As the war between Saxon and Frank intensifies, with oaths broken and atrocities committed on both sides, Gerwulf’s loyalty will continue to be tested: loyalty to God and king but also to his heart and soul. Familial connections to the leader of the Saxon revolt and emotional links to the Walkyrie may make it impossible for Gerwulf to remain a simple Christian soldier. In the end, as his friend Father Pyttel wonders, “can you separate the man from the wolf?” As in the previous volume, Spader’s world of eighth-century Germany is distinctive and a lot of fun, with the fantastic elements playing a supporting role to the historical ones. This novel takes some time to get going, but Gerwulf’s pathos and aspirations make him a complex enough protagonist to carry the book through its quieter moments. While many classic genre archetypes are present in the story, Spader has created a realm that feels just uncharted enough for surprises to be lurking behind every tree. Fans of Feast of the Raven should enjoy this new chapter in the Gerwulf saga.
An enjoyable historical fantasy with a conflicted hero.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9971535-3-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Quillstone Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.
Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.
Yanagihara (The People in the Trees, 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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