Memorable and deeply satisfying—a fitting tribute to those who serve.
New military fantasy—imagine the Vietnam War fought with medieval weaponry, magic and dragons—from the military historian and author of the Iron Elves trilogy (Ashes of a Black Frost, 2011, etc.).
Evans’ scenario is vividly portrayed and, for the most part, well worked out. Despite turmoil and political uncertainty at home, the Kingdom intends to pacify the jungle-covered continent of Luitox. Opposing the Kingdom’s occupation, the Forest Collective operates from concealed positions deep in the jungle, has powerful magic, and its fighters, or “slyts,” are far more numerous than the Kingdom’s leaders will admit. The soldiers of Red Shield—Carny, Big Hog, Listowk, the Wraith and many others—face not only the Collective, but also searing heat, suffocating humidity, the seductions of drugs or religion, superiors who care only about body counts, an enemy that refuses to stand and fight, and a lack of clear objectives, yet remain determined to do their jobs, and we come to care deeply about their fates as they struggle through a series of confusing and unpleasant engagements. Formerly slaves, dwarves may serve in support roles but not in actual combat, and they represent the racial element in the mix. Instead of helicopters, the Kingdom has dragons, or “rags.” Rag driver Vorly Astol, his rag, Carduus, and a RAT, or Royal Academy of Thaumology, Breeze—one of the few women serving—have been chosen to help field-test a new communications and navigation system based on thaumic crystals. Jawn Rathim, a naïve junior officer and powerful RAT, proves surprisingly useful despite his lack of familiarity with the system. And then there’s mysterious “crowny,” Crown Service, officer “Rickets” Ketts, who may well be a secret agent. It all adds up to an ugly and utterly compelling narrative, the one possible drawback being uncertainty about how magic works and what its organizing principles are.
Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4516-7931-1
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014
An engaging story framed by a brooding meditation on time and meaning.
In this new novel by Haig (Reasons to Stay Alive, 2016), a man of extraordinarily long life deals with a painfully ordinary question: what is it we live for?
Tom Hazard, though he has gone by many names, has an unusual condition that makes him age exceptionally slowly—he's more than 400 years old in 2017 but looks a mere 40-something. Tragic events taught him early that his seeming agelessness is a lightning rod for witch hunters and the dangerously suspicious in all eras. For protection, he belongs to the Albatross Society, a secret organization led by Hendrich, an ancient, charismatic man who's highly protective of his members and aggressive about locating and admitting other “albas” into the group. After assisting Hendrich in one such quest, Tom starts a new life in London; he's haunted by memories of his previous life there in the early 1600s, when he had to leave his wife and young child to ensure their safety. He's losing hope that Hendrich will help him find his daughter, who he's learned shares his condition. He muddles through his days until he meets a French teacher who claims she recognizes his face. Unraveling that mystery will lead Tom to re-examine his deeply etched pessimism. Meanwhile, readers are treated to memories of his past, including encounters with Shakespeare, Capt. Cook, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Tom sometimes wallows overmuch about the changelessness of the human condition, and one might be forgiven for wondering why so much time has not done more to heal his oldest wounds. But Haig skillfully enlivens Tom’s history with spare, well-chosen detail, making much of the book transporting.
An engaging story framed by a brooding meditation on time and meaning.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-52287-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
A somewhat overstuffed first entry in a promising new series.
A librarian in charge of unwritten books gets pulled into a dispute between heaven and hell in Hackwith’s debut.
Claire is the librarian of hell’s Unwritten Wing, meaning she's in charge of books that either haven’t been written yet or, if their author has died, will never be written at all. Claire’s soul is human, unlike that of her assistant, Brevity, who's a failed muse. There’s nothing an unwritten book wants more than to be written, and sometimes a book is able to manifest itself in the form of one of its characters. When a young demon named Leto gives Claire the news that one such book has escaped, she knows it’ll be looking for its author on Earth, hoping to convince her to sit down and write that book she’s been thinking about. But when Claire, Brevity, and Leto go to retrieve the book, they are confronted by the angel Ramiel, who is convinced they have pages of the Devil’s Bible. Suddenly Claire and her friends are on the run from realm to realm, trying to get to those pages before Ramiel and prevent a war between heaven and hell. There’s a lot going on here, and the first in any new series has plenty of worldbuilding to cover, but it would have been nice if this sprawling first installment had been a bit more contained. The scenes with Ramiel and the other angels are particularly interesting, as are hints of political tensions between the demons of hell. Hackwith is a strong writer, and there’s plenty to build a series on here, so hopefully future novels will have a narrower focus.
A somewhat overstuffed first entry in a promising new series.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0637-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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