Not a drop of mastery is lost in translation.
A reserved young woman’s betrothal throws her into a world of intrigue and treachery in the first volume of Dabos’ (La mémoire de Babel, 2017, etc.) fantasy quartet.
When the world shattered, floating splinters of land called arks came under the control of powerful immortals—the family spirits for each ark. Small, quiet Ophelia wants nothing more than to look after the family museum on the Anima ark, where her power to “read” the pasts of objects and to travel through mirrors is unsurpassed. Ophelia’s life is flipped suddenly upside down when she is thrust into a diplomatic arranged marriage, and the unassuming but willful Animist must travel to the snow-covered Pole ark with an equally frigid and foreboding fianceé, Thorn. No sooner does she arrive than Ophelia finds herself in the middle of a treacherous game of politics and power in which the stakes are the very highest—her life. Dabos has managed the rarely seen triad of complex worldbuilding, nuanced character development, and enthralling plot, even making it look easy. Not a seam shows in this intricate narrative weave that centers on and empowers an endearingly bookish and clumsy antiheroine without insisting she change. Racial diversity is absent; Ophelia more than once comments that she has never had romantic or sexual feelings for a man.
Not a drop of mastery is lost in translation. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-60945-483-8
Page Count: 468
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
Heartbreaking and heartfelt.
A pair of star-crossed lovers find each other against the backdrop of a devastated futuristic world in what was once Chile.
A 16-year-old from one of the advanced, privileged Upper Cities, Rumi Sabzwari, who is of Pakistani descent, has only known life behind the walls of St. Iago. But when his father is deliberately infected with a fatal virus by the rebel faction Las Oscuras, Rumi crosses over to the forbidden Lower City of Paraíso, desperately hoping to find a cure. Fifteen-year-old Paz Valenzuela-Valenzuela is from Paraíso, a city ravaged by climate change, pandemics, and poverty and falling apart at the seams. Like many in her environmentally toxic community, brown-skinned Latine Paz is disabled; she was born with an atrophied right arm. Some say these are marks of humanity’s sins. Possessing a revolutionary soul and drawn to flirting with danger, Paz considers joining the rebels bent on upending the current world order. When Rumi’s and Paz’s paths cross, they are both prisoners: Unexpectedly thrown together, they find themselves momentarily allied when Paz—working undercover for the rebels—agrees to be Rumi’s guide and spy on him. But the more Paz gets to know Rumi, the less she feels she can betray him. Blending a star-crossed romance and a dystopian world of haves and have-nots, this intricate novel explores the topics of power dynamics, inequality, and revolution with nuance. The gorgeous writing and emotionally impactful character arcs fully deliver on the darkness of the premise.
Heartbreaking and heartfelt. (maps, author’s note) (Dystopian. 14-18)Pub Date: July 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781665913799
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
Will leave readers ravenous for more.
Magic, painful truths and dangerous military escalations characterize this series continuation.
Celaena Sardothien’s in Wendlyn, ordered by the villainous king of Adarlan to assassinate Wendlyn’s royals, or he’ll execute her ex and the family of her dead best friend, Nehemia. Celaena—the presumed-dead rightful queen of the conquered Terrasen—plans on finding a way to destroy the king of Adarlan’s sources of power, in fulfillment of a vow made on Nehemia’s grave. Celaena seeks out the Fae Queen Maeve for information; cunning Maeve refuses until Celaena proves herself (with the help of a prickly, elite warrior Fae trainer) by embracing her hated demi-Fae heritage and magic. Celaena, grieving, goes through dark emotional times and must confront her scarred psyche in order to return to the unapologetically awesome heroine readers know and love. Meanwhile, there’s a lot going on: A witch deals with clan politics (Adarlan’s king makes them his wyvern-riding airborne cavalry), Chaol attempts to protect Dorian from his own magic, a healer falls for Dorian and more. The jumps from narrative to narrative initially detract from the story’s momentum, but multiple perspectives on Adarlan’s grotesque schemes and tactics eventually pay off. Despite the slow beginning, tension snowballs into devastating twists and an absolutely riveting ending. Maas’ usual hallmarks—an epic fantasy setting and the little-exploited truth that platonic relationships can be more intense and compelling than romantic—are present in force.
Will leave readers ravenous for more. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61963-065-9
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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