Murder, power grabs, and world-rupturing revelations fly by in this penultimate volume.
Dabos pushes full steam ahead with new arks, new spirits, and new treachery.
Over two years have passed since Ophelia was forced to part from Thorn and return to Anima, where she has spent every moment planning to find him and deciphering the truth she has learned about God. With a lead, a new identity, and the help of exiled friends, Ophelia journeys to the ark of Babel, ruled by twin family spirits but tightly controlled by the unyielding Lords of LUX. Here the Memorial, an enormous archive, is said to hold “the ultimate truth,” which Ophelia wagers includes the knowledge of how to thwart a perfidious deity. As she competes, awkward as ever, to gain access as one of the Memorial’s information virtuosos, Babel is beset by mysterious attacks; the LUX authorities insist that they are accidents, but Ophelia is certain that the victims came close to the secret she is pursuing. This narrative feels tighter, with a more determined protagonist and crystallized connections between the family spirits and God’s insidious plan—even alternating perspectives between Babel and the Pole don’t slow the pace. Ophelia’s inexplicit asexual representation continues, though the blooms of long-sown romance shift her toward demisexuality. But it’s not all immersive worldbuilding and thoughtful character development. The overall lack of non-White characters makes an unfortunate swerve into exoticization of Babel’s dark-skinned population. The use of the term “crippled” to describe a character with a disability is an unfortunate choice.
Murder, power grabs, and world-rupturing revelations fly by in this penultimate volume. (map) (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-60945-613-9
Page Count: 508
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.
A fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit.
Tress is an ordinary girl with no thirst to see the world. Charlie is the son of the local duke, but he likes stories more than fencing. When the duke realizes the two teenagers are falling in love, he takes Charlie away to find a suitable wife—and returns with a different young man as his heir. Charlie, meanwhile, has been captured by the mysterious Sorceress who rules the Midnight Sea, which leaves Tress with no choice but to go rescue him. To do that, she’ll have to get off the barren island she’s forbidden to leave, cross the dangerous Verdant Sea, the even more dangerous Crimson Sea, and the totally deadly Midnight Sea, and somehow defeat the unbeatable Sorceress. The seas on Tress’ world are dangerous because they’re not made of water—they’re made of colorful spores that pour down from the world’s 12 stationary moons. Verdant spores explode into fast-growing vines if they get wet, which means inhaling them can be deadly. Crimson and midnight spores are worse. Ships protected by spore-killing silver sail these seas, and it’s Tress’ quest to find a ship and somehow persuade its crew to carry her to a place no ships want to go, to rescue a person nobody cares about but her. Luckily, Tress is kindhearted, resourceful, and curious—which also makes her an appealing heroine. Along her journey, Tress encounters a talking rat, a crew of reluctant pirates, and plenty of danger. Her story is narrated by an unusual cabin boy with a sharp wit. (About one duke, he says, “He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”) The overall effect is not unlike The Princess Bride, which Sanderson cites as an inspiration.
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781250899651
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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