A mature and deftly plotted fantasy sequel by a shrewd author.
A magical realm marches to war while a teen hero explores her potential in this second installment of a YA fantasy series.
Sixteen-year-old Mirana Pinal is a powerful Trine from the Kin-Deren province of Kinderra. Many people in her world have Aspects, enhanced skills in Healing, Seeing, or Defending. But Mirana possesses all three magical talents. After a devastating battle at Two Rivers Ford—during which many of her own people, the Fal’kin, and their enemy, the Ken’nar perished—she’s in the Sün-Kasal province with Trine Tetric Garis. The older Trine is her mentor, teaching her that life and death are intimately connected, as are their magical counterparts, the Light from Within and the Power from Without. Mirana doesn’t like killing, not even animals to eat. Yet she must prepare for a prophetic battle with the Dark Trine for control of Jasal’s Keep, the Kin-Deren seat of power, and, eventually, the rest of Kinderra. Meanwhile, Teague Beltran, Mirana’s childhood love whom she left behind for his own safety, heads to Edara in the Varn-Erdal province. If the Ken’nar succeed in overrunning the capital, the Dark Trine will be one step closer to Jasal’s Keep. Though Teague possesses no Aspect, his herbalist skills make him valuable to Defender Prime Liaonne Edaran, ruler of Varn-Erdal. Elsewhere, Mirana must withstand the Dark Trine’s manipulation while mastering her powers over life and death. Donnelly’s high-stakes sequel grapples with the complexities of lingering love and the ethics of war. Teague’s romantic life nearly comes full circle as he ponders the safety of Illenne il’Talz, a new love interest, given that his fate is tied to the coming cataclysm. The Dark Trine’s evil is marked by the Soul Harvest, a spell that results in the “erasure of self-preservation and free will.” With her narrative building slowly toward chaos, the author gives epic fantasy aficionados some truly grim moments, as when Liaonne “hacked at the body until it became an unrecognizable heap of flesh and torn metal armor.” A stunning twist two-thirds into the story electrifies the pace and gives the series a darker tone, making the next volume unmissable.
A mature and deftly plotted fantasy sequel by a shrewd author.Pub Date: July 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73505-185-7
Page Count: 458
Publisher: Kibbe Creative Media, LLC
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes.
What happens to the world after the dust from a revolution has settled?
Friends Annie and Lee were children from very different circles when Atreus killed Lee’s father, dragonlord Leon Stormscourge, ending the uprising on the bloodiest day in Callipolis’ history. For too long the dragonriders held all the power while their people starved and lived in fear. Nine years later, a new generation of dragonriders is emerging, children selected and trained on merit, not bloodlines. Their dragons are finally mature enough for them to compete for Firstrider, a position of power that can give Lee back a small part of what his family lost. However, not only is Lee competing against Annie, but rumors are circulating that some of the royal family have survived and have dragons of their own. Everyone will have to make a choice: Restore the old regime, support the First Protector and the new caste system he created, or look for a new way, no matter what the cost. From the beginning, this book pulls readers in with political intrigue and action. What keeps them invested, however, are the complex relationships between many cast members. Choices are complex, and the consequences for all could be deadly. The world is well fleshed out and believable. Annie and Lee are light skinned; secondary characters are diverse, and race is a nonissue in this world.
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes. (author’s note) (Fantasy.14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51821-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
A glossy repackaging of a jejune tale.
A reissue of the 2016 novel published as Consider.
Alexandra Lucas and her boyfriend, Dominick, are about to start their senior year of high school when 500 vertexes—each one a doorway-shaped “hole into the fabric of the universe”—appear across the world, accompanied by holographic messages communicating news of Earth’s impending doom. The only escape is a one-way trip through the portals to a parallel future Earth. As people leave through the vertexes and the extinction event draws nearer, the world becomes increasingly unfamiliar. A lot has changed in the past several years, including expectations of mental health depictions in young adult literature; Alex’s struggle with anxiety and reliance on Ativan, which she calls her “little white savior” while initially discounting therapy as an intervention, make for a trite after-school special–level treatment of a complex situation; a short stint of effective therapy does finally occur but is so limited in duration that it contributes to the oversimplification of the topic. Alex also has unresolved issues with her Gulf War veteran father (who possibly grapples with PTSD). The slow pace of the plot as it depicts a crumbling society, along with stilted writing and insubstantial secondary characterization, limits the appeal of such a small-scale, personal story. Characters are minimally described and largely racially ambiguous; Alex has golden skin and curly brown hair.
A glossy repackaging of a jejune tale. (Science fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-72826-839-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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