TRINE RISING

In this YA fantasy debut, a teenage girl has powers that could save or destroy her homeland as a centurieslong war reaches its climax.

In the land of Kinderra, in the province of Kin-Deren, 15-year-old Mirana Pinal is a magical Trine. Some of her people possess a single gift, called an Aspect, in Healing, Defending, or Seeing, but Mirana has all three powers. In two years, she’ll choose an amulet to focus her Aspects and aid the war against the Ken’nar, the ancient enemy of the Fal’kin people. Her father is Kaarl Pinal, Kinderra’s greatest warrior, and her mother is Desde, the governing prime in the capital. They don’t let on that they know that Mirana is a Trine, because public knowledge of that fact would pull the girl into war early. Ain Magne, a Dark Trine who leads the Ken’nar, aims to rule all of Kinderra. A prophecy from the Book of Kinderra describes a battle between Light and Dark Trines, and that “one of the Trines would come to destroy, the other to rebuild.” When Mirana has contradictory visions of soldiers and carnage at the Two Rivers Ford, she questions whether she’s the Light or Dark Trine of the prophecy. Can guidance from Trine Lord Tetric Garis make her future clearer? Donnelly vigorously describes his characters’ emotions and also explores the pitfalls of first love in this first book in a planned series. Mirana and 16-year-old Teague Beltran are fiercely loyal to each other; the boy, however, is has no powers, which the adults say dooms their romance. The fact that Mirana was born two months prematurely and is physically small adds complexity to her story of trading childhood for war. Donnelly clearly describes each Aspect as having numerous properties, for good or ill, as Ain Magne demonstrates by stripping his soldiers’ wills, creating battle-slaves who’ll fight until thoroughly butchered. Donnelly’s scenes of gore aren’t excessive, but when they appear, they’re effective. More impressive is the well-calibrated tension in the run-up to a single battle that begins in the minds of psychic characters long before the first sword falls. The finale promises a grand, devastating sequel.

Good characterization and well-described superpowers strengthen this series opener.