Humans, electronic beings and servers are separated by light years and metaphysics, but Kostick’s action-filled series...
Just as Saga (2008) exploded beyond opener Epic (2007), this third volume ratchets up this science-fiction gaming series to a whole new level.
Inside electronic world Edda, created and once played but now long deserted by humans, sentient Lord Scanthax rules all. He vanquishes other electronic realms via portal, killing everyone—sentient or not, he doesn’t care. But Scanthax, lacking DNA, can’t script new weapons. For that, he’s preserved the life of the only human left on the uninhabitable planet that houses Edda’s servers. Scanthax-controlled robots tend 15-year-old Penelope’s underused physical body inside an airlock. Penelope’s brain and consciousness are healthy and angry: Her avatar, Princess, has the run of Edda, but only as long as Penelope scripts the weapons Scanthax demands. Penelope wants, as Princess, to search other electronic worlds for avatars with humans behind them; having known only Scanthax her entire life, she craves human connection. Meanwhile, across this chain of worlds that were once games, electronic but very real Ghost from Saga sets out with human Erik from New Earth—as avatar Cindella—to find the conqueror threatening Saga’s sentient inhabitants. Combatants clash; worlds clash (techno/punk, traditional fantasy, military); philosophies clash (pacifism, preservation, revenge); loyalties hold steady.
Humans, electronic beings and servers are separated by light years and metaphysics, but Kostick’s action-filled series conclusion is immediate and relevant. (Science fiction. 13 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-670-01218-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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