With many of the wrinkles from Volume 1 ironed out here, there are just a few more to manage to make Volume 3 a corker of a...
In this sequel to Knights of the Borrowed Dark (2016), Denizen Hardwick, along with his friends Simon Hayes and Abigail Falx, are Neophytes in the Order of the Borrowed Dark.
They now live in a house in Seraphim Row under the care of Denizen’s newly discovered mother, Vivian Hardwick, a Knight Superior of the order. There, Denizen and his friends train to defend it. Some of their fiercest enemies are the nefarious Tenebrous, dark, shape-shifting creatures who live in a sort of in-between world and who have powers that Denizen seems to be able to channel. As he feels he is losing his ability to control these powers, he is offered help by an unlikely ally, one he must convince his mother to trust if they are to protect the order from a possible assassination that could incite an interdimensional war. In this middle volume, Denizen is forced to call upon his courage to protect the order from dark forces that wish to destroy it. Though Rudden creates compelling, likable characters in this fierce, magical world, there is a repetitiveness to the narrative that slows up a rather lengthy book. The numerous interleaved scenes with Denizen’s secret ally give the story a “let’s get on with it” feel. Abigail is described with dark skin; the white default seems to apply to the rest of the principals.
With many of the wrinkles from Volume 1 ironed out here, there are just a few more to manage to make Volume 3 a corker of a conclusion. (Fantasy. 10-15)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-553-52301-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
A spectacular return to a magical world.
Following the events of Impossible Creatures (2024), a devoted Guardian teams up with a brave princess to fight her power-hungry uncle and save the Archipelago’s dragons from a strange new threat.
Jacques the dragon summons Christopher Forrester back to the Archipelago from the human world: Dragons are dying, and no one knows why. Meanwhile, on the island of Dousha, Princess Anya’s grandfather, King Halam, has been murdered, and her father accused—though she knows he’s innocent. When Christopher and Anya take refuge on the islet of Glimt, the Berserker Nighthand helps them see how their twin missions to save the dragons and free Anya’s father are connected. They work together to create an antidote for the poison that’s killing the dragons and to keep Anya and her father safe from her murderous uncle. Meanwhile, Nighthand and Irian, the part-nereid ocean scholar, pursue their own important secret mission. Divided into three parts—“Castle,” “Dragons,” and “Revenge”—and containing elements of fairy tales, fantasy, and Shakespeare, this story continues the storyline established in the series opener, yet because it introduces new characters and obstacles, it could also stand alone. Dark-blond Anya (“five feet tall and all of it claws”) is a match for white-presenting Christopher, who, though he still misses Mal, finds that “it made a difference to have someone to move through the world with again. A friend changed the feel of the universe.” Mackenzie’s delicate, otherworldly art adorns the text.
A spectacular return to a magical world. (map, bestiary) (Fantasy. 10-15)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9780593809907
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
PROFILES
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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