An emotional and remarkably inventive fantasy.
A pair of children from a religious sect go on a quest as their world tips toward war in Morgenstern’s fantasy series opener.
In the world of Evigonda, four kingdoms vie for resources and power: Yudecca, Borensati, Selador, and Nazarelle. In the waters south of Yudecca, on an island monastery, the monks of Regnaröv magically harness the elements to defend the continent against monstrous, seagoing reptilians called Naga. To satisfy the demands of deities Leviathan and Naamah, a ritual called the Reaping must occur, which requires a seer to “harvest life energy from each nation and bring it to the Shepherd’s Nexus” in the continent’s center. The young seer Bo, who’s sightless but can read emotional auras, has been chosen for the task. She’s accompanied by acolyte Amos, who’s unable to speak; his best friend, Eli, died during a Naga attack and became the first soul collected in a ceremonial dagger for the Reaping. Though escorted for part of their journey by the monk Kohana, the children eventually meet Vyuuri, a wily former monk who renounced his loyalty to Regnaröv. Meanwhile, in Nazarelle, the soldier Lancaster Ben’Shual hopes to win the hand of Princess Winona. After Lancaster loses an eye in battle against Seladorian Templars, King Saul assigns him to gather intelligence on the technologically advanced Ashborn warriors. Over the course of this book, Morgenstern offers a brisk, concept-dense epic that succeeds in keeping its large cast in focus. Fans of grand fantasy series, such as David Farland’s Runelords novels, will be impressed by the abundant cultural details, including each nation’s splinter groups, gods, magic systems, and unique relationships. As the tribal chaos surrounding Amos and Bo increases, the two lonely main characters grow closer. Morgenstern’s main theme—that everyone has within them good and evil—is perfectly illustrated in the gripping finale, which seemingly pits heroes against each other. More darkness is expected in the planned sequel.
An emotional and remarkably inventive fantasy.Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 979-8-51-024556-1
Page Count: 229
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
