A religion-based SF novel that delivers heady thrills and a fair bit of confusion.
In Cook’s fantasy novel, the last Atlantean is kidnapped and enslaved by an alien race intent on destroying humanity.
The Great Flood has ended, and Earth is now in an ice age. While reluctantly listening to God’s commands, Ithyanna Ekkleono (“the only apparent survivor of the Flood who did not take refuge in Noah’s Ark”) finds herself traversing the cold land that will eventually become North America to the future site of Roswell, New Mexico. Ithyanna has barely arrived when a strange craft lands and three gray aliens emerge, using their psychic weapons to take control of Ithyanna’s mind and body. Thus begins Ithyanna’s enslavement by the horrid creatures. She manages to kill two, but the Prefect, the strongest of the three, remains alive and keeps Ithyanna in captivity. The remaining alien’s plan to destroy humanity begins with sowing the seeds of alcoholism in Noah and his family, leading to the eventual downfall of Sodom (which Ithyanna narrowly escapes). Ithyanna knows God has a plan for her eventual emancipation, but she must endure her captivity while witnessing the kidnappings and enslavement of multiple famous humans throughout time, such as Amelia Earhart, Elvis Presley, and Jimmy Hoffa. The Prefect and his off-world alien cohorts are working for Lucifer himself, and it’s going to take all of Ithyanna’s courage and might—plus help from God—to save humanity and obtain her freedom. This is the second novel in the Ithyanna series; readers are strongly recommended to approach the books in order, since Ithyanna has a complicated past that won’t come across clearly for newcomers. The author includes a list of the characters, which comes in handy, as many of them have long names (even God himself shows up in multiple forms, which could lead to confusion). While the book does come with some trigger warnings, they focus more on references to enslavement and might not fully prepare readers to encounter insensitive terms such as “Oriental-looking” and “colored slave-song.” But for readers who desire a wild, out-there SF saga with a heavy dose of religion, this will fit the bill.
A religion-based SF novel that delivers heady thrills and a fair bit of confusion.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.
After 500 years, the Grief of Ages is a distant memory—until dragons hellbent on destruction begin to wake again.
In this relatively brief prequel to the epic The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019), the kingdoms of Virtudom have experienced centuries of relative peace. Marosa Vetalda, the Princess of Yscalin, spends her days behind castle walls under the gaze of her overprotective father, awaiting the date when she’ll be wed to Aubrecht of Mentendon, her ticket to freedom. While the book’s main focus is initially on the political threads weaving the Western kingdoms together, the frailty of best-laid plans is exposed when evidence of the reemergence of draconic beings reaches castle ears. These tales often come from the cullers who make their living slaying these creatures, and who are often blamed for intentionally waking them for profit. No one alive remembers the Grief of Ages, so no one’s prepared when Fýredel, the great High Western dragon, surfaces from the volcanic mountain that towers ominously over Yscalin’s capital city of Cárscaro. What follows is the backstory of how the devoted Yscali kingdom comes to shift allegiance to Fýredel and his master, the Nameless One, a main catalyst to events in The Priory. Overall, this book reads more like history lesson than fantasy adventure, but the sheer terror that befalls the Yscali people as they face Fýredel’s pure evil is both powerful and relevant. Marosa’s plight further solidifies her as a hero worth remembering; her strength and defiance shine through as hope for the future she’s dreamed of slowly flickers out.
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781639736010
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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