An appealing supernatural series opener with rousing action scenes and sharp characterizations.
Individuals “infected” with superpowers fight to stop their cohorts from kidnapping children in this debut novel.
For Grace Song, a high school senior in Arcadian City in the United States, a simple act of kindness changes her life. She intercedes when three dogs corner a cat only to suffer a canine assault, though she’s relatively unharmed. Grace takes in the cat, Deidre, who later bites her hand. This leads to an infection in which visible tendrils appear on Grace’s skin. And with that comes potent abilities, like easily tearing things apart, namely people. Meanwhile, 20-something Ethan Kaiser belongs to Arcadian City’s most influential family. Though he winds up framed for murder, his life ultimately intersects with Grace’s. By this time, Grace is a part of the Covenant Corporation with others also sporting superpowers, called Ultras. Some of the Ultras view themselves as superior to the rest of humanity. But Grace does not, nor does she abide by the Covenant’s plan to abduct gifted children for recruitment and immediate placement in the field. She finds an ally in Ethan, who develops abilities of his own, and the two plan to take down the enigmatic Kane, who seemingly masterminded the kidnapping plot. Although this supernatural series opener features solid action scenes, they’re primarily reserved for the novel’s latter half. Nevertheless, Eberhart aptly establishes characters in the slower Part 1, from Grace’s friend (and possibly more) Aryan Heather Skarsgarde to the Kaisers, particularly Ethan’s physician sister, Emily. While Grace, whose mother abuses her, is sympathetic, Ethan is decidedly less likable, as he’s unabashedly sexist. Still, the eventual confrontations between superpowered individuals are entertaining even if readers have already seen these abilities before, including flying, freezing objects, and transforming into a werewolf. The author truly amps up the action with strange but indelible onomatopoeia, such as “BURRRRP!” to signify a siren and “POCK!” for a variety of sounds, including a disengaging lock, a slap or punch, and suppressed gunshots.
An appealing supernatural series opener with rousing action scenes and sharp characterizations.Pub Date: Dec. 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-79475-720-2
Page Count: 408
Publisher: Lulu.com
Review Posted Online: March 7, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Absolutely superb.
Leaders of Britain’s abolitionist movement join forces with a veteran of the Haitian revolution to push back Napoleon’s deadly forces in Parry’s second Shadow Histories novel.
Napoléon Bonaparte isn’t a particularly talented magician, but his potential as a general and conqueror attracts the attention of the same mysterious figure who manipulated Robespierre to set off the Reign of Terror in A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians (2020). When Bonaparte summons a kraken to serve the French navy and later finds a dragon hidden in the sands of Egypt, it’s only a matter of time before France and Europe fall at his feet. William Pitt, meanwhile, is growing weaker by the day as he works to keep a deadly and dangerous magical secret from his enemies. William Wilberforce continues to fight for abolition but is stymied at every turn. Fina uses her magic to help Toussaint Louverture keep hold of Saint-Domingue, but she eventually makes the journey to London and meets Pitt and Wilberforce. With a first-rate blend of political drama and magic battle–action, Parry manages to inject tension and stakes into a historical drama where average readers will know at least the broad strokes of the ending. Effortlessly switching from France to England to Egypt to Saint-Domingue, Parry folds in show-stopping new characters like Kate Dove, a commoner weather mage dead-set on avenging her brother’s death by kraken, and Lady Hester Stanhope, who would become one of the most famous explorers of the 19th century. When the three main characters, Fina, Pitt, and Wilberforce, finally face off with the stranger, the resulting conflict brings the series’ meditations on idealism, the fight for human rights, and the necessary limits of institutional power to a head.
Absolutely superb.Pub Date: July 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-45915-0
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Redhook/Orbit
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dark thrills for fans of psychology, magick, and murder.
A girl uncovers her own secrets while chasing a serial killer in a fantasy city.
Catrin is the assistant to Magister Thomas, the head architect of the wondrous Holy Sanctum in the city of Collis. While inspecting scaffolds at night, Cat hears a scream and follows the sound only to find a gruesome murder scene. The Comte de Montcuir assigns Simon, a handsome, young distant relation of his, to investigate. As a witness, Cat hides some information because the murdered girl visited Magister Thomas earlier that evening, and she doesn’t want to give his political enemies leverage. In the course of investigating, Cat starts to uncover her own past and things that may make her uniquely qualified to hunt the killer. As more sex workers are brutally killed, Cat, Simon, and his Montcuir cousins develop a profile of the killer—a profile that fits multiple people close to Cat. Plenty of clues and red herrings keep her (and readers) guessing. The romantic storylines gain tension as Cat must decide whom to trust. The “madness” of the killer is clearly separated from mental illness, and diversity in the presentation of mental illness is emphasized. Racially, most characters read as White; there’s an in-universe diversity storyline related to an isolationist nocturnal sect some believe to have magick. The story ends with high-stakes action and long-reaching consequences.
Dark thrills for fans of psychology, magick, and murder. (author's note) (Fantasy thriller. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 28, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-75581-0
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
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