An enthralling epic that balances politics and morality with dramatic battle scenes and complex characters.
In Madeley’s medieval adventure novel, a disgraced duke begins to discover what it takes to rule as he confronts a vengeful king hell-bent on war.
Jarek, the brash duke of House Wancyek raised to one day assume the throne of the kingdom of Wancyrik, essentially throws it all away: After becoming angry that his uncle, King Julian, disciplined one of his riders, Jarek slaps the king and loses an ensuing duel with his cousin, Duke Lenn. His punishment is banishment. Now cut off from royal support, Jarek is allowed to keep his province and ferociously loyal soldiers—but only under the promise that he’ll never return or attack the capital. Meanwhile, in a different land, King Elcimer has managed to form a peaceful coalition with his neighbors. But an assassination attempt by one of his allies, combined with the ruthless manipulation of powerful King Jonnecht of Kensrik, spurs Elcimer to unleash war on the land. Jarek, wallowing in his solitary misery, receives a much-needed wakeup call during a discussion with Galyna, a villager who explains to him the hardships that Jarek’s people have endured under his leadership. With Elcimer’s war making life for his people even more difficult, Jarek faces a choice: Admit defeat, or step up and be the leader he was born to be. Natural dialogue and striking action scenes combine to paint a vivid portrait of a land in chaos. Madeley constructs a world full of danger with both style and wit: “Elcimer is a young man with the loftiest ambitions. Having not faced a moment of substantial adversity or terror in his life, nothing limits the heights which he imagines he could achieve.” There isn’t any real question as to whether or not Jarek will choose to help his kingdom’s people, so the true tension lies in Elcimer’s strategic decisions and in his confrontation with Jarek. That tension, along with the enjoyably flawed characters whom readers meet along the way, ably carries the novel forward to a satisfactory conclusion.
An enthralling epic that balances politics and morality with dramatic battle scenes and complex characters.Pub Date: Dec. 14, 2022
ISBN: 9798369751800
Page Count: 332
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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