by E. DeLaurentis ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 9, 2019
A series opener that explores an intriguing creation myth in the making.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
In this fantasy debut, ethereal beings aid the progress of humanoids whose fate is entwined with theirs.
Once, the ancient beings known as Sakrosians existed as filaments of energy throughout the cosmos. Thanks to their love of change, they eventually manifested as physical beings on the planet Gaia. A Seer named El chose a lovely spot to erect Sakros City, which features numerous types of dwellings and public buildings. The Sakrosians soon wished to explore Gaia more fully, but they were tethered to the city’s energy source. Experiments resulted in Sakrosians transforming into bipedal forest dwellers, who now roam widely. Sakrosian Prophets believe that these “Fledglings” have the potential to evolve further, but the Fledglings of Norwyk, north of Sakros City, have concentrated on building an ever larger city, rather than exploring new lands. Their obstacle is the Great Divide, a steep canyon filled with rapids that seems too deadly to cross. El and a contingent of Sakrosians—including Ak, their leader; and Ved, their logistics commander—travel to Norwyk to encourage the Fledglings to cross the Great Divide to the fertile land of Terrenor. However, Fledglings like Telek, who value strength first and foremost, cause El to doubt the experiment that the Sakrosians have pursued for 60 generations. DeLaurentis adds a fantasy flourish to a prehistoric adventure that’s reminiscent of Jean M. Auel’s 1980 novel The Clan of the Cave Bear. She compellingly draws a clear line between being sensitive and talented (like the Fledgling musician, Luken) and being able to perceive El’s thoughts, and shows the usefulness of this when braving the Great Divide. The journey effectively highlights the Fledglings’ best and worst traits, as the tough situations reveal who’s trustworthy and who’s unfit for Sakrosian patronage. DeLaurentis’ smooth prose conveys the “transition” notion clearly, and solid worldbuilding prepares readers for higher stakes in the next volume.
A series opener that explores an intriguing creation myth in the making.Pub Date: March 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73379-202-8
Page Count: 298
Publisher: Writing Studio LLC
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Max Brooks ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2020
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Awards & Accolades
Likes
211
Our Verdict
GET IT
New York Times Bestseller
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Share your opinion of this book
More by Max Brooks
BOOK REVIEW
by Max Brooks
More About This Book
BOOK TO SCREEN
by Samantha Shannon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 26, 2019
A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.
Awards & Accolades
Likes
64
Our Verdict
GET IT
New York Times Bestseller
After 1,000 years of peace, whispers that “the Nameless One will return” ignite the spark that sets the world order aflame.
No, the Nameless One is not a new nickname for Voldemort. Here, evil takes the shape of fire-breathing dragons—beasts that feed off chaos and imbalance—set on destroying humankind. The leader of these creatures, the Nameless One, has been trapped in the Abyss for ages after having been severely wounded by the sword Ascalon wielded by Galian Berethnet. These events brought about the current order: Virtudom, the kingdom set up by Berethnet, is a pious society that considers all dragons evil. In the East, dragons are worshiped as gods—but not the fire-breathing type. These dragons channel the power of water and are said to be born of stars. They forge a connection with humans by taking riders. In the South, an entirely different way of thinking exists. There, a society of female mages called the Priory worships the Mother. They don’t believe that the Berethnet line, continued by generations of queens, is the sacred key to keeping the Nameless One at bay. This means he could return—and soon. “Do you not see? It is a cycle.” The one thing uniting all corners of the world is fear. Representatives of each belief system—Queen Sabran the Ninth of Virtudom, hopeful dragon rider Tané of the East, and Ead Duryan, mage of the Priory from the South—are linked by the common goal of keeping the Nameless One trapped at any cost. This world of female warriors and leaders feels natural, and while there is a “chosen one” aspect to the tale, it’s far from the main point. Shannon’s depth of imagination and worldbuilding are impressive, as this 800-pager is filled not only with legend, but also with satisfying twists that turn legend on its head. Shannon isn’t new to this game of complex storytelling. Her Bone Season novels (The Song Rising, 2017, etc.) navigate a multilayered society of clairvoyants. Here, Shannon chooses a more traditional view of magic, where light fights against dark, earth against sky, and fire against water. Through these classic pairings, an entirely fresh and addicting tale is born. Shannon may favor detailed explication over keeping a steady pace, but the epic converging of plotlines at the end is enough to forgive.
A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63557-029-8
Page Count: 848
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Samantha Shannon
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More About This Book
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.