A vibrant, elucidating LGBTQ+ fantasy.
In this third volume of the Immortal Beings fantasy series, deities inhabit human bodies, fall in love, and strive against bigotry.
Three thousand years ago, in a region called Zhongtu, An Ning awakes in a field of ash, inhabiting a man’s body. She has no other memories of her identity prior to waking other than her name and gender, but she has the magical power to shape clothing from soot. She learns that the village of Xiling has been burned by the God of Destruction and befriends Lady Guiying, a courtesan. When An Ning explains the circumstances of her awakening, Guiying declares her a new god. Soon, An Ning is known as “the Peace Bringer” in the village of Ningjingcun. One day, Karana—who’s the God of Destruction but chooses not to use the title—approaches the village. When he sees someone who reminds him of An Ning, whom he knew millennia ago, he calls her name. Startled, An Ning uses divine magic to teleport to Karana’s side, then faints from the exertion. Karana carries An Ning to her house and remains until she wakes. So begins an unconventional and magical romance that feels like destiny at work—yet Karana keeps his past from An Ning, including her role in it. The truth emerges as the Sundered Cult, seeking vengeance for their deceased Sun God, attacks female monks and deities. Pawlicki’s third series installment is emotionally resonant as both a fantasy and as an exploration of transgender identity. The chapters often shift between An Ning and Karana’s third-person perspectives, and when following An Ning’s actions, the narration uses the pronouns she/her/hers. When following Karana’s, An Ning’s pronouns become he/him/his, portraying Karana’s inaccurate perception. Magical elements, such as Bulgae fire dogs, are well integrated into the narrative. Bits of wisdom weave through the story in lines such as “You cannot control what another believes.” The work’s tragic portrayals of body dysmorphia will be familiar to many readers and may create clarity for others. A magical plot development toward the end reveals how one’s viewpoint on gender is informed by society and also changeable with an open heart.
A vibrant, elucidating LGBTQ+ fantasy.Pub Date: June 14, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-957279-02-2
Page Count: 345
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Lush, gorgeous, precise language and propulsive plotting sweep readers into a story as intelligent as it is atmospheric.
In 16th-century Madrid, a crypto-Jew with a talent for casting spells tries to steer clear of the Inquisition.
Luzia Cotado, a scullion and an orphan, has secrets to keep: “It was a game she and her mother had played, saying one thing and thinking another, the bits and pieces of Hebrew handed down like chipped plates.” Also handed down are “refranes”—proverbs—in “not quite Spanish, just as Luzia was not quite Spanish.” When Luzia sings the refranes, they take on power. “Aboltar cazal, aboltar mazal” (“A change of scene, a change of fortune”) can mend a torn gown or turn burnt bread into a perfect loaf; “Quien no risica, no rosica” (“Whoever doesn’t laugh, doesn’t bloom”) can summon a riot of foliage in the depths of winter. The Inquisition hangs over the story like Chekhov’s famous gun on the wall. When Luzia’s employer catches her using magic, the ambitions of both mistress and servant catapult her into fame and danger. A new, even more ambitious patron instructs his supernatural servant, Guillén Santángel, to train Luzia for a magical contest. Santángel, not Luzia, is the familiar of the title; he has been tricked into trading his freedom and luck to his master’s family in exchange for something he no longer craves but can’t give up. The novel comes up against an issue common in fantasy fiction: Why don’t the characters just use their magic to solve all their problems? Bardugo has clearly given it some thought, but her solutions aren’t quite convincing, especially toward the end of the book. These small faults would be harder to forgive if she weren’t such a beautiful writer. Part fairy tale, part political thriller, part romance, the novel unfolds like a winter tree bursting into unnatural bloom in response to one of Luzia’s refranes, as she and Santángel learn about power, trust, betrayal, and love.
Lush, gorgeous, precise language and propulsive plotting sweep readers into a story as intelligent as it is atmospheric.Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781250884251
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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
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