A swiftly paced, exhilarating volume in a saga likely to appeal to all ages.
A teen, having trained in combat and magic, treks across the world of Selaras to conquer an evil, powerful being in the third installment of Mugdan’s YA fantasy series.
Keriya Soulstar suddenly awakens in the country of Jidaeln. Her memory slowly returns: She had been in Allentria, on the other side of the world, fighting sinister Necrovar, or “the Shadow.” Uncertain of how she wound up in Jidaeln, Keriya wants to return to Allentria and ensure Necrovar’s defeat. She begins by requesting that elite soldiers, the Xamarai, train her; despite the valuable, ancient sword she received as a gift, Keriya’s blade skills are subpar. She undergoes rigorous training and finds an ally in military leader Viran Kvlaudium, who ultimately joins Keriya’s expedition to Allentria. The dragon god, Shivnath, who for an unknown reason enlisted Keriya to face Necrovar, gave the teenager magic to use—only once—against the Shadow. Since then, she’s displayed no power other than telepathy. But Viran helps Keriya realize she’s capable of much more. The two secure passage to Allentria, already under threat from sorcerers aligned with chimeric creatures known as daemonion. Merely getting to their destination is treacherous, as Keriya, Viran, and companions along the way confront demons and monsters of the sea. Although this is a second sequel, Mugdan (Dragon Child, 2019, etc.) packs it with plot. Keriya, for example, endures bullying, as she’s the only female trainee among the Xamarai, and learns something about the sword she acquired prior to this book. She’s a tenacious protagonist with a discernible physical trait in her purple eyes—which were formerly an indication of great power—courtesy of Shivnath’s magic. The author’s lucid prose and smooth transitions between character perspectives make the occasional battle sequence easy to follow despite the frantic goings-on. As Keriya continues to hone her magic and decipher her enigmatic link to Shivnath, the narrative remains quest oriented. With that in mind, the subtle romance between Keriya and Viran is refreshing, if intermittent.
A swiftly paced, exhilarating volume in a saga likely to appeal to all ages.Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5323-8796-8
Page Count: 558
Publisher: Shivnath Productions
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.
Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.
Yanagihara (The People in the Trees, 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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