An imaginative, if somewhat dense, epic with meticulous worldbuilding.
In Goldsmith’s debut fantasy series starter, a storyteller must prevent catastrophe by keeping the land’s now-forbidden mythology alive.
The world of Aerda has enjoyed peace and harmony for centuries, maintained by nameless storytellers called rookes. Then an imperial takeover brings new technologies, the suppression of religion, and the systematic assassination of rookes to destroy Aerda’s old mythology. Fifty-seven years later, an ancient spiritual order, the Seven Aspects of the Relic, delivers a distressing message to the last remaining rooke: The dragons of Aerda are coming out of hibernation, and the only way to prevent them from destroying everything in their path is for the rooke to tell the forbidden stories to everyone who’ll listen: “Dragons slumber to the tune of their tales. When their stories cease, when the magic of creation is extinguished in the people of Aerda, they awake.” The rooke sets off on his journey, accompanied by a bevy of assistants, followers, and protectors, including the scrivener and guardian knight Kentigern Dagan Leesh, master puzzle solver Ghita Mist, imperial defector Tavares Flaco, and the rooke’s two adopted sons, 15-year-old Thiago and 11-year-old Kostas. In city after city, the rooke recounts mythical tales of the enigmatic sorceress Phaedra and the lost land of Alleysiande to tavern audiences, encouraging them to break free from the oppressive regime of the Three Empires. But spies aim to crush the growing rebellion. Over the course of the novel, Goldsmith presents an intricately crafted fantasy tale about oral storytelling tradition, oppression, and the existential threat that technology can present to creativity: “I used to paint,” says one character. “I don’t know why I gave it up. I guess it seemed useless once technology learned how to do it.” In addition to the primary arc, the rooke’s tales are effectively interwoven throughout, further immersing readers into the fictional world of Aerda. However, although the overall story is intriguing, some readers may find it difficult to follow at times, due to an overcrowded cast of characters, all of whom seem to come with their own side plots.
An imaginative, if somewhat dense, epic with meticulous worldbuilding.Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9798988155508
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Kpm Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.
After 500 years, the Grief of Ages is a distant memory—until dragons hellbent on destruction begin to wake again.
In this relatively brief prequel to the epic The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019), the kingdoms of Virtudom have experienced centuries of relative peace. Marosa Vetalda, the Princess of Yscalin, spends her days behind castle walls under the gaze of her overprotective father, awaiting the date when she’ll be wed to Aubrecht of Mentendon, her ticket to freedom. While the book’s main focus is initially on the political threads weaving the Western kingdoms together, the frailty of best-laid plans is exposed when evidence of the reemergence of draconic beings reaches castle ears. These tales often come from the cullers who make their living slaying these creatures, and who are often blamed for intentionally waking them for profit. No one alive remembers the Grief of Ages, so no one’s prepared when Fýredel, the great High Western dragon, surfaces from the volcanic mountain that towers ominously over Yscalin’s capital city of Cárscaro. What follows is the backstory of how the devoted Yscali kingdom comes to shift allegiance to Fýredel and his master, the Nameless One, a main catalyst to events in The Priory. Overall, this book reads more like history lesson than fantasy adventure, but the sheer terror that befalls the Yscali people as they face Fýredel’s pure evil is both powerful and relevant. Marosa’s plight further solidifies her as a hero worth remembering; her strength and defiance shine through as hope for the future she’s dreamed of slowly flickers out.
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781639736010
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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