Hardcore fantasy fans will find this an absorbing, fast-paced table-setter.
The swords-and-sorcery genre deepens its presence on the African continent with this rough, tough page-turner replete with demons, dragons, and really bad dreams.
To the grand parade of brooding swashbucklers and formidable warriors striding along the thoroughfares of epic fantasy, one can now add the name of Tau Solarin. As this saga opens, Tau is a novice swordsman who hails from a rural village called Fief Kerem in a coastal corner of a mythic ancient Africa where the Omehi, or Chosen, people live in ongoing, centurieslong conflict against the Hedeni. Among the Omehi, caste divisions are strictly defined and often brutally enforced. And young Tau, who refers to himself as “High Common,” is still considered a “Lesser” even by friends who are placed in the higher “Noble” stratum. Even after Nobles and Lessers band together to fight Hedeni marauders and dragons, they battle among themselves for status and honor. And when Tau’s father steps in to fight in his son’s place and is killed under a Noble’s command, Tau vows revenge on all who abetted the murder. Exiled from Kerem, Tau finds his way into a military academy, where his physical prowess and intense diligence soon separate him from other recruits. In the midst of his training, Tau reconnects with his childhood love, Zuri, now among the so-called “Gifted” caste of mystic warriors who help Omehi soldiers fight the Hedeni. What Tau learns from her about magic enhances his considerable virtuosity in combat. The further Tau gets into his warrior identity, the more chaotic and complicated the world around him becomes. Gradually his burning desire for vengeance is all but overpowered by a nascent yearning to bring lasting peace to his battle-scarred land. Winter’s debut novel, already a self-published cult sensation among fantasy fans, is rife with vividly orchestrated battle sequences, whether the fights are between two people or vast armies. And the action is unrelenting, at times even overpowering. Sometimes you wish Tau and his comrades would take longer breaks between both mock and real battles. The relative novelty of this saga's African setting will draw comparisons with Marlon James’ Black Leopard, Red Wolf, though Winter’s novel is less stylistically ambitious and more formulaic.
Hardcore fantasy fans will find this an absorbing, fast-paced table-setter.Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-48976-8
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.
A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.
Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune (The Art of Breathing, 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
A new series starts off with a bang.
A queen and her young daughter are forced to separate and go into hiding when a corrupt politician tries to take over the kingdom.
Queen Cressa of Weirandale is worried about her 8-year-old daughter, the “princella” Cerúlia. The people of Weirandale worship a water spirit, Nargis, who grants each queen a special gift called a Talent. Cressa herself is able to meddle with memories, for example, and her mother possessed supernatural strategic abilities that served her well in battle. Cerúlia, however, appears to have none, because surely her insistence that she can talk to animals is only her young imagination running wild. When Cerúlia’s many pets warn her about assassins creeping into the royal chambers, the girl is able to save herself and her mother. Cressa uses her Talent, which actually extends to forcing anyone to tell her the truth, to root out traitors among the aristocracy, led by the power-hungry Lord Matwyck. Fearing for her daughter’s life and her own, Cressa takes Cerúlia and flees. Thinking Cerúlia will be safer away from her mother, Cressa takes the girl to a kind peasant family and adjusts their memories so they believe Cerúlia is their adopted daughter. Kozloff’s debut is the first of four Nine Realms books, and Tor plans to publish them over just four months. Luckily, the series opener is a strong start, so readers will be grateful for the short wait before Book 2. Kozloff sets a solid stage with glimpses into other characters and nations while keeping the book together with a clear, propulsive plot.
A new series starts off with a bang.Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-16854-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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.
