An enthralling, densely packed, historically rich tale.
In Wimber’s fantasy novel, immortal brothers battle a host of enemies and each other.
Sahale, the creator of all things, gives his sons, Wyeast and Pathoe, land that they split for their respective tribes; the “Bridge of the Gods” connects the lands, divided by what will one day be known as the Columbia River in the United States. The area is already populated by hulking daemons, which the brothers’ tribes join forces to vanquish. Sadly, Wyeast and Pathoe soon turn against one another when they both fall for the same woman, Loowit. The book’s second section begins after much time has passed and the brothers once again face a common foe: Massive Thunderbirds threaten to wipe out both tribes unless Wyeast and Pathoe can put their differences aside and fight as one. In the final sequence, white settlers arrive on the land that they call America, and the brothers take part in U.S. wars all through the 19th century. The author’s pithy writing delivers readers an epic tale in compact form. She deftly constructs her narrative (which is based on an Indigenous myth) to provide glimpses into America’s tumultuous growth. The female characters are impeccably well drawn, especially the skilled archer/warrior/healer, Tacoma. By sharp contrast, the brothers’ perpetual squabbling wears thin (the pair are frequently scolded like children). Nevertheless, their story cleverly parallels the book’s historical arc—they sympathize with the Indigenous peoples, but, like the U.S. government, they seize land that isn’t theirs. Contemporary-sounding dialogue throughout helps maintain the brisk pace, although it’s sometimes jarring, as when Tacoma audaciously tells Wyeast, “There is no one else here who is willing to try and pull your head out of your ass.” While each of the three stories contained here concludes satisfactorily, another tale or three about these immortals would be welcome.
An enthralling, densely packed, historically rich tale.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9781039165670
Page Count: 339
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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
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