An ambitious new fantasy with a unique setting and broad cast of characters.
As the barrier separating the god Rahmagut from the world thins, the ambitious and desperate rally to seek his favor.
After the death of her father, Reina has had to survive alone in a society unable to see past her ears and tail, which betray the fact that her mother was a nozariel and not quite human. Humans once enslaved nozariels, and though slavery is now outlawed, society is still deeply divided. When Reina’s estranged grandmother summons her to the Águila Manor, Reina leaves at once. Meanwhile, far away, Eva is singled out within her own family for her valco blood, deemed dangerous and warlike by humans. The Águilas are valcos as well, and Reina must prove herself useful to the family’s head, Don Enrique. Reina throws herself into her work, learning magic tied to the dark god Rahmagut from her grandmother and fighting the dangerous creatures conjured by Rahmagut’s powers alongside the beautiful Celeste and the vicious Javier. Reina experiences a new world of magic and devotion to a god other than Ches, who is revered for trapping Rahmagut in a void beyond the world. Rahmagut promises power for whomever completes an invocation on the few days when his constellation appears. Those days fast approaching, Don Enrique works with single-minded purpose to gain Rahmagut’s favor, though he is not the only one in his household who would think to summon a god. Simultaneously, Eva’s path brings her ever closer to the Águilas. The lush and varied landscape as well as the clear effects of colonialism and revolution are all inspired by Venezuela, creating a rich, complex world. Featuring morally gray characters and a plethora of relationships among women, both Sapphic and platonic, the book has an occasionally heavy hand in terms of characterization, but that doesn't detract from the overall scope of the plot.
An ambitious new fantasy with a unique setting and broad cast of characters.Pub Date: July 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780316336543
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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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