An enjoyable, somewhat overlong fantasy of clashing beliefs.
In Glickman’s (Aura, 2004, etc.) third novel, two princes face a threat that is both physical and philosophical.
Prince Talland meets the alluring, dangerous daughter of the Godlians (religious fanatics driven to control the world), and Prince Orland must hold fast against the mandated destruction of elder wisdom on Nef Island, where it’s all too easy to let old insights die. For Talland, the risk is of allowing others to assume control while he’s growing into his role as an active ruler. Orland must do more than merely escape; he must lead the world to wisdom. For both brothers, there is a daunting learning curve. Can they navigate the Godlian tyranny sufficiently to bring the people truth, whatever the price? Or will they sell out and abandon the heritage of humanity? Even the most enlightened are willing to burn ancient knowledge to save themselves, and there is always the matter of the spirit of “The One”—do they serve it, or do they defy it? For Orland, Talland and the reader, these issues remain foremost as the nations of their world are drawn into the two brothers’ destiny and move forward. And the story does not end there—as in the real world, every great clash has its aftermath. The novel is deeply political, and readers can embrace or ignore this as they wish. It is also extremely long, with a word count equivalent to three standard novels. The characters are well fleshed out (of the two princes, the stuttering, troubled Talland is the more interesting, but the story is told from Orland’s perspective); the dialogue is serviceable and often lighthearted (“stories require bathed bodies, and dinner”); and the pacing acceptable. Every point of view is addressed, and there is more than enough magic to keep readers engaged. Where it falls short, the reader will enjoy the deep philosophical disputes that the ambling, anecdote- and song-driven story—in part a New Age narrative—demands. More a fictional memoir of a troubled period in a fantasy world’s history than a battle-driven adventure.
An enjoyable, somewhat overlong fantasy of clashing beliefs.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9720718-9-5
Page Count: 650
Publisher: Hand to Hand Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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