A rollicking tale with magic, pirates, and multiple viewpoints that will keep readers turning pages.
In this fantasy, a magic researcher embarks on an arduous quest to reach an enchanted land.
The country of Dressa Moore boasts a strange sight: a lake improbably hovering in the sky. An epic battle, resulting in a frozen stalemate between the last dragon and wizard, caused magical powers to erupt throughout the land, altering the terrain and its inhabitants. Jonathan Braxton, a narcissistic magilurgy professor at the Great University of Learning and Knowledge, is eager to study this area uncharted by researchers. He also hopes that bringing along his lover, William Watts Worthwaddle, a linguist, will improve their faltering relationship. But the journey to Lake Connell spawns danger and obstacles at every turn. For one, Jonathan and William sail the Aquirren River on The Knotted Wood, a ship captained by Marta Bartolome, a pirate commanding an undead crew. Further complications abound, threatening to thwart their goal. The pirate ship is desperately pursued by Commodore Thomas Wilkes, who wants to kill Marta, believing she abducted his wife. The True Religionists don’t want Dressa Moore to be explored, fearing they’ll lose their tight control of the area. Fellow magilurgist Samson Sutter, jealous of Jonathan, tries to cut the funding for the expedition. Miller keeps his story hopping rapidly from one viewpoint to another, but his large pool of characters can sometimes be overwhelming. William, Jonathan, and Marta stand out from the crowd—flawed but somehow likable, capable of surprises. Heartless-seeming Marta reveals her code of ethics about human life: “I never take one without good reason.” Mocked for his useless linguistics studies (there’s only one language), William nevertheless finds a way to earn respect with his skills. A magical land is imaginatively depicted with airborne pigs eating a shower of lettuce and carrots while gliding above “seashell streets.” Roses rapidly bloom, die, and regenerate. Though there are battle scenes, the book’s tone is lighthearted. “It took me three months to find the perfect-sized vest!” Marta shouts after being shot in the shoulder. Miller’s riveting novel is so stuffed with characters and subplots that a sequel is announced at the end.
A rollicking tale with magic, pirates, and multiple viewpoints that will keep readers turning pages.Pub Date: July 23, 2025
ISBN: 9798992099638
Page Count: -
Publisher: GAMS Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A unique concept that promises readers will find at least one, if not three, entwined but different narratives to enjoy.
When Vis is copied into two other realities, he must stop a god from repeatedly culling almost everyone back home.
Thousands of years ago, to prevent the Concurrence from enslaving everyone, the world was split into three near-identical copies: Res, Obiteum, and Luceum. To exist in all three worlds, to wield Will there, is to achieve synchronism. After the events in The Will of the Many (2023), which cost Vis his arm and the life of his friend, Vis achieves Synchronism. While Res-Vis must continue to play Hierarchy politics to find his friend’s killer, Obiteum-Vis finds a ruined world, where the dead are reanimated and used by Ka, the Concurrence, and the only other person to exist in synchronism. Meanwhile, Luceum-Vis is forced into a dispute between druids, their High Council, and their kings—with one king intent on killing him—and Vis has no idea why. On all worlds, Vis is as shrewd as ever, weighing his options, planning ahead, and doing what he must to survive. However, he, too, slowly diverges, doing things he swore he never would: cede his Will, use Will to control someone else, and reveal his true name. If at least one Vis cannot use his synchronism and power of Will to kill the Concurrence, no Vis will be safe, and another Cataclysm will cull those he loves on Res. Book Two of the Hierarchy series is a speculative fantasy that is at once Egyptian post-apocalyptic, Celtic medieval, and Roman dystopian, thanks to the multidimensional setting. Although the sprawling narrative at times overextends itself, Islington rewards patient readers with a compelling story, a cast of complex and diverse characters, and a glimpse into how far a good man can go before he’s lost. A symbol at the start of each chapter delineates which world and Vis it’s about. Readers should read The Will of the Many before attempting this volume, or they may be confused for the first several chapters and beyond.
A unique concept that promises readers will find at least one, if not three, entwined but different narratives to enjoy.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781982141233
Page Count: 736
Publisher: Saga/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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