Adult fans will find neither gore nor sex, but kids will find an evocative original fairy tale with an unexpectedly complex...
In a clear attempt to capitalize on the wild popularity of the HBO series Game of Thrones,Martin’s 1980 novella sees a second repackaging with new illustrations by Royo, replacing the 2006 edition illustrated by Yvonne Gilbert.
No alterations have been made to the story, aside from setting it all in blue type. Adara, a motherless “winter child,” loves the ice dragon that visits her every year. A cold, contained little girl, Adara keeps to herself, her grieving father and older siblings just as happy to be too busy for her. She gives all the emotion she withholds from her family to the ice dragon, first touching it at age 4 and riding it at 5, all in secret. As this is the world of Game of Thrones, war is being waged all around, though Adara’s remote northern country remains largely untouched, save for the annual visits by her uncle, who rides a fire dragon for the king. But the war eventually comes to them the year she turns 7, when the enemy’s dragonriders overpower the king’s and begin to burn everything in sight—till Adara and her ice dragon fly. Like the type, Royo’s lush ink-and-wash illustrations are all set in blue, heightening the icy feel. They sprawl across spreads, complementing the generously leaded text and providing ample resting place for readers’ eyes. Despite the war and destruction, this is very much a children’s story, told in a distantly folkloric tone that evokes the stylings of Jane Yolen.
Adult fans will find neither gore nor sex, but kids will find an evocative original fairy tale with an unexpectedly complex protagonist . (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7877-4
Page Count: 130
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Bravery shows up almost as often as buffoonery in these satiric bits and bobs.
More free-range juvenilia from the much-missed creator of Discworld.
Following up on The Dragons at Crumbling Castle, and Other Stories (2015), these 14 tales were likewise originally published in the 1960s and ’70s in the Bucks Free Press and reappear here with fresh titles and, as Pratchett puts it in his posthumous introduction, a few added “bits and bobs.” Mostly set in either the contemporary town of Blackbury or the “Wild West” (i.e., Welsh) hamlet of Llandanffwnfafegettupagogo, the tales tend toward silly upsets. These range from the mysterious transformation of local residents into Elizabethans to the exploits of Police Constable Bryn Bunyan, “fastest truncheon west of the River Severn,” at the O.K. Sheep Dip and elsewhere. In several episodes, adventurers, usually diminutive, intrepidly set out in such odd vehicles as a passing airship, a walnut submarine, or a human-sized lorry (this last forming the kernel of a later novel, Truckers). Aside from “An Ant Called 4179003” who settles in with an errant bee (both males, read into that what you will), the casts are all filled with standard, mundane or magical white, British types.
Bravery shows up almost as often as buffoonery in these satiric bits and bobs. (Fantasy/short stories. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-265311-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
A fully imagined world, a wider cast of engaging characters, and a satisfying resolution all help this sequel add up to an...
Izzy and her friends must once again band together to overcome an evil plan.
Despite the revelation that she is a fairy—a changeling—Izzy decided to return home to her human family at the end of series opener The Changelings (2016). At summer camp with her human, white younger sister, Henrietta, known as Hen, Izzy still misses the magic of the Faerie world and the friends she made there. Summoned to assist in fighting a new danger, Izzy struggles to recapture her magical abilities while fighting familiar feelings of self-doubt. Hen, initially left behind, finds her way to Faerie to help and winds up playing a vital role. Soontornvat’s story unfolds smoothly, but readers unfamiliar with the first volume may struggle somewhat to follow the action. Intriguing new elements—most notably the underwater Fen Whelps who reveal a crucial detail to the two sisters—add interest. As in the first book, it’s an individual who threatens destruction and cooperation that carries the day. A strong connection to nature, the importance of recognizing and using one’s own talents for the greater good, and the importance of family connections, however they are forged, are elements that will enhance the appeal for thoughtful fantasy readers.
A fully imagined world, a wider cast of engaging characters, and a satisfying resolution all help this sequel add up to an enjoyable, if not stand-alone, read. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3421-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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