Though the world of Pandian’s new series may not sound any more appealing than Zoe’s vegan recipes, it’s just as satisfying...
An alchemist moves to Oregon in an attempt to leave her old ways behind only to find that they’ve followed her in the form of a 3-foot-tall talking gargoyle.
While she’s unpacking boxes in Portland, Zoe Faust discovers an unwelcome addition to her baggage: a stone gargoyle as tall as a yardstick. She thinks that having an unexpected and unwieldy stone statue is trouble enough until the gargoyle comes to life and greets her in a thick French accent. Dorian Robert-Houdin—of course a French-speaking gargoyle must have a hyphenated name—was brought to life by his father, a renowned human magician in the 1800s. Dorian is desperate for Zoe’s help, because in spite of the magic that brought him to life, his animation appears to be fading. Terrified of being trapped in his own stone body, he’s followed Zoe to Portland because he knows the truth about her: She’s not just some herbal hobbyist, but a real alchemist. Zoe has been hoping to escape her old life as a closeted immortal in France and also needs a new town where no one will guess her secret. Once she agrees to help Dorian, Zoe runs into trouble of her own when the handyman she’s hired to help with the house shows up dead on her doorstep on his first day. Zoe lets it slip to Detective Max Liu that she can tell poison was involved, but she can’t tell him that she can smell it on the body. Now Zoe’s got two mysteries to solve, each a case of life and death, and the best help she’s got are her new stone friend and a troublemaker kid, Brixton, who may be in it just to prove Dorian’s existence to the outside world.
Though the world of Pandian’s new series may not sound any more appealing than Zoe’s vegan recipes, it’s just as satisfying in the end.Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4184-0
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Midnight Ink/Llewellyn
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
None
After a long silence (Portraits of his Children, stories, 1987), the author of the cult novel The Armageddon Rag (1983) returns with the first of a fantasy series entitled, insipidly enough, A Song of Ice and Fire. In the Seven Kingdoms, where the unpredictable seasons may last decades, three powerful families allied themselves in order to smash the ruling Targaryens and depose their Mad King, Aerys II. Robert Baratheon claimed the throne and took to wife Tywin Lannister's daughter, Cersei; Ned Stark returned north to gloomy Winterfell with its massive, ancient Wall farther to the north that keeps wildings and unspeakable creatures from invading. Some years later, Robert, now drunk and grossly fat, asks Ned to come south and help him govern; reluctantly, since he mistrusts the treacherous Lannisters, Ned complies. Honorable Ned soon finds himself caught up in a whirl of plots, espionage, whispers, and double-dealing and learns to his horror that the royal heir, Joffrey, isn't Robert's son at all but, rather, the product of an incestuous union between the Queen and her brother Jaime—who murdered the Mad King and earned the infamous nickname Kingslayer. Ned attempts to bargain with Cersei and steels himself to tell Robert—but too late. Swiftly the Lannisters murder the King, consign Ned to a dungeon, and prepare to seize the throne, opposed only by the remaining Starks and Baratheons. On the mainland, meanwhile, the brutal and stupid Viserys Targaryen sells his sister Dany to a barbarian horse-warrior in return for a promise of armies to help him reconquer the Seven Kingdoms. A vast, rich saga, with splendid characters and an intricate plot flawlessly articulated against a backdrop of real depth and texture. Still, after 672 dense pages, were you expecting a satisfying resolution? You won't get it: Be prepared for a lengthy series with an indefinitely deferred conclusion.
None NonePub Date: Aug. 12, 1996
ISBN: 0-553-10354-7
Page Count: 672
Publisher: Spectra/Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
A fast-paced novel that’s part Wild West, part Indiana Jones, and wholly entertaining, combining high emotional stakes with...
A fantasy adventure about a race to discover, and control, magical artifacts of immense power.
Waxillium Ladrian is settling down, or trying to. But first his wedding to the oddly endearing Steris hits a bit of a snag, and then some pesky shape-shifting immortals show up with wild stories of relics known as the Bands of Mourning, rumored to bestow immense magical power on anyone who holds them. Soon enough, he’s off to the outlying city of New Seran, chasing down a legend—and his own uncle, who’s part of a mysterious organization known as the Set trying to manipulate and control inborn magical abilities and who may be holding Wax’s sister captive. This sequel to The Alloy of Law (2011) and Shadows of Self (2015) continues to push back the frontiers of Wax’s world and raise questions about what justice is and what it means to be a good person. But it’s the characters that are the real strength here: besides the conflicted, striving Wax, there’s Wayne, who’s more than just the comic relief, Marasi, who’s forging her own identity in a changing world, and Steris, who’s just not like anyone else. Fans of Wax and his companions will thoroughly enjoy this next installment of their absorbing adventures.
A fast-paced novel that’s part Wild West, part Indiana Jones, and wholly entertaining, combining high emotional stakes with a deep, good-natured sense of humor.Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7857-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
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