Remarkable characterization and vivid worldbuilding bolster this riveting epic fantasy.
This debut grimdark fantasy introduces a restless land of gods, assassins, and warring regions.
In the Riverlands, the Mathuran Republic narrowly survives a war with the Magadhan Empire. The death of the Magadhan emperor’s daughter sparks an armistice while he mourns for one year. Lord Krishna, integral in turning the former Mathura Kingdom into a republic, decides to use that year to devise a plan that will somehow protect his realm. Other regions and their leaders fret as well. Once the armistice ends, the empire will surely conquer the Mathuran Republic, and then which region is next? An upcoming “swayamvar” in the Panchal Kingdom, where potential suitors compete for the princess’s hand in marriage, becomes a power play, with the hopes of uniting certain regions. This doesn’t stop someone from inexplicably sending assassins to kill various targets, even royalty, across the land. Meanwhile, an oracle struggles to decipher a cryptic prophecy in which the appearance of a mysterious “Son of Darkness” is a sign of utter destruction. A battle in the Riverlands, it seems, is inevitable. Mohanty’s vibrant reimagining of the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata deftly puts familiar characters into an entirely new world. The extensive cast is initially overwhelming, though where the players are and their alliances (kingdoms and unions) are always clear. Similarly, well-defined class distinctions elevate this series opener; for example, aspiring warrior Karna, as a “lowborn” Resht, endures bigotry. While the brewing conflict drives the lengthy narrative, there are hints of probable series arcs. For example, the godly Daevas, or Children of Light, play a minor but significant part; they’re powerful mythical beings who some believe died long ago. Mohanty’s pithy writing delivers such lucid details as the airy fragrance of “almonds and lemons” and sunlight glinting off “gilded spurs and bright steel.” The author sets a deliberate pace that effectively builds to a massive battle scene, electrifying the final act.
Remarkable characterization and vivid worldbuilding bolster this riveting epic fantasy.Pub Date: June 3, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 692
Publisher: Leadstart Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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
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