A tale with complex worldbuilding that effectively explores what happens when voiceless peoples band together to make...
A new nation must contend with new power imbalances and alliances in Lewis’ second installment in the Durajan fantasy series.
This volume picks up right where the previous one ended, with Dothemides ruling the newly built city of Dothemia, forged from an alliance of people who were sent to the Durajan as punishment. Although Dothemides is beloved by most, he’s also more cautious than some of his subjects would like, especially in the face of incursions by other clans, such as the cultlike Creed, who continue their proselytizing. Dothemides hopes to keep Dothemia strong, but not by extending his reach so much that the fragile new nation crumbles. Still, his people face threats from warchiefs and the Creed, as well as from a new power: a group of battle-ready and ruthless women called the Furies who follow their leader, Svirva, with unflinching loyalty. Dothemides must decide whether and how much to engage, and not everyone is happy with his decision. This second series entry has a much quicker pace than the first and takes place over a much shorter time period, but the cast of characters swells even more, which means that some receive only cursory introductions and lack distinct personalities or voices. As in the first book, part of the story is told in the form of journal entries, which continue to read as though they were written by the same hand and don’t provide the dimensionality that some characters need. Still, Lewis’ strength is in the complexity of his worldbuilding; the various nations and clans all have complicated and convincing motivations, fears, and strengths. There are no straightforward villains in the Durajan saga—only people with differing needs and backgrounds who must contend with a world that’s often uncompromising and cruel. Some characters, such as Svirva, receive welcome additional characterization, and their trajectories make this book as much of a page-turner as the first in the series.
A tale with complex worldbuilding that effectively explores what happens when voiceless peoples band together to make themselves heard.Pub Date: June 1, 2026
ISBN: 9798998845888
Page Count: 528
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road meets Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in this frightful medieval epic about an orphan girl with visionary powers in plague-devastated France.
The year is 1348. The conflict between France and England is nothing compared to the all-out war building between good angels and fallen ones for control of heaven (though a scene in which soldiers are massacred by a rainbow of arrows is pretty horrific). Among mortals, only the girl, Delphine, knows of the cataclysm to come. Angels speak to her, issuing warnings—and a command to run. A pack of thieves is about to carry her off and rape her when she is saved by a disgraced knight, Thomas, with whom she teams on a march across the parched landscape. Survivors desperate for food have made donkey a delicacy and don't mind eating human flesh. The few healthy people left lock themselves in, not wanting to risk contact with strangers, no matter how dire the strangers' needs. To venture out at night is suicidal: Horrific forces swirl about, ravaging living forms. Lethal black clouds, tentacled water creatures and assorted monsters are comfortable in the daylight hours as well. The knight and a third fellow journeyer, a priest, have difficulty believing Delphine's visions are real, but with oblivion lurking in every shadow, they don't have any choice but to trust her. The question becomes, can she trust herself? Buehlman, who drew upon his love of Fitzgerald and Hemingway in his acclaimed Southern horror novel, Those Across the River (2011), slips effortlessly into a different kind of literary sensibility, one that doesn't scrimp on earthy humor and lyrical writing in the face of unspeakable horrors. The power of suggestion is the author's strong suit, along with first-rate storytelling talent.
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-937007-86-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
