Rich, lively characters make this epic tale a journey worth taking.
Kingdoms are thrown into chaos as a prophesized war looms in Spier’s debut fantasy series opener.
In 1564, many people disregard Tyrianna, a reputed Sea Witch, who foretells a “great sundering” and a “great war.” Then an elf from the Elven Kingdom of Valantir also predicts imminent doom as a mysterious fever spreads throughout the land. Meanwhile, King Kazius Auguron of Razadur leads an army primed for battle with surrounding kingdoms. But Kazius may not be the greatest menace they face; the people of Oakthorn, for example, are soon headed toward a possible confrontation with undead creatures, including vampires, ghouls, and zombies. There’s personal turmoil for some characters, as well. Oakthorn’s Honor Guard captain, Conrad Redmane, for one, must go into hiding after someone tries to pin a double murder on him. One of Conrad’s guards, Sgt. Alex Mill, also known as “Alex the Meek,” desperately searches for his kidnapped daughter, Molly. Tyriana’s visions of the great sundering include three champions who’ll need help to battle the impending evil. Indeed, a series of clashes is inevitable, with the kingdoms perpetually endangered by creatures such as dragons, demons, and a savage werewolf. Spier impressively manages a plethora of characters in this titanic novel. Some have similar names (or even the same first one, such as Alex Mill and Alex Redoak of Oakthorn), but the author makes sure that readers are never confused. The large cast does make the book feel more like a collection of subplots than a cohesive tale, particularly as there’s no discernible protagonist. Nevertheless, intriguing mysteries abound, from the identities of “the Bad Wolf” and the leader of the undead, to revelations about certain characters’ relationships to one another. Much of the plot progresses via abundant but sharply focused dialogue, and although the serious narrative is largely devoid of humor, the frequent insults are memorable, such as “bootlicking slime,” “spineless slugs,” and “crotchety old bastard.”
Rich, lively characters make this epic tale a journey worth taking.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5356-0695-0
Page Count: 756
Publisher: Time Tunnel Media
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
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BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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