Even readers on their own 14th rereads of the series will find new insights to ponder.
Albus Dumbledore: saintly mentor and protector of young wizards or ruthless Machiavellian manipulator?
In this edition of a previously self-published collection of essays gathered from his columns on the fan website MuggleNet, Khaytman spins hints in the texts and purely speculative notions together into a broad view of what Hogwarts’ headmaster knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it in his campaign to quash He Who Must Not Be Named. Even though he opens with a key to the jargon, readers who can’t keep SS (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) separate from QA (Quidditch Through the Ages) or easily distinguish Quirrellmort from Cupcrux will struggle to keep up as he minutely analyzes Dumbledore’s influence in events through each of the seven original HPs in turn. Khaytman writes that he reread the series 14 times but freely acknowledges ideas contributed by fellow fan critics both as he goes and, in greater detail, in an annotated bibliography. In the end, though, some of what Dumbledore did—or what he surmises Dumbledore must have done—creates a dilemma for readers, and the author ultimately leaves him, for all his scheming ways and imperfections, on the side of the angels. Dumbledore’s sexuality does not come up nor, aside from a reference drawn from DH to his character’s being “white as his beard,” does his race. Three appendices further explore the canon.
Even readers on their own 14th rereads of the series will find new insights to ponder. (Literary criticism. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-948174-78-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Media Lab Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
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
A fantasy with complex characterization that will build anticipation for the next entry.
Three young people find their places in a world of vengeance and destiny in National Book Award winner Tahir’s duology opener set in the multicultural world of her An Ember in the Ashes series.
Aiz, from the impoverished nation of Kegar, seeks revenge against Tiral bet-Hiwa, an air squadron commander who, as a child, murdered Aiz’s fellow orphans. Guided by a voice claiming to be Mother Div, Kegar’s first queen, Aiz escapes imprisonment after her failed assassination attempt on Tiral and embarks on a journey to free Mother Div’s trapped spirit. In the Martial Empire, Sirsha, a skilled tracker with magical abilities who’s been banished from her homeland, is saved by a stranger who hires her to hunt an unnatural killer. Quil, the crown prince of the Martial Empire, faces an invasion by the Kegari and the lingering threat of a mysterious force responsible for recent murders, including those of two of his loved ones. As the storylines converge, Sirsha and Quil cross paths, leading to revelations about the insidious force. The story explores the blurred line between good and evil and the lengths one will go to for a better life. Tahir’s deep and intricate worldbuilding requires time for readers to fully grasp. Following a slow start, the plot engages as pieces fall into place, leading up to an unexpected ending. The beautiful writing compensates for the romantic relationships, which develop quickly and somewhat inorganically.
A fantasy with complex characterization that will build anticipation for the next entry. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780593616949
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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