A colorful but awkwardly composed fantasy tale.
A woman pursues a destiny of unimaginable power in this debut fantasy novel.
Thirty-four-year-old Koby, who’s oddly described in the narration as “middle-aged,” is spirited away from her mundane routine in Western Australia by noncorporeal “Creators of the Universes,” who reveal her true identity to her. They inform her that they used the powerful heart of the “last white star” to imbue her with life-force, so that she could fulfill a prophecy and go up against a major impending threat. The beings transport her to the ancient world of Logan, where she must train with the various magical and “Normal” people known as Kindred in order to realize her full powers. The Kindred, which include mages, faeries, “Vanishers,” and vampires, receive Koby as their long-awaited “White Queen” and take turns instructing her in their specific fields of magic and combat until her powers far exceed theirs. In the process, the Elder of the vampiric Kindred and a “Normal” knight both fall in love with her. By the time the aforementioned threat arrives—in the form of rapacious, world-destroying invaders—Koby has reached her full potential and made her choice between her two loves. However, she’s also realized that the enigmatic “Creators” may not be entirely benign. There’s a great deal of imagination at work here as well as a diverse cast of characters and intermittent high-octane action. However, the execution is hampered by excessive sentence fragments (“The fortress a spectacular sight”), misused words (“ridged” for rigid; “taught” for taut; “worriers” for warriors). Some statements end in question marks and some questions end in periods, random words are capitalized, and some wording is simply garbled: “Around her hips she wore a gun/knife/sword belt and golden locks piled up on top of her head.” Also, Koby’s adolescent, emotional jabs trivialize the enormity of her power, the high-stakes threat, and the gravitas of her origins. A sequel hook follows the climactic ending.
A colorful but awkwardly composed fantasy tale.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5043-2226-3
Page Count: 396
Publisher: BalboaPressAU
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Though it falters a bit under its own weight, this series still has plenty of fight left.
In this long-awaited fifth installment of Shannon’s Bone Season series, the threat to the clairvoyant community spreads like a plague across Europe.
After extending her fight against the Republic of Scion to Paris, Paige Mahoney, leader of London’s clairvoyant underworld and a spy for the resistance movement, finds herself further outside her comfort zone when she wakes up in a foreign place with no recollection of getting there. More disturbing than her last definitive memory, in which her ally-turned-lover Arcturus seems to betray her, is that her dreamscape—the very soul of her clairvoyance—has been altered, as if there’s a veil shrouding both her memories and abilities. Paige manages to escape and learns she’s been missing and presumed dead for six months. Even more shocking is that she’s somehow outside of Scion’s borders, in the free world where clairvoyants are accepted citizens. She gets in touch with other resistance fighters and journeys to Italy to reconnect with the Domino Programme intelligence network. In stark contrast to the potential of life in the free world is the reality that Scion continues to stretch its influence, with Norway recently falling and Italy a likely next target. Paige is enlisted to discover how Scion is bending free-world political leaders to its will, but before Paige can commit to her mission, she has her own mystery to solve: Where in the world is Arcturus? Paige’s loyalty to Arcturus is tested as she decides how much to trust in their connection and how much information to reveal to the Domino Programme about the Rephaite—the race of immortals from the Netherworld, Arcturus’ people—and their connection to the founding of Scion, as well as the presence of clairvoyant abilities on Earth. While the book is impressively multilayered, the matter-of-fact way in which details from the past are sprinkled throughout will have readers constantly flipping to the glossary. As the series’ scope and the implications of the war against Scion expand, Shannon’s narrative style reads more action-thriller than fantasy. Paige’s powers as a dreamwalker are rarely used here, but when clairvoyance is at play, the story shines.
Though it falters a bit under its own weight, this series still has plenty of fight left.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781639733965
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fresh, arresting entry in the vampire genre that revels in violent, bloody delights.
An orphaned teenager tries to connect her sister’s disappearance to their family’s decadeslong relationship with vampires.
Nineteen-year-old Kidan Adane wants nothing to do with her family’s horrifying rules and traditions, which stipulate that Kidan and her sister, June, who are Black girls of Ethiopian heritage, must honor soul-binding contracts with dranaics, or vampires. After their parents died, the sisters were placed in foster care with Mama Anoet. For years, Kidan had thought they were safe from evil—until Silia, their maternal aunt, unexpectedly died, and June and Kidan became the last two living members of House Adane. When June is abducted in the middle of the night by an unknown assailant, Kidan traces the clues to Uxlay University, where worthy leaders are taught how to protect a hierarchical society in which humans and vampires harmoniously coexist. Kidan believes that June was taken by Susenyos Sagad, the formidable vampire who’s bound to her family’s bloodline. As she dives deeper into this cruel new world, the line between her hatred of Susenyos and her growing fascination with him begins to blur. Debut author Girma’s trilogy opener offers a richly detailed, sweepingly imaginative narrative that artfully explores the dark heart of desire, rage, and loss through expansive worldbuilding. Kidan’s powerful characterization is layered, and her journey toward the truth has been crafted with a cinematic eye.
A fresh, arresting entry in the vampire genre that revels in violent, bloody delights. (map, content warning) (Fantasy. 15-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780316581448
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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