This mythical series opener abounds in vivid characters and crisp details.
In Anderson’s fantasy debut, a queen-to-be braves a harrowing journey across worlds to pull her people out of exile.
Tchardin, the youngest of five sisters, is one of the kandar—a “guardian race” meant to guide humans on the nine Earths. But for several generations, the kandar have been exiled to their planet Derkra. Tchardin will soon be Derkra’s queen, but she questions her ability to effectively rule; during this exile, no kandar has been able to travel to any of the Earths to fulfill the Purpose their Creator gave them. Tchardin differs from her sisters in her curious nature: “The longing for something beyond had come to her early in life, but it had been easy to ignore until lately. Now the feeling pressured her almost constantly.” She indulges her hunger for the unknown by answering a mysterious call while traveling toward the kandars’ long-abandoned city of origin. Surprises ensue, including the rediscovery of the kandars’ ability to “shift” between worlds. An unexpected foe whose nefarious plan involves starting a war pulls Tchardin to one of the Earths. To get back to Derkra, she must traverse the nine Earths—all while fighting an enemy’s interplanetary influence and menacing presence. This epic novel, which launches a prospective series, excels at worldbuilding; in particular, Anderson evocatively describes the planet Derkra, covered by an empty, desolate, seemingly infinite ocean that the kandar appear to fear. The story takes full advantage of its length, fleshing out its characters and ever changing locales. While the cast includes plenty of Derkra’s inhabitants (as well as some humans), the empathetic Tchardin and her multilayered sisters bask in the brightest spotlight. As the author has sequels planned, myriad questions linger, from the fates of various individuals to the particulars of Derkra’s past, including the kandaran war and resultant exile.
This mythical series opener abounds in vivid characters and crisp details.Pub Date: May 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781778288135
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Root of the World Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
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
A freewheeling, action-packed fantasy with a dash of romance.
Kova offers a fantasy novel set beyond the Nightgale Mountains in the walled fortress of Vinguard where citizens live in fear of the next deadly dragon attack.
Vinguard’s residents are always on guard against the threat of dragons, but they must watch more than just the skies. Living among them, hiding in plain sight, are the “dragon cursed”—people who, at any moment, may transform into terrifying winged beasts and destroy the city from within. For most of Isola Thaz’s life, she’s been told she’s the reincarnated savior of Vinguard. But just as she begins to suspect that she may be dragon cursed, she’s tossed into Vinguard’s Tribunal—a contest in which every 18-year-old competes in tests of skill and might to separate loyal citizens from the dragon cursed. As she’s sequestered for this rite of passage, Isola hesitantly allies herself with a handsome fellow competitor named Lucan. However, as the teens face such trials as fire-breathing automatons (“The silver beast comes to life with a swing. Its claws shear through the dim light”), starvation, and actual dragons while unarmed, Isola begins to feel that Vinguard’s traditions come at a cost that’s too steep. Meanwhile, Vicar Darius, Lucan’s father and the leader of Vinguard’s shadowy theocracy, the Creed, is desperate to take Isola’s powers for himself—and, to that end, he puts her into increasingly tortuous situations. However, neither he, nor Isola’s teenage rivals, are very compelling antagonists; instead, they come across as caricatures of cruelty. Still, the novel is fast-paced and action-oriented with a punchy prose that prioritizes movement over fantasy aesthetics. A sometimes-fraught romance between Isola and Lucan slowly blooms, but Isola’s relationship with her family forms the true emotional core of the narrative. Although the worldbuilding in fairly simple, the story sets up a massive mystery that promises big payoffs in a potential future installment.
A freewheeling, action-packed fantasy with a dash of romance.Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9781649377838
Page Count: 448
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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