A rollicking, genuine fairy tale, told with great appreciation for the genre and a sly sense of humor.
A dragon seeks vengeance against King William, who slew his dragon-love, in the second installment of Heckel’s (A Fairy-tale Ending, 2015) outlandish fantasy series.
Volthraxus, the Dragon of the North, is devastated to learn his beloved Magdela, the victim of a fairy curse, is dead. The dragon-slayer was none other than William Pickett, a former peasant whose bravery ultimately led to his being crowned King of Royaume. As Volthraxus’ minion, Beo the wolf, acts as a scout, the dragon flies to Castle White to abduct Will’s fiancee, Lady Rapunzel, known as “Elle.” Will then enlists his friend Edward Charming as his squire in his quest to rescue her. Both men want to prove themselves: Edward, when he was prince, was prophesied to kill the dragon himself. Will’s older sister and Edward’s bride, Elizabeth, and Edward’s ex-squire, Tomas, follow, and all four must contend with wizard Dracomancer. The sorcerer may have the know-how to vanquish Volthraxus, but he also has an army of zealots and a plan to seize control of the kingdom. Will’s pitchfork, already bathed in dragon blood, is capable of piercing a dragon’s hide; sadly, he left it in the old Dragon Tower, where Volthraxus lies in wait with Elle. Heckel’s story is unmistakably satire, with generous allusions to tales such as “Little Red Riding Hood.” It’s laced with robust humor, including a blatant reference to the Duran Duran song “Hungry Like the Wolf”; the three bears of fairy-tale fame are both vicious and adorable here, believing irony (or “imony,” as they call it) to be something edible. Still, Heckel treats the genre with respect, building a solid foundation for the story. There’s heroism, romance, and a giant troll, in a self-aware narrative with a no-frills style: “If one happens to find oneself a king someday, it would be advisable not to model one’s rule after the kings of fairy tale.” Reading the previous book isn’t required, but references throughout (how did Will slay the first dragon?) should make readers want to.
A rollicking, genuine fairy tale, told with great appreciation for the genre and a sly sense of humor.Pub Date: May 17, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-235932-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.
A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.
Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune (The Art of Breathing, 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
A charming and persuasive entry that will leave readers impatiently awaiting the concluding volume.
Book 2 of Hearne's latest fantasy trilogy, The Seven Kennings (A Plague of Giants, 2017), set in a multiracial world thrust into turmoil by an invasion of peculiar giants.
In this world, most races have their own particular magical endowment, or “kenning,” though there are downsides to trying to gain the magic (an excellent chance of being killed instead) and using it (rapid aging and death). Most recently discovered is the sixth kenning, whose beneficiaries can talk to and command animals. The story canters along, although with multiple first-person narrators, it's confusing at times. Some characters are familiar, others are new, most of them with their own problems to solve, all somehow caught up in the grand design. To escape her overbearing father and the unreasoning violence his kind represents, fire-giant Olet Kanek leads her followers into the far north, hoping to found a new city where the races and kennings can peacefully coexist. Joining Olet are young Abhinava Khose, discoverer of the sixth kenning, and, later, Koesha Gansu (kenning: air), captain of an all-female crew shipwrecked by deep-sea monsters. Elsewhere, Hanima, who commands hive insects, struggles to free her city from the iron grip of wealthy, callous merchant monarchists. Other threads focus on the Bone Giants, relentless invaders seeking the still-unknown seventh kenning, whose confidence that this can defeat the other six is deeply disturbing. Under Hearne's light touch, these elements mesh perfectly, presenting an inventive, eye-filling panorama; satisfying (and, where appropriate, well-resolved) plotlines; and tensions between the races and their kennings to supply much of the drama.
A charming and persuasive entry that will leave readers impatiently awaiting the concluding volume.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-345-54857-3
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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