An undeniable masterwork—and a blueprint for how adventure fantasy should be written.
Logan’s debut novel—the first installment in his Last Legacy saga—is an adventure fantasy that revolves around a young man’s search for answers to mysteries regarding his father’s death.
When Lukan Gardova—a disgraced heir desperately trying to outrun his past—discovers that his estranged father was murdered while clutching a mysterious note written with his own blood, he begins a quest that takes him around the world to Saphrona, the fabled “Mother of Cities.” But answers aren’t easy to come by in a city with a tumultuous history, corrupt government, and an underworld filled with myth and legend. Eventually joining forces with a street urchin named Flea and an infamous thief known as Lady Midnight, Gardova quickly finds himself entangled in a grand-scale conspiracy involving the existence of nightmarish beings from childhood tales, artifacts from a lost race, evil cabals, and a looming war that could put tens of thousands of innocents in jeopardy. Every discovery brings Gardova closer to the realization that his father, whom he thought was just a broken man obsessed with myths, was much more than he appeared to be. While many comparable narratives come across as stale and formulaic, there’s a freshness and vibrancy to this tale, in large part because of the flawless execution of the various elements. The worldbuilding is exceptional—meticulously described and almost effortlessly immersive. The diverse cast of characters is insightfully portrayed and authentic. The storyline is filled with bombshell plot twists, the action is nonstop, and the pacing is breakneck. The precision of the writing is evident in seemingly minor details like the way every chapter ends with thought-provoking statements, revelations, or cliffhanging scenes that make it impossible to stop reading (“He unhooked the lantern, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open”). Even the conclusion is masterfully constructed, satisfying readers while also brilliantly setting up the second installment.
An undeniable masterwork—and a blueprint for how adventure fantasy should be written.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781250345806
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.
After 500 years, the Grief of Ages is a distant memory—until dragons hellbent on destruction begin to wake again.
In this relatively brief prequel to the epic The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019), the kingdoms of Virtudom have experienced centuries of relative peace. Marosa Vetalda, the Princess of Yscalin, spends her days behind castle walls under the gaze of her overprotective father, awaiting the date when she’ll be wed to Aubrecht of Mentendon, her ticket to freedom. While the book’s main focus is initially on the political threads weaving the Western kingdoms together, the frailty of best-laid plans is exposed when evidence of the reemergence of draconic beings reaches castle ears. These tales often come from the cullers who make their living slaying these creatures, and who are often blamed for intentionally waking them for profit. No one alive remembers the Grief of Ages, so no one’s prepared when Fýredel, the great High Western dragon, surfaces from the volcanic mountain that towers ominously over Yscalin’s capital city of Cárscaro. What follows is the backstory of how the devoted Yscali kingdom comes to shift allegiance to Fýredel and his master, the Nameless One, a main catalyst to events in The Priory. Overall, this book reads more like history lesson than fantasy adventure, but the sheer terror that befalls the Yscali people as they face Fýredel’s pure evil is both powerful and relevant. Marosa’s plight further solidifies her as a hero worth remembering; her strength and defiance shine through as hope for the future she’s dreamed of slowly flickers out.
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781639736010
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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