An uneven but winsomely wry entry in what is now a series parodying gothic excess and British high-fantasy clichés.
Before Fern Capel, the p.r. consultant and reluctant witch of Prospero’s Children (2000), gets married, she must grapple with a host of uninvited supernatural guests, including an ancient demon who just won’t behave. Siegel’s second mix of farce and fantasy has its moments, as when Gaynor Mobberley, Fern’s mousy college chum, returns with her to Fern’s ancestral Yorkshire manor to help plan Fern’s wedding, and there finds malignant spirits forcing her to watch television. “I’ll tell you a secret,” snickers the dark soul of a dead witch, “there is no television beyond the Gate of Death. . . . Live yourself a life worth watching, before it’s too late.” Alas, this kind of exuberant cleverness, which pits the mundane tedium of an English country wedding against a dramatically over-the-top supernatural war for Fern’s soul, is difficult to sustain, especially when Siegel piles on the purple prose in telling about the blighted hell lurking just beyond Fern’s everyday world, where cackling harpies cling to a mystical Tree, dead heads hanging from its branches. The best turns here are in the mundane world, where Fern’s tormented adolescent brother Will, who fancies himself an artist, passes time with the house goblin, an irrepressible Scottish sprite named Bradachin, while Will develops a passionate crush on Gaynor. Will, Gaynor, and Fern all possess an eerie sensitivity to supernatural beings, especially the dreaded Azmordis, a prehistoric nasty who has possessed the body of creepy medievalist Dr. Jerrold Laye. Azmordis, through Laye, schemes to use Gaynor and Will to force Fern to use her witchy talents to help bring to term a fire-breathing dragon waiting to hatch from somewhere below the basement of dreary Drakemyre Hall.
An uneven but winsomely wry entry in what is now a series parodying gothic excess and British high-fantasy clichés.Pub Date: July 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-345-43902-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An intriguing, fantastical view of humankind’s future.
One man’s sci-fi journey from nameless numbered Corporal 1412 to celebrated Commander Dray.
Paletta vividly paints a future where humans have been driven underground, existing largely in military compounds which protect groups of civilians. This future is also occupied by cults, reptilian beings bent on destroying humanity, drones, battle droids, cyborgs, advanced propulsion systems, armored bio-suits and Morphic Formula (an elixir given to Elites to super-energize them and enable them to morph into animalistic forms). Corporal 1412 and his group are being trained to become Elite soldiers prepared to engage in military maneuvers on the surface. The major warring factions, cults and humans, create and deploy drones to monitor enemy activity, especially around the Dead Zones–no man’s lands where Elites must stay undetected to stay alive. Super predators of all kinds, from python-like creatures easily able to consume a man whole, to supersized alligators, dinosaur-like lizards and massive cats all make appearances, though no one seems to know how they came into existence. The relationships between characters are stiff and thin in places, particularly between Dray and love interest Jamie, a scientist’s assistant. Several other characters–Al, Madge and Tulip–don’t add much to the plot other than some slight color. Paletta has illustrated the book, though the visuals are unnecessary, as his descriptions are vivid and detailed. Each chapter has a Latin title–fitting, since Latin-speaking allies come to Dray’s aid at the climax of the story. However, these titles smack of pretension. The book’s back states that the “paradox of the myth of love, and the pure love for another” is what allows Dray to save mankind, but Paletta doesn’t make these concepts sufficiently tangible for the reader.
An intriguing, fantastical view of humankind’s future.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4392-0256-2
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A fantasy tome that keeps readers invested.
Fagan creates a complex and complete world in this fantasy novel about a nation on the brink of war.
The book begins with a glossary of characters, places and terms to help readers comprehend Ammanon, the Sparta-like nation of warriors at the center of the story. The title prophecy is introduced in the prologue, when young crown prince Galan and high priest Azzariah have visions of a woman who will someday help save the kingdom. A generation later, when Galan has become king, a strange young woman named Eydain arrives, and a plot against Ammanon by neighboring scholar nation Partha reveals itself. But the author has designs beyond the main characters and the two nations, which have their own distinct customs, traits, languages and personalities. She illustrates that Ammanon and Partha are two places on a densely populated map rather than simple, convenient metaphors to facilitate the action. There are countless subplots involving Eydain’s parents–former friends of the emperor and his family–and the queen mother Tsophyra and her brother, Gen. Toland, whose son is a promising cadet in the Temple Guard. Amazingly, all the characters add to the main plot–the tension between Galan and his captive bride Eydain, and the threat from Partha–rather than muddying the waters. There are real-world problems between nations, cultural prejudices and language barriers. Fagan is clearly at the beginning of an epic story and has much to draw from in future volumes. However, this presents some minor problems. The manner in which the action kicks off and Eydain discovers the Parthan plot feels a bit coincidental, and Ammanon never seems to be in real danger. Every threat is discovered quickly, every enemy dispatched with little trouble. Still, the virtues of this imagined world outweigh any issues with narrative development.
A fantasy tome that keeps readers invested.Pub Date: April 21, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-934925-04-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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