Insubstantial far-future adult fantasy, and first of a series, from well-known YA author Yolen. In the distant future, groups of women have banded together in self-sufficient, fort-like "hames" whose populations are maintained by adoption. Here, girls train to be farmers, cooks, medics, warriors, etc., and, under the guidance of the White Goddess ("Mother Alta"), practice moon-magic: chiefly, the conjuring of dark sister-twins from special mirrors (the dark twins materialize only in moonlight or torchlight). A certain ancient prophecy concerns the Anna, a sort of avatar who is destined to destroy the existing society and usher in a new. Young Jenna, who—unusually—has long white hair, shows signs of being the one prophesied, but the harsh old priestess of Selden Hame will have none of it. Jenna and her friend Pynt journey to another hame as part of their coming-of-age rituals; on the way they rescue Carum (a prince, as it later turns out) from vile death at the hands of Barnoo the Hound, one of ambitious Lord Karas' monstrous bruisers. They seek refuge at Nill's Hame, but soon, as Jenna and Carum flee, the hame is attacked and destroyed. The dark twin idea is unusual, yet Yolen does nothing with it. As for the rest: thin and creaky as an old wagon wheel, it just about rolls along.
Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1988
ISBN: 0765367564
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1988
Great for a middle- or high-school audience looking for some fun.
Comedy and suspense dominate this imaginative twist on the Dracula legend.
Harnissey, Dracula’s vampire nephew, and his companion, the ancient spider Morleaux, arrive at the old homestead for a visit when Dracula leaves for London. Harnissey, innocent, well-meaning and constantly bumbling, is attacked by the vampire sisters in residence, who intend to take over the castle while the Master is away. He and his intelligent spider sidekick eventually form an alliance with Dracula’s undead butler, a nicely drawn character always surrounded by a halo of buzzing flies, and a kingly, sinister cat, to do battle against a centuries-old vampire sorceress who’s arrived holding a grudge, along with her skeleton army. Bayne has a flair for droll comedy. His monstrous characters stand out clearly and distinctly as individuals, and the author’s clever focus on the other side of Bram Stoker’s novel helps fill out the story. The humorous undead protagonists, who are afraid of ghosts, add plenty of flavor to the story, as does the author’s incorporation of historical detail. The only flaw is Bayne’s tendency toward too-flippant dialogue, which is clearly designed to appeal to adolescents, but is inconsistent with the more sophisticated style used in the narration. Still, this is an entertaining romp that displays originality and inventiveness.
Great for a middle- or high-school audience looking for some fun. (Fiction. YA)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2006
ISBN: 0-595-40242-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Envisioning a nightmarish future in which children deemed small or otherwise defective are worked to death breaking rocks, and the constant rain is so acid it raises blisters, Rapp (Buffalo Tree, 1997) crafts another lurid shocker. Learning that the coffin maker who has housed her is about to sell her off, 11-year-old Whensday, also known as “33” for the tattoo on her arm, sneaks away. Cataloging the disease, excrement, blood, vomit, mutations, slime, and general filth with matter-of-fact bluntness, she takes temporary shelter from the rain with Honeycut, a huge, dimwitted teenager; tries to escape with another fugitive who dies of ebola-like Blackfrost; is raped by an officer of the brutal local militia; and sees Honeycut stoned to death for killing the man. Whensday tells her tale in a colorful idiolect, mixing dreams and scatological exchanges with Oakley, a tough-talking younger friend. Certain she’s about to die since she can’t stop vomiting, Whensday is rescued by a hidden community of women who clean her up and tell her she’s pregnant—a happy ending, under the circumstances. Often gripping, sometimes blackly funny in a squalid way, this will remind readers of Russell Hoban’s Ridley Walker (1980) and other tales of post-apocalyptic devastation. (Fiction. 13-15)
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 1999
ISBN: 1-886910-42-1
Page Count: 250
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
