A cleverly conceived and hyperdetailed supernatural tale.
A fictional detective, set loose in the real world, must track down a mythological sword in this third installment of an urban fantasy series.
Bram “the Raven” Farrell is a supernatural private investigator in a series of books by Calista Amberson. Thanks to Calista’s witchcraft, Bram is also a gumshoe (albeit unlicensed) in real-world Detroit. He’s currently living with the adorable and brainy Naomie Enright, who helps him operate Raven Corp. While he’s hoping to concoct some Raven novels (Calista, now possessed by a dark spirit, no longer writes them), Bram is approached with two cases. The first is presented by Naomie’s brother, Mack, who would like his missing friend, Seth Rayburn, located. The second comes from the Celtic goddess Danu, who needs Bram to find the Retaliator, a sword belonging to the Tuatha Dé Danann, Ireland’s ancient race of supernatural beings. Both cases intertwine when Bram investigates Seth’s apartment and learns that it’s been robbed of a collection of swords—and that the man is a sword-fighting instructor. Bram also catches the scents of “vampire, ghoul, and blood” in the apartment. To find his quarry, Bram must use every otherworldly resource at his disposal, including two police detectives: Hal Styles, a vampire; and Dave Dawes, a werewolf. Along the way, Bram will hunt for the dangerous ghoul Solomon Prisk, likely masquerading as a human, whose trail has nearly gone cold. Dane’s latest adventure juggles the numerous details of its urban fantasy landscape with caffeinated glee. The narrative’s meta aspect is played to the hilt when Bram questions the nature of his blood in the line “I’m still worried it’s magenta ink.” Another fantasy element centers on Dane’s copious pop-culture references; a clue in Seth’s apartment involves Game of Thronesand its sword-slinging hero Jon Snow. Though monsters abound in Dane’s Detroit, the proceedings are suitable for both teens and adults. Bram acts knightly toward Naomie, and there’s no gratuitous gore. In the story’s final third, the true villain comes into focus, and one character’s sacrifice pushes Bram to renew his commitment to his large network of helpers. But it’s Beelzebub, a hellhound dachshund who can morph into a Great Dane, who steals most of the scenes.
A cleverly conceived and hyperdetailed supernatural tale.Pub Date: March 17, 2022
ISBN: 979-8985207620
Page Count: 301
Publisher: Burns and Lea Media LLC
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Lush, gorgeous, precise language and propulsive plotting sweep readers into a story as intelligent as it is atmospheric.
In 16th-century Madrid, a crypto-Jew with a talent for casting spells tries to steer clear of the Inquisition.
Luzia Cotado, a scullion and an orphan, has secrets to keep: “It was a game she and her mother had played, saying one thing and thinking another, the bits and pieces of Hebrew handed down like chipped plates.” Also handed down are “refranes”—proverbs—in “not quite Spanish, just as Luzia was not quite Spanish.” When Luzia sings the refranes, they take on power. “Aboltar cazal, aboltar mazal” (“A change of scene, a change of fortune”) can mend a torn gown or turn burnt bread into a perfect loaf; “Quien no risica, no rosica” (“Whoever doesn’t laugh, doesn’t bloom”) can summon a riot of foliage in the depths of winter. The Inquisition hangs over the story like Chekhov’s famous gun on the wall. When Luzia’s employer catches her using magic, the ambitions of both mistress and servant catapult her into fame and danger. A new, even more ambitious patron instructs his supernatural servant, Guillén Santángel, to train Luzia for a magical contest. Santángel, not Luzia, is the familiar of the title; he has been tricked into trading his freedom and luck to his master’s family in exchange for something he no longer craves but can’t give up. The novel comes up against an issue common in fantasy fiction: Why don’t the characters just use their magic to solve all their problems? Bardugo has clearly given it some thought, but her solutions aren’t quite convincing, especially toward the end of the book. These small faults would be harder to forgive if she weren’t such a beautiful writer. Part fairy tale, part political thriller, part romance, the novel unfolds like a winter tree bursting into unnatural bloom in response to one of Luzia’s refranes, as she and Santángel learn about power, trust, betrayal, and love.
Lush, gorgeous, precise language and propulsive plotting sweep readers into a story as intelligent as it is atmospheric.Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781250884251
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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