An amusing and touching romp through a wild land of possibilities.
A sequel offers a Lewis Carroll–inspired mystery set in a fantastical place.
Thorson’s follow-up to The Curious Case of Mary Ann (2017) brings back protagonist Mary Ann Carpenter. At the outset of this installment, Mary Ann has journeyed to a place called Thither. After some blundering (including a misunderstanding with a talking mother beagle), she begins Sword and Jabberwock training under the tutelage of a skilled caterpillar. The hard work will come in handy, as, when it is complete, Mary Ann will team up with her old acquaintance Sir Rufus Carmine. In the series opener, Mary Ann helped Sir Rufus kill a Jabberwock. Now, the two are called on to investigate a missing person. D.M. Tweedle (one of the Tweedle twins) has vanished. The available evidence suggests that a giant crow named Ole Inky carried him off. The problem is Ole Inky is more of a legendary figure than a real one. He is something from children’s stories and “not really flapping about the countryside.” What actually happened to poor D.M.? The investigation sends Mary Ann and Sir Rufus down a path that becomes curiouser and curiouser. For all the kookiness of talking beetles, a viscount who walks backward, and, of course, unbirthdays, the author manages to keep the tale orderly. The many quirks are surprising yet they are never overwhelming to the point of confusion. This allows the heart of the story to focus on the playful and poignant relationship (which includes a “pretend-engagement”) between Sir Rufus and Mary Ann. But certain portions dwell on the mundane. How well characters slept and generic statements like “I am so glad you are all right” dampen some of the excitement. Nevertheless, the humor shines through. Take, for example, a noble hamster who has a difficult time attracting a spouse. Readers are told that it takes someone special “to get betrothed to a man who lives in an underground manor of sawdust, pipes and tunnels.”
An amusing and touching romp through a wild land of possibilities.Pub Date: July 29, 2022
ISBN: 9798986505602
Page Count: 282
Publisher: Waterhouse Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 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
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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