Flat characters and worldbuilding notwithstanding, the powerful moral lessons may resonate with fans of Christ-centered...
Dougherty’s newest installment in his saga featuring Thumos—the mightiest warrior of Yahweh’s heavenly army—explores the origins of the last angel ever created.
A genre-blending fusion of biblical myth, arcane thriller, and gritty crime fiction, Dougherty’s latest braids intertwining storylines. First and foremost is the creation of the avenging angel Thumos, whose opening words signify his sole purpose: “I am the right-hand of vengeance for the Lord Most High.” Sent on numerous missions by Yahweh—from aiding Moses and the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt to defending Jerusalem from the Assyrian King Sennacherib and his armies to assisting Jesus in his time of need—Thumos grapples with exacting Yahweh’s vengeance upon His enemies and following His will. In many cases, Thumos struggles to rely on his faith; Yahweh’s grand plan often seems unknowable. Other story threads, set much more recently, follow the origin stories of the detectives Ian Jelani and Lane Madigan, delving into their backgrounds—from Ian’s father’s childhood in Uganda to the murder of Ian’s wife and Lane’s time as a police cadet in Florida. Lastly is the storyline following Roberto Valenzuela and his transformation from impoverished San Salvadorian child to Miami crime lord. A prequel to Dougherty’s debut novel, 2023’s Holy Terror, the novel’s major flaws are obvious. Thumos’ many missions are only superficially described and feel rushed, and there’s little focus on secondary character depth, worldbuilding, and emotional complexity. Only Thumos’ experiences with Jesus, particularly when he’s crucified, are truly thematically powerful. Ironically, while many characters are thinly described, Thumos is meticulously portrayed: “[His] skin blazed brilliantly, like polished brass, as he allowed his natural angelic appearance to be revealed…His long, leathery ears stood upright like razor-sharp spikes, and his fiery white eyes glowed intensely.” Also, the novel leaves numerous plot threads (like Jelani and Madigan, Valenzuela, etc.) open-ended—not a satisfying conclusion so much as the completion of a foundation to the beginning of the actual series. Ultimately, though, the nonstop action and breakneck pacing compensate well.
Flat characters and worldbuilding notwithstanding, the powerful moral lessons may resonate with fans of Christ-centered stories.Pub Date: Dec. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9798272977434
Page Count: 339
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 30, 2025
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
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Who is victorious? The author and the readers.
The conclusion to the Villains trilogy asks, In a world where there are no heroes, what does victory really mean?
Schwab’s world is one where violent near-death experiences can engender ExtraOrdinaries, people who come back to life with a new superpowered ability, but lacking empathy, patience, and a variety of other, gentler qualities. In this installment, Victor Vale is becoming increasingly desperate; ever since Sydney Clarke used her power to bring him back from the dead, control over his own ability to cause and dampen pain has been slipping. Sydney herself is chafing against her life on the run with Victor’s protective ex-cellmate, Mitch Turner, and struggling with missing both Victor and her dead sister, Serena, whom she might not be able to resurrect—and definitely shouldn’t. Meanwhile, a psychiatrist, Dr. Gabriel Gray, discovers the existence of ExtraOrdinary people and seeks to harness their power for himself with tragic consequences for himself and many other people. Because the narrative skips around in time, it becomes clear fairly early that a final conflict is looming at EON, a high-tech facility where ExtraOrdinaries are imprisoned and experimented upon. This series has really lived up to its title; while antiheroes and villains have been popular protagonists for quite some time, not every writer is willing to lean into the darkness as hard as Schwab does. Some of her characters were psychopaths even before their near-death traumas, which means they didn’t have much moral fiber to begin with. And even the people who are basically good do a lot of bad and often foolish things when faced with a crisis…and there are a lot of crises. The strength of this series lies in Schwab’s ExtraOrdinary power to make you care for many of these incredibly rash, ethically dubious—some verging on irredeemable—characters anyway. As a result, the story rises above the usual grimdark cynical slog; instead, this is a gripping and nuanced saga with an ending that feels both inevitable and well earned.
Who is victorious? The author and the readers.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9781250192233
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2026
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