An engaging and energetically written literary horror story that speaks up for animals.
In this fantasy thriller, three friends visit the home of their favorite writer, unaware of the twisted legacy awaiting them.
John Eamon Buckley grew up with an agoraphobic father in rural Idaho. He survived his bitter childhood thanks to the writings of E.B. Addington, the beloved author of Winterset Hollow and the creator of characters like Runnymeade Rabbit and Flackwell Frog. Now, grown-up Eamon and his friends Mark and Caroline have embarked on a pilgrimage to Addington Isle, off the coast of West Rock, Washington. Along with several other fans, Eamon and company take a boat to the island and view the deceased author’s estate and beautiful grounds. Eamon hopes to at least see a rabbit, so the friends explore and find an elaborate hedge maze. They next see lantern light in the supposedly empty manor’s windows. But no oddities can prepare them for Runnymeade Rabbit himself, who steps from the manor and invites the group inside. The characters Flackwell Frog and Phineas Fox are also present, wearing clothes and able to speak, just like in the book. The hosts offer games and a feast to celebrate Addington’s fictional Barley Day. But as the evening proceeds, Eamon notices a sour tinge in the air. Runnymeade eventually announces: “It’s time for the hunt.” Durham takes a blackly humorous swipe at childhood nostalgia, namely readers still enamored with their copies of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit. A peek through Addington’s history reveals a family obsessed with wealth and trophies, especially animal carcasses, which decorate the manor. The mystery of why Eamon received a strange summons to the island is deftly teased throughout. Durham’s gleeful, human-hunting villains steal most of the scenes, as when Flackwell tries to lure their prey by saying, “I’ve brought sandwiches!” The prose, while always striving to reveal character depth, runs a bit purple, as in the line “Nothing seemed to quell the firestorm of questions that was clouding his view and pummeling his eardrums and plugging his throat with thick, black ash.” Violence never overshadows the tale’s intriguing explorations of legacy and duty.
An engaging and energetically written literary horror story that speaks up for animals.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-62586-208-2
Page Count: 286
Publisher: Credo House Publishers
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
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