Solidly engrossing, if too dependent on luck and coincidence, with a robust and consistent backdrop: a satisfyingly...
Following his fine Archform: Beauty (p. 625), Modesitt kicks off a new series that, like the Recluce yarns, curiously but plausibly blends fantasy and SF. The Herders of the Iron Valleys in the north of the continent Corus tend their nightsheep on huge, rocky estates. Inedible nightsheep are the source of nightsilk, a miraculous fiber that's light, soft, and tough enough to turn a bullet. Herders like young Alucius also have, secretly, Talent (psychic abilities that help them survive against the deadly local fauna)—secret because, long ago, a great war involving Talent destroyed civilization. Today the Iron Valleys are threatened by neighboring Madrien, a matriarchy whose immortal Matrial enslaves rivals and captives through Talent-powered collars. So, leaving behind his betrothed, Wendra, and grandfather Royalt to tend the estate (his father died in battle), Alucius joins the militia and rides off to fight the Matrites. Despite his Talent and skills acquired from Royalt, Alucius and his fellow troopers are overwhelmed by superior numbers and an ancient weapon that hurls lethal volleys of glass spears. Wounded and captured, a collar clamped about his neck, Alucius must fight for the Matrial as a trooper against the encroaching Lanacronans. Again he survives and gains promotion. But then one of the soarers, seemingly intelligent flyers of feminine aspect, advises Alucius that he must soon find a way to free himself and defeat the Matrial, a threat to all sentient creatures.
Solidly engrossing, if too dependent on luck and coincidence, with a robust and consistent backdrop: a satisfyingly self-contained inaugural volume that skillfully sets up the sequels.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-765-30561-5
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2002
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.
A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.
Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune (The Art of Breathing, 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
At Buckkeep in the Six Duchies, young Fitz, the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, is raised as a stablehand by old warrior Burrich. But when Chivalry dies without legitimate issue—murdered, it's rumored—Fitz, at the orders of King Shrewd, is brought into the palace and trained in the knightly and courtly arts. Meanwhile, secretly at night, he receives instruction from another bastard, Chade, in the assassin's craft. Now, King Shrewd's subjects are imperiled by the visits of the Red-Ship Raiders—formidable warriors who pillage the seacoasts and turn their human victims into vicious, destructive zombies. Since rehabilitating the zombies proves impossible, it's Fitz's task to go abroad covertly and kill them as quickly and humanely as possible. Shrewd orders that Fitz be taught the Skill—mental powers of telepathy and coercion possessed by all those of the royal line; his teacher is Galen, a sadistic ally of the popinjay Prince Regal, who hates Fitz all the more for his loyalty to Shrewd's other son, the stalwart soldier Verity. Galen brutalizes Fitz and, unknown to anyone, implants a mental block that prevents Fitz from using the Skill. Later, Shrewd decrees that, to cement an alliance, Verity shall wed the Princess Kettricken, heir to a remote yet rich mountain kingdom. Verity, occupied with Skillfully keeping the Red-Ship Raiders at bay, can't go to collect his bride, so Regal and Fitz are sent. Finally, Fitz must discover the depths of Regal's perfidy, recapture his true Skill, win Kettricken's heart for Verity, and help Verity defeat the Raiders. An intriguing, controlled, and remarkably assured debut, at once satisfyingly self-contained yet leaving plenty of scope for future extensions and embellishments.
Pub Date: April 17, 1995
ISBN: 0-553-37445-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Spectra/Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
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