Fans will praise Modesitt for ringing down the curtain on Leidwahr.
Fifth and final volume of the Spellsong Cycle (The Shadow Sorceress, 2001, etc.)—a series based on wizardry emerging from music, with the Continent of Leidwahr being ruled, first by top singing-sorceress Anna, Protector of Defalk, then by her protégée Secca. Previously, Earth-born Anna died and was replaced by Secca, who now must face the ruler, the none-too-bright Robero. Robero sends her forth to test her youthful mastery of Clearsong and Darksong against rebel powers, and in doing so face insurrectionist Lord Mynntar, whose Sea-Priests use strange drumming music to whip up a murderous tidal wave that wipes out coastal areas. Secca falls for former enemy sorcerer, the handsome Alcaren, and together they sing/whip a spell that brings volcanic lava and flames to bear on the islands of the evil Sturrinese. The present volume's 75 characters are listed, since few readers will remember their often undramatized ties, not to mention those departed but referred to from earlier installments. Although Secca successfully defends Defalk, Lord Robero arises as her signal antagonist and must be dispatched if Secca is to be Lady of Defalk, marry Alcaren, bear his child, and ensure the longevity of the state.
Fans will praise Modesitt for ringing down the curtain on Leidwahr.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-765-30358-2
Page Count: 672
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2002
Stunning, again.
In the second of a trilogy (The Fifth Season, 2015) by the science-fiction columnist for the New York Times Book Review, the latest in a series of apocalypses marches on.
The powerful orogene Alabaster has used his powers to tear a blazing rift across the continent, and humanity faces extinction. Finding refuge in the underground comm of Castrima, the now-dying Alabaster struggles to impart vital information and skills to his former student and lover, Essun, which could potentially cease the flow of the tectonically devastating Seasons. All the while, Castrima faces tension from within—those who fear Essun’s rapidly growing magical powers—and without, as an invading army prepares to take the comm’s dwindling supplies for its own. Although Essun’s greatest desire is to recover Nassun, the daughter she loves, the girl always wanted to escape her mother, whom she perceives as cold and who imposed harsh training to discipline and hide her daughter’s orogeny. Nassun willingly left with her adored father even though he murdered her brother and violently loathes all orogenes. This uneasy father/daughter pair travels to a mysterious, distant community rumored to “cure” orogeny, where Nassun discovers a key figure from her mother’s past—but he’s no longer quite what he used to be. The worldbuilding deepens in this installment, with fresh revelations about the distant past and the true and alarming nature of the enigmatic stone eaters. But as in the previous volume, it’s the people who take front and center. Jemisin’s depictions of mob behavior are frighteningly realistic. And she offers a perceptive and painful portrayal of two different kinds of abusive relationships between parent and child. She also generates huge amounts of nuanced sympathy for some (but not all) of the characters driven to do truly dreadful things, often accidentally, to save themselves and the ones they love.
Stunning, again.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-22926-5
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Orbit/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK TO SCREEN
Roth makes a bold entrance to adult fantasy.
What happens to heroes after they save the world?
Sloane Andrews, Matthew Weekes, Esther Park, Albert Summers, and Ines Mejia fulfilled a prophecy by defeating an evil villain and saving the human race. But that was a decade ago. Now, they’re no longer teenagers, and enough time has passed that stand-up comedians are joking about why the murderous sorcerer who destroyed entire towns with magical “Drains” akin to natural disasters was called the “Dark One.” The magic he wielded with such deadly force is now the subject of dry academic writing. These days the five “chosen ones” are huge celebrities, but they still have to deal with realistic mundanities like making a living and caring for sick parents. Sloane in particular is struggling with PTSD and, after a few Freedom of Information Act requests, is reading about a more complicated side of the government official who helped train them as kids to fight the Dark One. Not long after a big celebration marking the 10-year anniversary of the Dark One’s death, Albert dies of an overdose. When Sloane, Matthew, and Esther gather together for his funeral, something unimaginable happens. As it turns out, the Dark One may not be gone after all, and everything they thought they knew about magic, the Dark One, and the prophecy that predicted his demise is wrong. Roth (The End and Other Beginnings: Stories From the Future, 2019, etc.) made her name by writing bestselling YA action/adventure novels like the Divergent series, so it makes sense that she can so expertly deconstruct those tropes for adult audiences. There’s a lot of magic and action to make for a propulsive plot, but much more impressive are the character studies as Roth takes recognizable and beloved teen-hero types and explores what might happen to them as adults.
Roth makes a bold entrance to adult fantasy.Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-16408-1
Page Count: 432
Publisher: John Joseph Adams/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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