by Kathryn Rose ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 8, 2015
An incongruous blend of medieval mythology and steampunk action; only for fans of the first book.
Steampunk mechanic and former handmaiden Vivienne seeks the Holy Grail and her true love, Marcus, in this sequel to Camelot Burning (2014).
With Arthur dead, Guinevere gone, and the knights dispersed, Camelot is a ghost town. Vivienne toils in Merlin’s ruined mechanical workshop, missing her mentor and her (chaste) boyfriend, until an unexpected alliance allows her to finish her aeroship and set out on a convoluted quest. Vivienne soon locates the Fisher King and reunites with Marcus, but she also becomes a target for the Black Knight—here, a Spanish rogue with a mind-reading mechanical eye—due to her knowledge of Avalon’s coordinates. Vivienne’s melodramatic relationship with Marcus brings welcome depth to otherwise flat characters primarily defined by their destinies. Action is abundant, but the life-or-death stakes are undermined by the impermanence of death in this amalgamated world. The arbitrary separation between Middle Eastern–derived mechanical arts and British-born magic—centered on the “science” of alchemy—blurs as Vivienne dabbles with spells and duels with demigods. Rose aims for but fails to capture either the magic of Arthurian legends or the logic of steampunk: Arthurian elements (names, settings, plotlines, and religion) are superficial, while the steampunk core (inventions, empire, and fashion) falters in a nonindustrial, feudal time period.
An incongruous blend of medieval mythology and steampunk action; only for fans of the first book. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: May 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4489-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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by Rebecca Ross ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 26, 2023
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer.
Even a war driven by gods can’t sever communication between journalist lovers Iris and Roman in this steampunk-adjacent romantic adventure.
A prologue sets the scene: Dacre, a god strummed to sleep by magic in Divine Rivals (2023), will not slumber forever. His willingness to wage war to acquire more powerful magic leads him to lay waste to entire towns, and Inkridden Tribune journalist Iris Winnow and war correspondent Roman Kitt can no longer be assured the other is safe—or even still alive. In Iris’ world of cigarette smoke, copper pipes, and driving goggles, colleagues affectionately call each other by their last names, watch each other’s backs, and face danger on the front lines. Though Underling Correspondent Roman is traveling with Dacre’s army, he questions why he was healed of his grievous wounds, while at the same time, he gradually recovers memories of Iris and recalls that she was special to him. Their magically connected typewriters allow for the rediscovery of their love and for communicating potentially deadly information about the invasion of Hawk Shire. The story primarily unfolds from Iris’ and Roman’s viewpoints, and while the prose occasionally uses well-worn phrases, Anglophiles will particularly enjoy the worldbuilding, and returning readers will welcome appearances from Capt. Keegan Torres; her wife, Marisol; and Dacre’s archnemesis—and wife—the goddess Enva. Main characters present white.
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250857453
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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by Scott Reintgen ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2023
Truly fantastic.
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This dark fantasy duology opener has a magic school, a death, and five students who find themselves stranded in the wilderness.
Ren Monroe is a promising student wizard at Balmerick, a private school in the city of Kathor. Along with her best friend, Timmons, Ren is one of the few welfare students attending on a scholarship, and despite being one of the most accomplished people at the school, finding a placement in one of the top houses is proving difficult and is a hurdle in the way of the secret mission Ren has set out to accomplish. When a portal spell goes awry and Ren, Timmons, and four other students from different walks of life are thrown together into the Dires, an uncharted land where the last dragons lived, one of them ends up dead and the rest need to learn to work together to make their way back home before they succumb to the harsh environment or the terrifying revenant following them. This may well be the chance Ren was looking for to prove her worth. Placing elements of a locked-room mystery and an original magic system within the familiar trappings of a school for magic, this is a no-holds-barred tale of revenge, atonement, and the pursuit of justice set in a world diverse in skin color and social classes. Ren is a protagonist for the ages: equal parts smart, calculating, and ruthless, forming a lethal package as an avenging angel.
Truly fantastic. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66591-868-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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