Part Arthurian high fantasy, part steampunk, laced with belle epoque drug- and absinthe-fueled decadence—the concept’s so...
It’s not your father’s Camelot: Tattooed knights in eye makeup and piercings party hearty, downing absinthe and ogling hussies.
As for lascivious Lancelot, “[u]p close, he’s nothing more than an obnoxious drunk with messy facial hair,” observes narrator Vivienne, 17-year-old lady-in-waiting to Guinevere. Secretly, she’s apprenticed to Merlin, a recovering magic addict (to the practice, not the game) who now practices the mechanical arts. How this blend—furnaces, steam, pipes, copper, hooks plus alchemy—differs from magic or why, unlike magic, it’s acceptable to Christians isn’t clear. While knights carouse, Vivienne helps Merlin prepare Camelot’s defense against Morgan le Fay, Arthur’s sister, whose ultimate objective is the Grail, believed to confer immortality. Vivienne longs to see the world, but Camelot’s vulnerability (and Marcus, Lancelot’s handsome squire) distracts her. As Merlin fights pain and addiction with alcohol and opium, Vivienne enlists Marcus’ help finding Excalibur, but their deepening attraction is thwarted as knighthood, his goal, requires virginity. (Religion’s invoked purely for plot purposes.) No heart—magic or mechanical—beats in these cardboard characters or by-the-numbers narrative. To care what happens to Camelot, the Round Table and the Grail, readers must believe they’re worth saving.
Part Arthurian high fantasy, part steampunk, laced with belle epoque drug- and absinthe-fueled decadence—the concept’s so high it floats, but that doesn’t mean people will want to jump up and catch it . (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: May 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7387-3967-0
Page Count: 408
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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