A crowded but lively and sophisticated fantasy tale.
A complex first novel in a fantasy series set in a world of advanced technology and brutality.
In the first chapter of Sprague’s multilayered adventure, Lumen Hadamard is collecting data on unusual battle simulations in a place called the Netherdome, an important center for fine-tuning sophisticated military operations in the land of Theia. He’s developing new weaponry to defend against Theia’s enemies, some of whom are using advanced technology, as noted in the book’s prologue. He sends his apprentice, Vey Lancer, on a new assignment to Fort Abandon. Her mission seems simple enough: Speak with Fort Abandon’s vice-regent about the Treaty of Nature, which puts strict limits on new tech and is a relic of a time when humanity was nearly annihilated. Specifically, there are concerns that some have been violating its limits. Before long, however, Vey has a dangerous interaction with an aged shaman called Akrylla, who wields the power to manipulate others and has a vast knowledge of potions that makes her a formidable enemy. Suddenly, Vey’s mission, as well as her life, is in serious jeopardy. Right from the opening pages, readers may find themselves overwhelmed by the dense worldbuilding, which goes on to extensively detail such things as the workings of the Netherdome, Akrylla’s background, and zero-gravity transportation tech, which hardly makes for light reading. Indeed, this density extends all the way to the sentence level, as when a character explains that “Bitterhelm’s leviathan—Asph the Tempting—is in the process of changing gender in anticipation of breeding with Sinfon, of the Dim Sea.” But although such passages sometimes require a close reading for full comprehension, the effort is not without its rewards. Although Vey’s journey is anything but straightforward, it’s never boring, as it takes her from a spa to some truly brutal environments, one of which involves an unpleasant creature called a Wulver. This book, for all its complexity, does allow the reader to fully grasp the fictional world’s many peculiarities and characters, which effectively sets the stage for more intricate developments in future installments.
A crowded but lively and sophisticated fantasy tale.Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-988363-10-3
Page Count: 424
Publisher: GaleWind Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.
A fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit.
Tress is an ordinary girl with no thirst to see the world. Charlie is the son of the local duke, but he likes stories more than fencing. When the duke realizes the two teenagers are falling in love, he takes Charlie away to find a suitable wife—and returns with a different young man as his heir. Charlie, meanwhile, has been captured by the mysterious Sorceress who rules the Midnight Sea, which leaves Tress with no choice but to go rescue him. To do that, she’ll have to get off the barren island she’s forbidden to leave, cross the dangerous Verdant Sea, the even more dangerous Crimson Sea, and the totally deadly Midnight Sea, and somehow defeat the unbeatable Sorceress. The seas on Tress’ world are dangerous because they’re not made of water—they’re made of colorful spores that pour down from the world’s 12 stationary moons. Verdant spores explode into fast-growing vines if they get wet, which means inhaling them can be deadly. Crimson and midnight spores are worse. Ships protected by spore-killing silver sail these seas, and it’s Tress’ quest to find a ship and somehow persuade its crew to carry her to a place no ships want to go, to rescue a person nobody cares about but her. Luckily, Tress is kindhearted, resourceful, and curious—which also makes her an appealing heroine. Along her journey, Tress encounters a talking rat, a crew of reluctant pirates, and plenty of danger. Her story is narrated by an unusual cabin boy with a sharp wit. (About one duke, he says, “He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”) The overall effect is not unlike The Princess Bride, which Sanderson cites as an inspiration.
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781250899651
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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