The series still intrigues, but it needs tightening.
This second installment of the Goddess War series continues the modern-day battles originally fought centuries ago, pitting god against god even as all of the Olympians appear to be dying.
Athena, at the center of the rebel faction, still fights off the owl feathers that sprout in her lungs, constantly threatening to choke her. She remains teamed up with her brother Hermes, who’s wasting away from a too-high metabolism, and mortal characters from Troy now reincarnated as teenagers. Athena sees Cassandra, who can kill gods with her touch, as one of the two major weapons she has against the other divine faction, which primarily comprises Aphrodite, Ares and Hera, thought killed in the first book but found still living. Athena and Odysseus travel to find Achilles, Athena’s second weapon. Athena’s errands and an interesting side trip into Hades add action, but much of the book churns with constant repartee among the characters, their suspicions of one another and their constant training bouts. The prose, both narrative and dialogue, is characteristically witty, but there’s an undeniable feel of second-volume sag to the story. When readers finally reach Olympia for a final battle, the suspense picks up. The underlying concept that finds dying gods at war with one another is still intriguing, but readers may become impatient for more back story.
The series still intrigues, but it needs tightening. (Paranormal suspense. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7653-3444-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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
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