A bracing drama that feels like a milestone for this series about a demonic war.
This fourth volume of a YA fantasy series pits Lucifer’s sinister minions against the forces of the ruler of Enoch.
Thirteen-year-old Philip Engel dreams of simpler times. He longs to be helping his mother with dinner at home and preparing for a play with his crush, Sabrina, at school. Instead, he’s in hell, asleep in Lucifer’s castle. He knows that his friend Satina has been kidnapped by Aziel, upstart ruler of Enoch, or New Hell. Philip already saw his demonic friend Grumblebeard die and has no wish to lose the young tempter whom he loves. As a tempter himself, he now has horns, wings, and a tail—as well as the power to change his face. He dons the identity of Malthorn Dargue and infiltrates Enoch. Philip learns that Aziel keeps Satina in his temple, held under a spell of forgetfulness by the waters of the river Lethe. Aziel himself, bitten by Death’s snake, has aged “several hundred years” but eats green apples to gradually reverse the process. But worst of all is that Aziel has teamed up with Cain, brother of the biblical Abel and the world’s first murderer. The two diabolical figures, along with an army of mortal demons, plan their vengeance on Lucifer for taking their immortality. Andersen, in his series’ most epic installment, brings the drama to a rolling boil. The volume also contains his grisliest scenes yet, including one in which an innocent man who has no eyelids begs Philip for death. This effectively reminds readers that Lucifer is the lesser of two evils, and Aziel is a threat the evolving hero may or may not vanquish. The author still peppers his saga with puns, like the “Hornmones” taken by Hisser, a young devil hoping to grow larger horns. A flashback to the final argument between Lucifer and the Archangel Michael rings with grandeur (“The snow-white wings unfold, sparkling like sword-blades in the sunshine”). While some may find the violence gratuitous, Andersen does enjoy pushing boundaries—as when God tells Philip the meaning of life. Fans will undoubtedly expect some big surprises in the next volume.
A bracing drama that feels like a milestone for this series about a demonic war.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 321
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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
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