Creative and diverting; a massive amount of story, perhaps too much, for an opening volume.
A man finds himself in a baffling, dreamlike world of gods, archangels, and dragons in the first installment of Kildare’s fantasy series.
Cillian Rysgaard is hardly surprised by his physician’s diagnosis of dementia. But when the 86-year-old leaves the doctor’s office in Fargo, North Dakota, he seems to enter an entirely new world and to have a shockingly younger body. He initially encounters people who apparently know him, calling him a “champion” and speaking in various tongues like Gaelic and Latin. Certain that he’s dreaming, he accepts a mission from a wizened man who holds the ancient Roman title of “Imperator”; Cillian must slay a dragon, which first requires stealing a powerful, ancient sword. Unfortunately, Loki, the god of chaos, tricks Cillian into freeing him from captivity. A group of archangels (the seven remaining after wars in heaven) find Cillian and enlist his help in recapturing Loki, who has somehow “chosen” him. Accordingly, Cillian will be a spy for the archangels and try to learn Loki’s mysterious intentions. Nevertheless, as he continually awakens in strange places, Cillian still believes that what’s happening to him is occurring in a dream. But in a world of deadly creatures, a rampaging troll army, and an impending war, he may be better off acting as if his life is in genuine peril. Kildare jam-packs this opening installment with characters and exposition on topics from heavenly wars to Cillian’s childhood. Cillian is a savvy, sympathetic protagonist, a multilingual professor who misses his late wife. And while some of the abundant menaces are oft-discussed villains who don’t show up, it’s clear that the human race may be in danger. The author fills the pages with environmental details in a mostly sober narrative, save a charming Loki who makes a mean margarita. However, so much unfolds, especially with Cillian repeatedly waking up in new locations, that readers are likely to be as confused as the protagonist typically is. They may have to look for answers in sequels.
Creative and diverting; a massive amount of story, perhaps too much, for an opening volume.Pub Date: May 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9963057-1-6
Page Count: 305
Publisher: Kildare Press LLC
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.
After 500 years, the Grief of Ages is a distant memory—until dragons hellbent on destruction begin to wake again.
In this relatively brief prequel to the epic The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019), the kingdoms of Virtudom have experienced centuries of relative peace. Marosa Vetalda, the Princess of Yscalin, spends her days behind castle walls under the gaze of her overprotective father, awaiting the date when she’ll be wed to Aubrecht of Mentendon, her ticket to freedom. While the book’s main focus is initially on the political threads weaving the Western kingdoms together, the frailty of best-laid plans is exposed when evidence of the reemergence of draconic beings reaches castle ears. These tales often come from the cullers who make their living slaying these creatures, and who are often blamed for intentionally waking them for profit. No one alive remembers the Grief of Ages, so no one’s prepared when Fýredel, the great High Western dragon, surfaces from the volcanic mountain that towers ominously over Yscalin’s capital city of Cárscaro. What follows is the backstory of how the devoted Yscali kingdom comes to shift allegiance to Fýredel and his master, the Nameless One, a main catalyst to events in The Priory. Overall, this book reads more like history lesson than fantasy adventure, but the sheer terror that befalls the Yscali people as they face Fýredel’s pure evil is both powerful and relevant. Marosa’s plight further solidifies her as a hero worth remembering; her strength and defiance shine through as hope for the future she’s dreamed of slowly flickers out.
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781639736010
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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