A tight series installment that thrives on narrative risk.
In Barlow’s thriller sequel, 18-year-old Jack Harper attempts to break free from a tragic past, until she hears the siren’s song of revenge.
As this installment opens, Jack watches a mansion burn. She’s destroyed the headquarters of the Infinitum cult run by her father, Cyrus. Lutin, a supernatural being known as a ferric, gave her the power to resurrect the dead, but has now vanished from her life. Jack drives Cyrus’ car from Basille, Louisiana, to New York City to “build my life, one brick at a time.” Initially, the stimulating metropolis invigorates her. Then she sees that Cyrus’ downfall—and the location of the car she stole—have made the news. She eventually settles into a routine of robbing people in Central Park so she can afford an apartment under the alias Sarah Anderson. She’s shocked when she starts receiving letters from children from around the country who are still trapped in the cult’s network; somehow, her precautions have come to naught, and Jack realizes that her attempt at a new life is a fantasy. As she attempts to retreat into drug use, she meets Patrick Flannigan, a princely party animal who turns out to be the target of a criminal syndicate; his father owns the mysterious Lucient Laboratories, which may have a connection to Jack’s past. Barlow’s remarkable sequel keeps the tension high, and the twists consistently feel fresh and unexpected. Jonathon Roth, later introduced as the leader of the criminal Outfit organization, proves a compelling foil for Jack. The protagonist’s quest for self-possession is never eclipsed by the supernatural pyrotechnics, although the action scenes are remarkably cinematic: “Blood exploded from beneath his right cheekbone. Teeth flew out of his mouth to rattle off the windshield.” The final third consists of carefully arranged surprises, each adding psychological complexity to the story—and hints that the next volume will be even grander.
A tight series installment that thrives on narrative risk.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64428-137-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Rare Bird Books
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Fun while it lasts but not one of Scalzi’s stronger books.
Some people are born supervillains, and others have supervillainy thrust upon them.
Charlie Fitzer, a former business journalist–turned–substitute teacher, is broke and somewhat desperate. His circumstances take an unexpected and dangerous turn when his estranged uncle Jake dies, leaving his business—i.e., his trillion-dollar supervillain empire—to Charlie. Charlie doesn’t really have the skills or experience to manage the staff of the volcano lair, and matters don’t improve when he’s pressured to attend a high-level meeting with other supervillains, none of whom got along with his uncle. With the aid of his uncle’s No. 1, Mathilda Morrison, and his cat, Hera (who turns out to be an intelligent and typing-capable spy for his uncle’s organization), Charlie must sort out whom he can trust before he gets blackmailed, blown up, or both. This book serves as a follow-up of sorts to Scalzi’s The Kaiju Preservation Society (2022) in that both are riffs on genre film tropes. The current work is fluffier and sillier than the previous novel and, indeed, many of Scalzi’s other books, although there is the occasional jab about governments being in bed with unscrupulous corporate enterprises or the ways in which people can profit from human suffering. This is one of many available stories about a good-hearted Everyman thrust into fantastical circumstances, struggling to survive as a fish out of water, and, while well executed for its type, the plot doesn’t go anywhere that will surprise you.
Fun while it lasts but not one of Scalzi’s stronger books.Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780765389220
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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