A worthwhile fantasy series-opener, even if its character detail is occasionally lacking.
In this first book of Miles’ planned fantasy trilogy, warriors search for missing royals while facing off against a villainous horde.
Princess Salair of the Kingdom of the Meadow, traveling with her bodyguard, follows directions to an underground forest. Her father, the King, who’s missing along with the Queen, left behind an encrypted note that sent her to Sir Charles “Chuck” McDaniel, a warfare expert. She guesses that the abductor is Dark Prince Drouck, whose diabolical family members once ruled the land. With guidance from Chuck’s old enemy—a humanoid rat who claims that Drouck also kidnapped his daughter—Salair and others make their way to the Dark Forest to find the Dark Prince’s castle. They simply want to rescue the hostages, but several surprises, including the appearance of a long-lost loved one, pull the group apart in unexpected ways. Meanwhile, Drouck leads an army of hostile minions, including the half-tarantula, half-octopus “octospy,” who can kill with a mere bite or scratch. Miles packs this opening installment with backstory and character introductions. A prologue succinctly chronicles centuries of the former king’s tyrannical reign, which quickly gives the novel a chilling tone, as evil still thrives in the Dark Forest. The cast is extensive, with such appealing individuals as Chuck’s samurai friend, Oshiro Kehi; Keewae, a bearlike “fuzzar”; and golden eagle Berra, whom Chuck rescued when she was an eaglet. However, although the author’s scant descriptions adequately render the forested settings, they’re less successful at sketching characters. For example, several figures appear in just a scene or two, identified by name only, and one crucial player exits the narrative with nothing more than a vague explanation of their fate. Still, there’s plenty of intriguing obstacles to challenge the heroes, including the revelation of a shocking family secret and a scramble to find an antidote for poison.
A worthwhile fantasy series-opener, even if its character detail is occasionally lacking.Pub Date: July 9, 2024
ISBN: 9798332706899
Page Count: 246
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2024
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
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.
A woman must undergo fearsome trials to free the imprisoned Titans of Greek myth in Owen’s fantasy novel, the second in a series.
Advancing from minor office clerk in the Order of Thieves to Queen of the Underworld, Lyra Keres’ star should be rising. But thanks to Cronos, King of the Titans, she and her longtime friend and fellow thief Boone have been ensnared in a new challenge beneath the earth: Hot on the heels of winning the twisted Crucible Games, Lyra—who has recently been granted goddess powers—finds herself trapped in Tartarus. Separated from her beloved Hades, she must liberate the fearsome Titans from seven Locks to restore the cosmic balance. As Lyra progresses through the Locks engineered by the Gods—each as tricky and lethal as the last—the pressure mounts as the Titans repeatedly remind her, “You will be our savior.” Rhea, the wife of Cronos, reveals that Lyra began this quest “a hundred and fifty years ago,” adding further devastation to the task at hand; the knowledge is helpful, but also painful, as Lyra reflects, “Suddenly, I don’t want to know that it’s real. Because then I have to contemplate how many times I might have ended up in Tartarus already.” As she materializes in and out of time pockets, Lyra sees Hades’ troubled childhood unfold and struggles not to intervene to save the man she loves. In this second entry in the author’s Crucible series, following The Games Gods Play (2024), Lyra’s cynical quips continue to make her an engaging protagonist. Her inner monologues are balanced with hope, love, and longing for Hades as she meets various versions of him. While resilient, Owen’s heroine is also vulnerable (“Was I his pawn in more ways than I ever realized?”). Her introspection effectively contrasts with the simmering rage and restraint in Hades’ chapters. The supporting Titans are given more depth than the traditional myths allow, weaving a knotty family fabric for the reader to navigate alongside Lyra.
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781649378538
Page Count: 500
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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