Sensual fantasy with a feminine gaze and intimate worldbuilding.
The Songs of Indir and Saya are intimately linked, but how and why remain a mystery through much of this opening salvo from Huerta in which a world of Dreams, Songs, prophecy, and chaos are introduced.
Worship through the ancient traditions of Song and especially Dreaming forms the rituals of daily life in the Temple of Night and is all Indir has ever known. A world away, young, isolated Saya also knows the world of the Dream despite being separate from the rituals and traditions of the Dreamers in the city of Alcanzeh. This story with Mesoamerican influences unwinds in chapters of alternating first-person perspectives from Indir and Saya as they grapple with their identities as Dreamers, struggle in their relationships with the women who raised them, and discover their roles in the larger story as chaos threatens to destroy both the Dream and the Waking World. Huerta conjures a deep, sensual world in which many cultures share fragments of a larger tradition based on the myths of the Dream and told through Song and story. It is evident through their shared ties to the Dream that Indir and Saya are linked, but the revelation of their true relationship provides the climax, leaving readers hanging on what the symbols and prophecies discovered on their journeys mean for the Waking World. Those who crave intentional worldbuilding and deep knowledge of characters will find that this slow and intimate build leaves them longing for more.
Sensual fantasy with a feminine gaze and intimate worldbuilding. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-75485-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
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
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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