A sweet, genuine fantasy novel about finding family in unlikely situations.
Heroes strive to fulfill a prophecy and defeat an evil warlock in this fantasy debut.
Sister Creda is a sorceress from the Tower of Giefan. While traveling to the Hidden Caves of Abufan for her magical Tests and Completions, she plans to visit Carlida, her sister who lives with a nomadic tribe. On the trail, however, she finds a slain nomad. Using her amulet, she “reads” his blood and learns that raiders attacked Carlida’s tribe and took prisoners. Creda must reach the Tower, in the city of Espri, before dark and before she stumbles on the raiders herself, but her donkey isn’t cooperating. Luckily, a warrior named Fornico (nicknamed “Nico”) approaches and agrees to escort her. At the Tower, the Four Superiors summon the Great Seer for advice on confronting the “ruthless man of magic” who commands the raiders and supposedly drinks his victims’ blood. The Seer says that “No man can defeat this warlock! But there is a One.” Prince Yurmar asks for volunteers to hunt the warlock down. Nico signs up, as do Creda, Superior Veras, and several soldiers, including a young woman named Ferren. From the Witch of the Great East Wood, the group learns that pieces of a talisman must be retrieved to overcome the warlock’s power. But if the One is not a man, who among the heroes can deliver the killing blow? Armstrong-Jones offers a debut fantasy that plays with and subverts the genre’s tropes while never trying to break the mold of heartwarming fantasy classics such as The Hobbit. She wryly portrays Nico, who represents decades of Conan-style heroes, as a “blasted, arrogant man” who’s never wrong. Creda, who’s ostensibly the protagonist, cares little about possibly being the One. She instead develops her power to psychically commune with animals, which brings Baru, a wolf, into the group. Although the prose is suitable for teenagers, much of the action is interior—such as Creda’s and Veras’ energy exchanges—and younger audiences may be rooting for an ending with “Prince Yurmar himself kissing [the One’s] hand in gratitude.” Armstrong-Jones delivers a finale that’s pleasantly unexpected, and the fantastic last line blows readers a final kiss.
A sweet, genuine fantasy novel about finding family in unlikely situations.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-228-82173-1
Page Count: 236
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 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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