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A WIZARD'S SACRIFICE

From the The Woern Saga series , Vol. 2

This riveting sequel starring a wizard should spark interest in the first volume.

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In this second installment of an SF/fantasy series, a wizard stuck in the past fights to return to her time period and her beloved prince without altering the course of history.

In the world called Knownearth, Victoria of Ourtown became a wizard by drinking from the Waters of the Dead, which kill most who consume them. Her resultant power was so intense, Vic “almost single-handedly” ended “a decades-long war” between Latha and Relm—forcing the latter to surrender. Now, the nefarious former Lord of Relm, Lornk Korng, is imprisoned in Latha, where Vic’s foster mother, Queen Elekia, reigns. Distraught over the many she killed in her war-ending massacre, Vic leaves behind Latha and the man she loves, Prince Ashel. Later, pirates hold Ashel captive and plan on breaking Lornk out of prison. Coming to the prince’s rescue are Vic and Princess Bethniel, who both somehow disappear into the past. To return to their own time period, Vic needs a device from sorceress Meylnara, who leads the giant-bug Kragnashians. This will necessitate killing Meylnara, but Vic may also need to sacrifice something—or someone—to fulfill a prophecy of sorts and ensure that the future she already knows doesn’t change. In this gripping epic, Justice’s worldbuilding is extensive. For example, Elesendar is an abandoned spacecraft orbiting the planet, both a hint at the humans’ origin on Knownearth and a god most characters worship. Despite the dense story, there are key reminders of earlier series events, like Ashel’s torture at the hands of Lornk, and Vic as the assassin Vic the Blade. Similarly, the time-travel plot is easy to follow, save for the ending, which some may find perplexing. The author fills the pages with striking passages, including “shrieks wove a bloody tapestry” and the indelible Kragnashians “swinging their mandibles like scythes and sweeping aside the troopers like grain.”

This riveting sequel starring a wizard should spark interest in the first volume. (map, appendix, selected list of characters)

Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 450

Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing

Review Posted Online: Sept. 11, 2020

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IRON FLAME

From the Empyrean series , Vol. 2

Unrelenting, and not in a good way.

A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.

Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.

Unrelenting, and not in a good way.

Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023

ISBN: 9781649374172

Page Count: 640

Publisher: Red Tower

Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024

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FOURTH WING

From the Empyrean series , Vol. 1

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

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