Ultimately, this is more flash and over-the-top drama than substance.
Destiny. Vengeance. Glory.
Anlei has spent much of her young life fighting the shadow spirits plaguing her village and imagining herself as the Warrioress of legend. When Viceroy Kang visits, he makes the villagers an offer: In exchange for the protection of his bronze dragon army, he will take one girl to be his latest wife—but he also wants their enchanted River Pearl. The bride he selects is Anlei. Though her thirst for vengeance and hunger for adventure and personal glory have not been sated, she resigns herself to this exchange for the sake of her people. Before the ceremony, however, the pearl is stolen by the Masked Giver, a young man on his own quest to save his people from the Courts of Hell and Mowang, the demon king. Of course, Anlei joins him. A Chinese-inspired fantasy, mixing magic and science, cyborgs and magical swords, this story tries to incorporate many topics (some more successfully than others), including a commentary on womanhood and sacrifice for the community, destiny vs. self-determination, Chinese legends, and politics. The main character, who is prone to histrionics and makes a distracting number of oaths to the Gods of Heaven and Earth for vengeance and violence, seems to have dyslexia. Though full of action sequences and dramatic reveals, unfortunately the journey of self-discovery is lacking.
Ultimately, this is more flash and over-the-top drama than substance. (Fantasy. 14-17)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-162414-733-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This sequel feels like it’s under new management, its enticing high concept abandoned by the wayside all dressed up with no...
Safe for now behind the firewall in Elusion, the dangerously addictive virtual-reality experience Regan’s dad designed, she and Josh join the race to dismantle it before its mass-market release.
Each of Elusion’s virtual miniworlds must be destroyed from inside, a tricky business that takes a harsh toll on the team (kids Elusion earlier ensnared, including Josh’s sister, Nora). Too soon, Patrick, Regan’s would-be boyfriend and her dad’s cohort, pulls her back to the real world but ascribes her account of finding her dad alive to nanopsychosis. Not only is Patrick no help, he’s the reason she’s confined to the hospital psych ward she must escape as the countdown to Elusion’s release continues. As in its stronger predecessor, the setup is promising, raising expectations, but structural problems hobble this sequel. The beginning crawls as readers are fed complex back story and far more abstract information than is required, via awkward dialogue, on Elusion’s programming. Once characters start interacting with Elusion (hands-down the most interesting character), the pace picks up and the story ignites, only to deflate again when Regan returns to the real world. In contrast to Elusion’s elaborate mechanics, the story’s humans feel drab and one-dimensional, and several are nearly unrecognizable, as if they’ve been replaced midarc by strangers bearing their names.
This sequel feels like it’s under new management, its enticing high concept abandoned by the wayside all dressed up with no place to go . (Science fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: March 30, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-212244-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Despite flaws, solid and absorbing high fantasy, with a sudden breathless hook to the next installment.
Held captive in an enemy land, a princess ricochets among an assassin, a prince, and a barbaric ruler.
As The Kiss of Deception (2014) ended, Princess Lia entered Venda as a prisoner of Kaden, who’d been sent to assassinate her but instead brought her to Venda’s dictator, the Komizar. Whether locked in her room, sneaking through hidden catacombs, or being paraded outdoors by the Komizar, Lia’s never safe. She knows that her beloved Prince Rafe is imprisoned here too, in disguise, and could be killed anytime; the chance Lia will be killed lessens when the Komizar starts using her as a political symbol, but she’s still in danger. Pearson’s plot flows well despite some flowery prose and overexplanations. Themes of bloodshed, hunger, war, and manipulation simmer through several first-person perspectives, and an event near the end packs a wallop. However, for a story emphasizing vengeance, betrayal, and deception, the reveals are lukewarm, unlike the stunningly satisfying ones in Kristin Cashore’s Graceling Realm series, while Marie Rutkoski’s Winner’s Trilogy makes meatier fodder of mis/trust, power, manipulation, and enormous stakes. There’s little new here: Lia’s critical role becomes as much about destiny as agency, and stereotypical Romany-esque “vagabonds” teach her about her magical gift.
Despite flaws, solid and absorbing high fantasy, with a sudden breathless hook to the next installment. (Fantasy. 14-17)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9924-9
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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