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
Mabry’s mix of magical realism and dystopia doesn’t live up to its promising start.
In a dangerous, post-apocalyptic America, Sarah Jac and her boyfriend, James, keep their relationship a secret as they work at a mysterious farm.
After environmental collapse, the western half of North America is desert. Seventeen-year-old Sarah Jacqueline Crow, aka “Sarah Jac” (who’s mixed-race), and fellow orphan James Holt (who’s white) specialize in picking the maguey plant for violent overseers and profit-hungry ranch owners whose harvests turn into pulque, mescal, and tequila. After a fatal accident during a dust storm, Sarah Jac is accused of murder, and the two stow away on a train that leads them to the Real Marvelous, a ranch in Texas that’s rumored to be cursed. To protect themselves, Sarah Jac and James pretend to be cousins, fearing that if they’re open about their love, they’ll expose themselves to blackmail or worse. Soon, Sarah Jac is commanded to provide equestrian lessons to the owner’s younger daughter, Bell, while James is commissioned to work in the big house as a groundskeeper—and ends up catching the eye of Bell’s sickly but beautiful older sister, Farrah. A complicated series of plagues, prophecies, and love triangles ensues. The author’s prose is rich and lyrical, but the worldbuilding is lacking, leaving readers wondering about details rather than immersed in the story. In a reverse of most romantic story arcs, the love story goes from initially swoonworthy to deeply unsatisfying.
Mabry’s mix of magical realism and dystopia doesn’t live up to its promising start. (Science fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61620-666-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The setting is well-captured, but it’s slow going in this sci-fi adventure.
In a militaristic future Korea, a boy and girl meet.
It is 2199, and Korea, China, and Japan no longer exist as separate countries but as members of the Neo Council (conveyed to readers in infodumps). Five decades of war have yielded many innovations, such as the God Machines (riffing on the tradition of Japanese mecha movies and Pacific Rim). Preparing to take his military placement exam before graduation from an elite academy, Jaewon is isolated: his father is dead, his mother abandoned him, and his former best friend has turned his back on Jaewon to gain power in one of the Old Seoul gangs. Jaewon’s military posting is to the Tower, the kilometer-tall building in Neo Seoul that serves as headquarters, where he is assigned to supervise Tera, a girl whose strength has been enhanced with drugs in order to pilot a new kind of God Machine. With war still raging and rebel nationalists seeking to make Korea an independent nation again, will two young people be able to find love in this plot-heavy story? While Jaewon is an effective character, much of the supporting cast is relatively flat and the dialogue occasionally stilted, which jars against the mostly colloquial flow.
The setting is well-captured, but it’s slow going in this sci-fi adventure. (glossary) (Science fiction. 14-16)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62014-299-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Tu Books
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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