An airy, humorous aviation tale with appealing infusions of myth and history.
A Greek deity helps the Wright brothers invent the airplane in this debut fantasy.
Polyhymnia is a Muse. A literal one—from Mount Olympus—tasked with overseeing humans working in her areas of expertise: the peculiar trio of Geometry, Agriculture, and Sacred Hymns. Not many people believe in the Muses at the turn of the 20th century, but Polyhymnia and her sisters are still plying their trades, directing humanity through a combination of subconscious inspiration and direct intervention. Feeling dissatisfied with her bailiwick, the listless Polyhymnia strikes a deal with her sister Urania, the Muse of Astronomy and Prescience. Polyhymnia will get humans focused on flying, thereby paving their way to the stars, and in exchange, Urania will teach her to see into the future. Polyhymnia starts with the more obvious candidates—a glider pioneer; the secretary of the Smithsonian—before landing on an unlikely pair of bicycle-designing brothers from Ohio, Will and Orv Wright. Flying has been a daydream of Will’s for a number of years, and Orv is a man who can fix any machine. Polyhymnia sneaks into their Dayton circle disguised as a friend of their sister, Kate, helping Will crack the code of bird flight. But is Polyhymnia betting on the wrong inventors? And if she is, can she manage to shape them into the right ones? Kaiser’s prose is crisp and witty, filled with puns and winks at history. Here Polyhymnia discusses the selection of a launch site with her sisters: “ ‘Yes,’ said Polyhymnia. ‘He’s dead set on testing their glider on some Gods-forsaken strip of sand on the North Carolina coast—’ ‘There’s more than one Carolina?’ Urania interrupted. ‘Since when?’ ‘Since they were colonies, dear,’ Calliope said. ‘Do keep up.’ ” The novel has the requisite historical cameos—including Polyhymnia’s favorite agricultural scientist, George Washington Carver—and it brings the Dayton shop of the Wright brothers to colorful life. Despite its fantasy elements, the book is essentially a lighthearted retelling of one of humankind’s most impressive achievements. Though hardly a page-turner, the author has constructed endearing characters, and by the end of the story, readers will have a much better sense of the Wright brothers’ unlikely rise—pun intended.
An airy, humorous aviation tale with appealing infusions of myth and history.Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-088-01314-4
Page Count: 252
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.
A woman must undergo fearsome trials to free the imprisoned Titans of Greek myth in Owen’s fantasy novel, the second in a series.
Advancing from minor office clerk in the Order of Thieves to Queen of the Underworld, Lyra Keres’ star should be rising. But thanks to Cronos, King of the Titans, she and her longtime friend and fellow thief Boone have been ensnared in a new challenge beneath the earth: Hot on the heels of winning the twisted Crucible Games, Lyra—who has recently been granted goddess powers—finds herself trapped in Tartarus. Separated from her beloved Hades, she must liberate the fearsome Titans from seven Locks to restore the cosmic balance. As Lyra progresses through the Locks engineered by the Gods—each as tricky and lethal as the last—the pressure mounts as the Titans repeatedly remind her, “You will be our savior.” Rhea, the wife of Cronos, reveals that Lyra began this quest “a hundred and fifty years ago,” adding further devastation to the task at hand; the knowledge is helpful, but also painful, as Lyra reflects, “Suddenly, I don’t want to know that it’s real. Because then I have to contemplate how many times I might have ended up in Tartarus already.” As she materializes in and out of time pockets, Lyra sees Hades’ troubled childhood unfold and struggles not to intervene to save the man she loves. In this second entry in the author’s Crucible series, following The Games Gods Play (2024), Lyra’s cynical quips continue to make her an engaging protagonist. Her inner monologues are balanced with hope, love, and longing for Hades as she meets various versions of him. While resilient, Owen’s heroine is also vulnerable (“Was I his pawn in more ways than I ever realized?”). Her introspection effectively contrasts with the simmering rage and restraint in Hades’ chapters. The supporting Titans are given more depth than the traditional myths allow, weaving a knotty family fabric for the reader to navigate alongside Lyra.
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781649378538
Page Count: 500
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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