Doesn’t quite reach classic status but captures many of the genre’s most enjoyable aspects while flowering with a fertile...
A war for succession consumes an imaginative fantasy world in Beas’ extremely entertaining debut novel.
King Aerostat II has two sons: the vain, narcissistic elder one, Gorgan, and his kindhearted younger brother, Alexander. Although tradition would dictate that the throne should go to Gorgan after Aerostat’s death, the old man decides to give his kingdom to Alexander. Just as Aerostatis about to make the announcement, however, the dark Lord of the Shadows, Kavardas, assassinates him, facilitating Gorgan’s rise to power and setting off a civil war between Gorgan and Alexander. While this may seem a familiar plot to fantasy fans, Beas’ novel distinguishes itself with elements as unusual as they are imaginative. One of its appealing and unique elements is the magical board game Strump, which is inextricably, mystically linked to the makeup of the actual kingdom. In order for the king or lesser leaders to rule, they must wield certain game pieces, each represented by a letter in the acronym STRUMP—S for strength, T for truth, R for righteousness, U for unity, M for malice and P for power. The type of ruler depends on the pieces he uses. Meanwhile, the kingdom is populated not only with humans but with magical figures such as pixies, mermen and brainy animals, some of the most prominent being mice—some are wizards, others are warriors—which Beas treats with only the hint of a wink. From start to finish, the novel is an immensely fun read and a wonderful throwback to fantasy classics. Perhaps one drawback, though: Whereas many contemporary fantasy novels feature morally ambiguous, complex characters, this novel’s universe is more straightforwardly black and white, good vs. evil. Nevertheless, the nostalgic vibe is balanced by sheer invention, strong prose, and a great deal of cleverness and wit.
Doesn’t quite reach classic status but captures many of the genre’s most enjoyable aspects while flowering with a fertile imagination.Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-1493148226
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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