An unnerving and immensely entertaining dark fantasy.
In Duff’s debut novel, a man must choose between honoring a demon’s centuries-old contract or using his newfound magic to fight his way out of it.
Timothy Kovak is nearly killed by an otherworldly beast on his 25th birthday. His world in 2058 is accustomed to both demon attacks and mages, such as those in the Bluestar 7 team of metahuman cops. But he’s still shocked when he awakens to find the succubus Lydia in his Boston apartment. She claims he’s now inherited magic, an ancient book, and a blood contract that his soul-selling ancestor signed in the mid-14th century; now he’ll have to serve Demon Prince Baalphezar. While Lydia can’t force Timothy to honor the contract, Baalphezar may send a more vicious demon to enforce his will. Timothy takes his time, learning what he can about the book, the terms of the contract, and Lydia’s methods of seduction (“Her body had stopped being titillating and was starting to feel like a threat”). If Timothy can master his new magical abilities, he can do good, like the Bluestar mages he admires—he may also be able to defeat Baalphezar and permanently cancel his contract. Duff’s leisurely paced tale, which opens a series, masterfully develops multilayered characters—Timothy, for example, seems hung up on his ex, but his genuine care for others is apparent when the Demon Prince threatens his friends. Similarly, Lydia is unpredictable, a powerful succubus who sometimes shows a warmhearted side. Despite Timothy’s intermittent cynicism. Lightening the mood, the narrative remains tense throughout. Even the protagonist’s apartment, a principal setting, is in a “No-Fly Zone” where a dead god’s miasma randomly kills anything in the air (and most other things). Demons rearing their ugly heads guarantee gory bits along with supernatural action. The novel’s latter half picks up considerably as Timothy hones his magic and his circumstances grow increasingly dire. There’s plenty left to explore in sequels.
An unnerving and immensely entertaining dark fantasy.Pub Date: Feb. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9798990103030
Page Count: 541
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.
After 500 years, the Grief of Ages is a distant memory—until dragons hellbent on destruction begin to wake again.
In this relatively brief prequel to the epic The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019), the kingdoms of Virtudom have experienced centuries of relative peace. Marosa Vetalda, the Princess of Yscalin, spends her days behind castle walls under the gaze of her overprotective father, awaiting the date when she’ll be wed to Aubrecht of Mentendon, her ticket to freedom. While the book’s main focus is initially on the political threads weaving the Western kingdoms together, the frailty of best-laid plans is exposed when evidence of the reemergence of draconic beings reaches castle ears. These tales often come from the cullers who make their living slaying these creatures, and who are often blamed for intentionally waking them for profit. No one alive remembers the Grief of Ages, so no one’s prepared when Fýredel, the great High Western dragon, surfaces from the volcanic mountain that towers ominously over Yscalin’s capital city of Cárscaro. What follows is the backstory of how the devoted Yscali kingdom comes to shift allegiance to Fýredel and his master, the Nameless One, a main catalyst to events in The Priory. Overall, this book reads more like history lesson than fantasy adventure, but the sheer terror that befalls the Yscali people as they face Fýredel’s pure evil is both powerful and relevant. Marosa’s plight further solidifies her as a hero worth remembering; her strength and defiance shine through as hope for the future she’s dreamed of slowly flickers out.
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781639736010
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
