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
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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