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Risen

THE BATTLE FOR DARRACIA (BOOK III)

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The concluding volume of Cash’s (Collision, 2014, etc.) Battle for Darracia trilogy is a fitting end to an action-packed series that seamlessly blends elements of science fiction and fantasy.
The story is set on a breathtakingly beautiful planet that’s literally being destroyed by war, including a conflict between the planet’s two indigenous species, the Darracians and the Quyroos. Three interconnected storylines follow key characters: V’sair, a young Darracian king of mixed blood who’s determined to unite the races and save the planet; Zayden, his warrior brother; and Tulani, a Quyroos high priestess who’s also V’sair’s love interest. As the novel begins, all three heroes are in desperate straits: V’sair, jettisoned from a floating city, has fallen into the Hixom Sea. Zayden, a once proud Darracian prince, has been blinded and struggles to understand his significance in the world. Tulani, meanwhile, finds herself imprisoned and incapable of helping her people—and her planet—from being summarily wiped out by ignorant Darracians. Separately, they must all undergo painful journeys of self-discovery in order to end the bloodshed. This novel (and the trilogy) has numerous noteworthy aspects, including exceptional world building, impressive character development, nonstop action, jaw-dropping plot twists, and some powerful, profound themes (including “equality for all”). The criticisms are minor ones; the ultimate conclusion, for example, is a bit too predictable and one main character, Bobbien, speaks so much like Yoda (“Throw him in prison, they will”) that it becomes grating by the novel’s end. That said, the story’s blend of science fiction and fantasy is highly palatable, as is the old-school adventure fantasy undertone—comparable to classics such as Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars saga and Jack L. Chalker’s Well of Souls series.
Readers of this well-crafted sci-fi epic will be left suitably satisfied, and hungry for more of the same.

Pub Date: June 25, 2014

ISBN: 978-1499242676

Page Count: 272

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2014

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THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA

A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.

A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.

Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune (The Art of Breathing, 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.

A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.

Pub Date: March 17, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Tor

Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019

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  • New York Times Bestseller

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THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE

A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.

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After 1,000 years of peace, whispers that “the Nameless One will return” ignite the spark that sets the world order aflame.

No, the Nameless One is not a new nickname for Voldemort. Here, evil takes the shape of fire-breathing dragons—beasts that feed off chaos and imbalance—set on destroying humankind. The leader of these creatures, the Nameless One, has been trapped in the Abyss for ages after having been severely wounded by the sword Ascalon wielded by Galian Berethnet. These events brought about the current order: Virtudom, the kingdom set up by Berethnet, is a pious society that considers all dragons evil. In the East, dragons are worshiped as gods—but not the fire-breathing type. These dragons channel the power of water and are said to be born of stars. They forge a connection with humans by taking riders. In the South, an entirely different way of thinking exists. There, a society of female mages called the Priory worships the Mother. They don’t believe that the Berethnet line, continued by generations of queens, is the sacred key to keeping the Nameless One at bay. This means he could return—and soon. “Do you not see? It is a cycle.” The one thing uniting all corners of the world is fear. Representatives of each belief system—Queen Sabran the Ninth of Virtudom, hopeful dragon rider Tané of the East, and Ead Duryan, mage of the Priory from the South—are linked by the common goal of keeping the Nameless One trapped at any cost. This world of female warriors and leaders feels natural, and while there is a “chosen one” aspect to the tale, it’s far from the main point. Shannon’s depth of imagination and worldbuilding are impressive, as this 800-pager is filled not only with legend, but also with satisfying twists that turn legend on its head. Shannon isn’t new to this game of complex storytelling. Her Bone Season novels (The Song Rising, 2017, etc.) navigate a multilayered society of clairvoyants. Here, Shannon chooses a more traditional view of magic, where light fights against dark, earth against sky, and fire against water. Through these classic pairings, an entirely fresh and addicting tale is born. Shannon may favor detailed explication over keeping a steady pace, but the epic converging of plotlines at the end is enough to forgive.

A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.

Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-63557-029-8

Page Count: 848

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019

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