Singh explores power, love, and redemption with her typical consummate skill.
When an archangel disappears, it becomes clear there’s more at stake than just power.
After years of war, Archangel Raphael and his once-mortal consort, Elena, have experienced a period of relative peace in New York, but Raphael must attend to global affairs when Zhou Lijuan, the Archangel of China and self-professed Goddess of Death, fails to make an appearance for two years and her lands begin to show signs of distress. The Cadre—the archangelic rulers of Earth—must decide what to do with her territory and are summoned by the Luminata, an ancient, neutral sect of angels charged with bringing the Cadre together when an archangel hasn't been seen in some time. Once Elena and Raphael join the rest of the archangels in the remote Moroccan Luminata compound, everyone agrees that things are not as they should be in a region ruled by people who are supposed to be seekers of “luminescence"—a sort of spiritual enlightenment—and perhaps it’s not only the question of Lijuan they should be deciding, but also that of the Luminata themselves. Things get personal when Gian, the charming but somehow creepy sect leader, develops a distinctly unnatural interest in Elena. Spending time in the nearby mortal village, Elena realizes the residents have been terrorized by the Luminata. After she meets an elderly couple who tells her stories of a woman who disappeared decades ago and who shared Elena’s unique coloring, she uncovers an abundance of disturbing secrets, some of which have directly and horrifically affected her own family. Singh's Guild Hunter novels are known for their darkly intense worldbuilding and for their exquisite romanticism, especially between the couple at the heart of the series, Raphael and Elena. This eighth novel highlights the author’s ability to weave threads of devastation and hopefulness together; it is emotionally jarring and at times grim yet ultimately fulfilling, resonating with the conviction that love is the strongest force in the universe.
Singh explores power, love, and redemption with her typical consummate skill.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-451-48800-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 7, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
A charming and persuasive entry that will leave readers impatiently awaiting the concluding volume.
Book 2 of Hearne's latest fantasy trilogy, The Seven Kennings (A Plague of Giants, 2017), set in a multiracial world thrust into turmoil by an invasion of peculiar giants.
In this world, most races have their own particular magical endowment, or “kenning,” though there are downsides to trying to gain the magic (an excellent chance of being killed instead) and using it (rapid aging and death). Most recently discovered is the sixth kenning, whose beneficiaries can talk to and command animals. The story canters along, although with multiple first-person narrators, it's confusing at times. Some characters are familiar, others are new, most of them with their own problems to solve, all somehow caught up in the grand design. To escape her overbearing father and the unreasoning violence his kind represents, fire-giant Olet Kanek leads her followers into the far north, hoping to found a new city where the races and kennings can peacefully coexist. Joining Olet are young Abhinava Khose, discoverer of the sixth kenning, and, later, Koesha Gansu (kenning: air), captain of an all-female crew shipwrecked by deep-sea monsters. Elsewhere, Hanima, who commands hive insects, struggles to free her city from the iron grip of wealthy, callous merchant monarchists. Other threads focus on the Bone Giants, relentless invaders seeking the still-unknown seventh kenning, whose confidence that this can defeat the other six is deeply disturbing. Under Hearne's light touch, these elements mesh perfectly, presenting an inventive, eye-filling panorama; satisfying (and, where appropriate, well-resolved) plotlines; and tensions between the races and their kennings to supply much of the drama.
A charming and persuasive entry that will leave readers impatiently awaiting the concluding volume.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-345-54857-3
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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