An uneven debut fantasy, but its intriguing setting and well-developed characters show promise.
In Hewitt’s debut YA fantasy novel, a young woman—part human, part elf—joins a group of mages and warriors in the hope of learning how to use her own magic.
The novel gets into the action on its very first page, when a killer swings a sword at protagonist Sylvia, causing her father, the king of Larenta, to sacrifice himself to rescue her. Sometime after her father’s death, she resurfaces at a country inn with a lot of baggage. She encounters a mage named Gavren traveling with his apprentice, Kyra, and Derik, their warrior companion. They ask Sylvia to join them on their journey, hoping they can find someone to heal the traces of “shadow” left behind from the altercation that killed her father. Sylvia’s reluctant to join them, for good reason: She’s half-elf, with a strain of fairy-elf magic in her blood. The magic is powerful and uncontrollable, and she feels she must keep it from any magic users who might seek to manipulate her. The mage’s party manages to convince her to come along, but Gavren soon proves himself untrustworthy when he takes Sylvia’s box, a magical item left to her by her late mother. During their journey, however, Sylvia forms a grudging, mutual understanding with Gavren and Kyra, and quickly falls in love with Derik, who shares her romantic feelings. As a group, they encounter orcs, soldiers and dragons, some helpful and some harmful, and learn more about Sylvia’s importance in a changing world. Much of the book centers on Sylvia’s growing relationship with Derik and her struggles with intimacy; after her father was killed, Sylvia was at the mercy of a group of soldiers, a fact that haunts her throughout the book. The mage Gavren shows the greatest depth; he manages to be a good guy while also resorting to trickery to learn Sylvia’s secrets. The prose is often awkward, however, relying on repetition and declarations of emotion (“[H]e was so taken by the beautiful woman he was made oblivious to what was happening”), and it may sometimes be hard for readers to follow how one event leads to the next. That said, there’s much to be admired in this book; the fantasy setting leaves a lot to be explored in future installments, and Sylvia’s role within it promises great drama.
An uneven debut fantasy, but its intriguing setting and well-developed characters show promise.Pub Date: June 18, 2013
ISBN: 978-1475990300
Page Count: 294
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
As in Resurrection (1966) and The Wreckage of Agathon (1970) Gardner demonstrates his agility at juggling metaphysical notions while telling a diverting tale. Here he has used as a means of discovering man's unsavory ways that muzziest of monsters, Grendel, from the Beowulf chronicle. As in the original, Grendel is a bewildering combination of amorphous threats and grisly specifics — he bellows in the wilds and crunches through hapless inhabitants of the meadhall. But Grendel, the essence of primal violence, is also a learning creature. Itc listens to a wheezing bore with scales and coils, a pedantic Lucifer, declaim on the relentless complexity of cosmic accident. He hears an old priest put in a word for God as unity of discords, where nothing is lost. And Grendel continues to observe the illusions of bards, kings, heroes, and soldiers, occasionally eating one. After the true hero arrives sprouting fiery wings, to deal the death blow, he shows Grendel the reality of both destruction and rebirth. Throughout the trackless philosophic speculation, the dialogue is witty and often has a highly contemporary tilt: "The whole shit-ass scene was his idea, not mine," says Grendel, disgusted by a sacrificial hero. At the close one is not sure if the savior is "blithe of his deed," but Gardner, the word-pleaser, should be.
Pub Date: Sept. 17, 1971
ISBN: 0679723110
Page Count: 186
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1971
A fantastic duology ender.
“Hope is as slippery as memory.”
In the aftermath of a devastating betrayal by the rebellious Whispers, Renata Convida—a magic wielder with the power to steal memories—chooses to leave everything behind to travel alongside the infamous Prince Castian, her oldest friend and her greatest enemy. Together they go in search of the Knife of Memory, a mystical weapon they hope will be the answer to defeating Castian’s father, the tyrannical King Fernando, and bringing peace to their kingdom, which has been torn apart by the oppression of Renata’s people, the magical Moria. The more the duo traverse the world, over land and across seas, making enemies and friends along the way, the more they realize that the bonds between history and memory are intrinsically connected but hopelessly severed. As Renata’s mental clarity starts to fall apart under the weight of so many minds whose memories she has stolen, her turmoil increases: If she loses herself, can she accomplish what needs to be done to save her people? Adventure, romance, and magic entwine in this fierce sequel infused with assured writing, lovable characters, and a taut plot that merges multiple threads about accountability, surviving trauma, and building a new life as well as a new nation. A breathtakingly romantic plotline that speaks of survival, forgiveness, and friendship is the cherry on top of a story full of brown-skinned people in a world inspired by Spain.
A fantastic duology ender. (map) (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5603-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© 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.
