An atmospheric, superbly paced series opener.
From the author of Kitsune (2015) comes a romantic fantasy about a priestess who unleashes an elemental dragon, only to learn that she possesses untapped power herself.
In the land of Akatsuki, Suzume is a priestess living among “shrine maidens” who worship and serve the God of the Mountain. She once enjoyed her status as the emperor’s daughter, betrothed to General Tsubaki; then her mother’s infidelity came to light, and Suzume was forced into shameful exile. Now an “unwilling bride of the mountain god,” she kneels one day before a pedestal holding an obsidian stone. Suddenly, red light bursts from the girl and hits the rock; a dragon then explodes from it, and Suzume and the other shrine maidens assume it is their god. The dragon, however, soon changes into the rakishly handsome Kaito, who wants revenge against his former love, Kazue, who sealed him inside the shrine 500 years ago. Suzume joins Kaito on the quest through forest and swamp as he hunts for Kazue’s reincarnated form; all the while, Suzume copes with the fiery spiritual power that flows so strongly within her. And although she and Kaito are drawn to each other, it’s his elemental ice powers that cause sparks to fly whenever they touch. Seasoned fantasy author Andrews explores Japanese folklore in this latest novel, populating Akatsuki with kodama (tree spirits), yokai (ghosts), and oni (demons). She makes Kaito into a foul, capricious benefactor with lines such as, “you amuse me, but if you overstep your bounds...I will not hesitate to kill you.” Along the way, the two encounter many foes, but several friends, too, including Rin (a fox spirit) and Tsuki/Akira (a brother and sister sharing one body). A recurring stranger taunts Suzume as well, one whose role in Kazue’s mystery may be darker than anyone imagines. Andrews also seeds mythic grandeur through her narrative, as when Suzume asks of the immortals, “Is everything just a game to them?” The epic finale ties up plot threads nicely while also prompting further adventures.
An atmospheric, superbly paced series opener.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5173-6183-9
Page Count: 440
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
PERSPECTIVES
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
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