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
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road meets Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in this frightful medieval epic about an orphan girl with visionary powers in plague-devastated France.
The year is 1348. The conflict between France and England is nothing compared to the all-out war building between good angels and fallen ones for control of heaven (though a scene in which soldiers are massacred by a rainbow of arrows is pretty horrific). Among mortals, only the girl, Delphine, knows of the cataclysm to come. Angels speak to her, issuing warnings—and a command to run. A pack of thieves is about to carry her off and rape her when she is saved by a disgraced knight, Thomas, with whom she teams on a march across the parched landscape. Survivors desperate for food have made donkey a delicacy and don't mind eating human flesh. The few healthy people left lock themselves in, not wanting to risk contact with strangers, no matter how dire the strangers' needs. To venture out at night is suicidal: Horrific forces swirl about, ravaging living forms. Lethal black clouds, tentacled water creatures and assorted monsters are comfortable in the daylight hours as well. The knight and a third fellow journeyer, a priest, have difficulty believing Delphine's visions are real, but with oblivion lurking in every shadow, they don't have any choice but to trust her. The question becomes, can she trust herself? Buehlman, who drew upon his love of Fitzgerald and Hemingway in his acclaimed Southern horror novel, Those Across the River (2011), slips effortlessly into a different kind of literary sensibility, one that doesn't scrimp on earthy humor and lyrical writing in the face of unspeakable horrors. The power of suggestion is the author's strong suit, along with first-rate storytelling talent.
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-937007-86-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
At Buckkeep in the Six Duchies, young Fitz, the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, is raised as a stablehand by old warrior Burrich. But when Chivalry dies without legitimate issue—murdered, it's rumored—Fitz, at the orders of King Shrewd, is brought into the palace and trained in the knightly and courtly arts. Meanwhile, secretly at night, he receives instruction from another bastard, Chade, in the assassin's craft. Now, King Shrewd's subjects are imperiled by the visits of the Red-Ship Raiders—formidable warriors who pillage the seacoasts and turn their human victims into vicious, destructive zombies. Since rehabilitating the zombies proves impossible, it's Fitz's task to go abroad covertly and kill them as quickly and humanely as possible. Shrewd orders that Fitz be taught the Skill—mental powers of telepathy and coercion possessed by all those of the royal line; his teacher is Galen, a sadistic ally of the popinjay Prince Regal, who hates Fitz all the more for his loyalty to Shrewd's other son, the stalwart soldier Verity. Galen brutalizes Fitz and, unknown to anyone, implants a mental block that prevents Fitz from using the Skill. Later, Shrewd decrees that, to cement an alliance, Verity shall wed the Princess Kettricken, heir to a remote yet rich mountain kingdom. Verity, occupied with Skillfully keeping the Red-Ship Raiders at bay, can't go to collect his bride, so Regal and Fitz are sent. Finally, Fitz must discover the depths of Regal's perfidy, recapture his true Skill, win Kettricken's heart for Verity, and help Verity defeat the Raiders. An intriguing, controlled, and remarkably assured debut, at once satisfyingly self-contained yet leaving plenty of scope for future extensions and embellishments.
Pub Date: April 17, 1995
ISBN: 0-553-37445-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Spectra/Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
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