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
With an aura of both enchantment and authenticity, Bardugo’s compulsively readable novel leaves a portal ajar for equally...
Yale’s secret societies hide a supernatural secret in this fantasy/murder mystery/school story.
Most Yale students get admitted through some combination of impressive academics, athletics, extracurriculars, family connections, and donations, or perhaps bribing the right coach. Not Galaxy “Alex” Stern. The protagonist of Bardugo’s (King of Scars, 2019, etc.) first novel for adults, a high school dropout and low-level drug dealer, Alex got in because she can see dead people. A Yale dean who's a member of Lethe, one of the college’s famously mysterious secret societies, offers Alex a free ride if she will use her spook-spotting abilities to help Lethe with its mission: overseeing the other secret societies’ occult rituals. In Bardugo’s universe, the “Ancient Eight” secret societies (Lethe is the eponymous Ninth House) are not just old boys’ breeding grounds for the CIA, CEOs, Supreme Court justices, and so on, as they are in ours; they’re wielders of actual magic. Skull and Bones performs prognostications by borrowing patients from the local hospital, cutting them open, and examining their entrails. St. Elmo’s specializes in weather magic, useful for commodities traders; Aurelian, in unbreakable contracts; Manuscript goes in for glamours, or “illusions and lies,” helpful to politicians and movie stars alike. And all these rituals attract ghosts. It’s Alex’s job to keep the supernatural forces from embarrassing the magical elite by releasing chaos into the community (all while trying desperately to keep her grades up). “Dealing with ghosts was like riding the subway: Do not make eye contact. Do not smile. Do not engage. Otherwise, you never know what might follow you home.” A townie’s murder sets in motion a taut plot full of drug deals, drunken assaults, corruption, and cover-ups. Loyalties stretch and snap. Under it all runs the deep, dark river of ambition and anxiety that at once powers and undermines the Yale experience. Alex may have more reason than most to feel like an imposter, but anyone who’s spent time around the golden children of the Ivy League will likely recognize her self-doubt.
With an aura of both enchantment and authenticity, Bardugo’s compulsively readable novel leaves a portal ajar for equally dazzling sequels.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-31307-2
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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
© Copyright 2024 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.
bookshelf
