A fine-grained and emotionally satisfying medieval adventure.
In this debut historical novel, a young lord is held captive and recalls pivotal moments in his life.
It is a time of peace, and Alfred is the king’s grandson. He’s also the second son of a second son, making him “twice removed from the advantages of inheritance.” And yet, the king adores Alfred for his interest in animals, kind disposition, and potential for greatness. Just over a year ago, he married Lady Gwendolyn from the northern Kingdom of the Lakes. A sharply curious girl, she’s interested in more “than just sewing and dancing,” making theirs a match based on intellectual and emotional compatibility. Her presence in his life makes up for John, Alfred’s loutish older brother, who cares only for drinking and stirring up trouble. Eventually, the king sends Alfred on a mission. He ventures west, toward the unorganized territories, to help his Uncle Harold build a dam. Alfred must also investigate the movements of the disgraced knight Ranulf and his villainous sons. But when the dam builders’ camp is attacked, Alfred is taken prisoner. His captor, a man named Ralf, is determined to earn a ransom by taking the king’s grandson farther and farther west. Even if he escapes, can Alfred traverse hostile country and survive? Taylor crafts a slender but detailed series opener that unfolds mainly through flashbacks. While captive, Alfred remembers the highlights of his teenage years, including sword practice; taming his colt, Star Dancer; and losing his virginity to a barmaid at John’s behest. Valuable lessons come from the king, such as, “Only when survival is assured can a man consider such things as improving his status in life” and “Only when he’s reasonably comfortable can he...consider greater contributions to society.” Perhaps most appealing to modern audiences is the king’s kindness toward Alfred. The monarch tells the young man he can refuse to marry Gwen if he feels no spark for her. Battlefield intrigue and the medical expertise of monks add pleasant intricacies to the narrative. The splendid finale closes the author’s introduction to her medieval world and provides good bones for the sequel.
A fine-grained and emotionally satisfying medieval adventure.Pub Date: July 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68433-063-8
Page Count: 183
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.
Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.
Yanagihara (The People in the Trees, 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
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The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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