An imaginative fantasy with an inspiring message that unfortunately gets lost amid awkward execution.
In Edge’s YA fantasy novel, a teen with gender dysmorphia attempts suicide and awakens in a strange world filled with magical creatures in the midst of a war against evil.
In 1984, a teenager named Ángel struggles with their gender in their hometown of Belfast, Ireland, where bullies, and Ángel’s own father, victimize them for being different. One day, Ángel attempts suicide, and, as their body lies comatose in the hospital, their consciousness is transported to a city called Caer in a parallel universe. Located in the magical land of Albion, Caer finds itself at a crossroads, as an evil organization known as the Claste has been using wolves and skeletal soldiers to wage war and is set to deliver a final, brutal blow: “a more sizeable army is gathering under the oversight of Zariomaste, the head of the order of the Claste. The wildmen have pledged allegiance to them, and several dragons have come under their influence.” Now happily existing in a female body, Ángel joins forces with the creatures of Caer, including the brave giant Stellan and another visitor from Ángel’s home realm, to take down the Claste once and for all. Edge has crafted a detailed world full of creatures that will be familiar to regular readers of fantasy fiction. Many violent battles occur over the course of the novel, but they’re never gratuitous or gory. Ángel’s emotional growth throughout the novel is certainly inspiring. The author, though, largely expresses Ángel’s feelings in stilted dialogue instead of showing them through action: “I can’t believe that not long after I tried to give up my life, society is starting to change, and people like me are beginning to be accepted. For the first time in a long time, I feel positive about what the future may hold.” This stylistic choice ultimately makes for a flat read that stands at odds with its exciting plot.
An imaginative fantasy with an inspiring message that unfortunately gets lost amid awkward execution.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9798278685203
Page Count: 375
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A fantasy with complex characterization that will build anticipation for the next entry.
Three young people find their places in a world of vengeance and destiny in National Book Award winner Tahir’s duology opener set in the multicultural world of her An Ember in the Ashes series.
Aiz, from the impoverished nation of Kegar, seeks revenge against Tiral bet-Hiwa, an air squadron commander who, as a child, murdered Aiz’s fellow orphans. Guided by a voice claiming to be Mother Div, Kegar’s first queen, Aiz escapes imprisonment after her failed assassination attempt on Tiral and embarks on a journey to free Mother Div’s trapped spirit. In the Martial Empire, Sirsha, a skilled tracker with magical abilities who’s been banished from her homeland, is saved by a stranger who hires her to hunt an unnatural killer. Quil, the crown prince of the Martial Empire, faces an invasion by the Kegari and the lingering threat of a mysterious force responsible for recent murders, including those of two of his loved ones. As the storylines converge, Sirsha and Quil cross paths, leading to revelations about the insidious force. The story explores the blurred line between good and evil and the lengths one will go to for a better life. Tahir’s deep and intricate worldbuilding requires time for readers to fully grasp. Following a slow start, the plot engages as pieces fall into place, leading up to an unexpected ending. The beautiful writing compensates for the romantic relationships, which develop quickly and somewhat inorganically.
A fantasy with complex characterization that will build anticipation for the next entry. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780593616949
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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