An original fantasy with an engaging protagonist.
A novel combines familiar fantasy tropes and fresh invention to tell a coming-of-age story.
The narrative begins with Sister Honorata delivering last rites—in Latin—to a man who has just been gored by an elephant. Blue light envelops both her and the man she is attempting to heal even as she worries that her devotion and skill will not be enough to save him. The man’s hopeful wife thanks Honorata, adding, “May Devi bless you,” using the Sanskrit word for goddess. In this brief scene, Wilson reveals much about this book’s universe. Honorata has left Rampura Abbey to complete her Trial—the final test before becoming a priestess. Her task is to find Severa, a priestess who disappeared after leaving Rampura. And, in a land riven by civil war, Honorata has made it her mission to demonstrate through her own example that fighting is not the way. She wants the people of Pala to understand that “through humility and devotion and prayer they too can hear the Song of Devi.” The Song is what flows through Honorata when she heals the sick and wounded. But in her travels beyond the abbey, she discovers that there may be more to the Song than she has been taught. A heretic named Shankar Panni rips the Song from her by force as she offers him a blessing and twists its power to his own ends. Mother Severa gives her a glimpse of what the Song can do if Honorata forgoes the obedience expected and the teachings of the Bhagava. And, as Honorata tries to help villagers being plagued by a monster, she encounters an abomination she never imagined possible. Wilson’s inventive worldbuilding has strengths and weaknesses. The author avoids using massive blocks of exposition to situate readers and presents a strong protagonist. But—despite a few elegantly informative scenes, such as the opening one—there’s a great deal that remains unclear about the religion and geopolitics of Pala. The dialogue has the formal, faux medieval feel that is endemic to high fantasy. And some readers may be frustrated by an abrupt ending that seems designed to set up a sequel. Still, emotional truth shines brightly as Honorata struggles to reckon with her new knowledge.
An original fantasy with an engaging protagonist.Pub Date: March 20, 2022
ISBN: 979-8436087160
Page Count: 330
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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