Plentifully fueled but doesn’t quite catch fire.
Rescued by an archdemon, the son of a professional hitman helps keep the underworld a more humane place.
After Angela Obscura, in the form of a beautiful girl, saves Donny Taylor from the burning building where he’d hidden after discovering his father’s real job, the archdemon takes him to her world—these days, they call it Sulfur—where he helps her foil a counter-revolution. In Catanese’s exploration of good and evil, the demons of Hades have replaced the never-ending torment of eternal fire with indefinite stints in the Caverns of Woe, where damned souls may have the possibility of redemption. A lengthy setup introduces a variety of curious characters and the underworld, a place of bizarre, volcanic rock formations, where political rivalries smolder, as exemplified by the opposing opinions of Angela’s two-headed friend, Zig-Zag. Donny arrives just in time for the culmination of a conspiracy to restore the Pit of Fire, through the dramatic destruction of the Council Dome. When the action heats up, there are fears and fires of all kinds. Careful plotting prepares attentive readers for the 12-year-old’s last-minute rescue, and there’s ample room for a sequel. But the author lovingly details the characters’ privileged earthly experiences, funded by the rewards of evildoing, and leaves open the question of whether Donny has been enslaved—which may leave some readers puzzled about where goodness lies.
Plentifully fueled but doesn’t quite catch fire. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3800-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
Brilliant.
Young heroes rise to the challenge of protecting their home, family, and world when a new villain threatens the Glimouria Archipelago and the Immortal in this third series entry.
“New trouble” comes to the sanctuary of Glimt when Irian Guinne is kidnapped and Teren, the young Immortal, is threatened. Christopher Forrester, former princess Anya, jaculus dragon Jacques, and ratatoska navigator Ratwin undertake a series of herculean tasks to fulfill the kidnappers’ demands and free Irian, all without Nighthand’s knowledge or help. Christopher seeks knowledge from Naravirala the sphinx to understand his new, deeper connection to creatures (“It is the people you love who anchor you”), while Anya leans into her warrior nature (“What if I was born to be brave?”). Meanwhile, bandits with ouroboros bracelets pillage and burn across the Archipelago at the command of Astor Morax, and a fearsome tiger spies through mirrors. The white-presenting leads’ quest to save Irian is central, but brief sections visit Irian, Nighthand, and beautiful, deadly Carla Venasque. The climactic Battle of Glimt features ferocity, cleverness, sacrifice, and bravery, and the ending is more Shakespearean comedy than tragedy—but the danger to Teren is not over, leaving eager readers to await the fourth installment. This is a perfectly paced, mythology-laced tale of action, adventure, and heart that reminds readers that “the only thing stronger than fear is love, unceasingly and exultantly given.” Final art not seen.
Brilliant. (map, bestiary) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9780593809945
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK TO SCREEN
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