A historically rich, vengeance-fueled tale.
Prochaska’s fantasy novel follows a widow who, having trained in magic, seeks revenge in early 11th-century Iceland.
After her husband dies, Bergthora Bjornsdóttir leaves her Greenland farm and returns to Iceland, her place of birth. Iceland has only recently converted to Christianity, though many of the country’s people see the Christian god as merely a new addition to the old gods to whom they’ve long made sacrifices. Bergthora reunites with her brother and her childhood friend Kjartan, but she’s truly returned for retribution, pursuing someone regarding a grim secret that she’s harbored for decades. Bergthora arrives in time for a wedding: Kjartan’s daughter Engilborg marries Egill, a considerably older chieftain. Egill is up to no good, using seeress Ægileif’s dark heathen magic for his own sinister purposes. Bergthora knows magic as well, courtesy of a woman back in Greenland. As her revenge plan gradually rolls out, a string of unexplained events (like the sight of a walking, talking corpse) and a character’s murderous intent stir up a number of startling pasts. Prochaska conveys this tale through various perspectives: Sometimes, the text reads like a historical textbook; other sections feature alternating first-person narrations from Bergthora, Engilborg, and others; and then there is the account of a monk named Helgi, whose bishop in 14th-century Greenland assigns him the task of writing Bergthora’s saga. The author’s relaxed, concise prose masterfully compacts the epic narrative, covering decades without truncating or rushing the story. While the characters’ individual narrations are relatively indistinguishable, they memorably chronicle harrowing days of deception, religious struggles, and assorted magic (“The rune spell she had given Egill aroused in him a desire, but it withered away as soon as he engaged in the act”). Thorough character development further refines this novel, especially in the cases of Bergthora (Bergthora’s marriage to Steinkell proves to be a convincing union of unforeseen obstacles and mutual devotion), Kjartan, and, surprisingly, Helgi. The worthy final act culminates in a bizarre yet unforgettable ending.
A historically rich, vengeance-fueled tale.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9791220153713
Page Count: 346
Publisher: Europa Edizioni
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.
A woman must undergo fearsome trials to free the imprisoned Titans of Greek myth in Owen’s fantasy novel, the second in a series.
Advancing from minor office clerk in the Order of Thieves to Queen of the Underworld, Lyra Keres’ star should be rising. But thanks to Cronos, King of the Titans, she and her longtime friend and fellow thief Boone have been ensnared in a new challenge beneath the earth: Hot on the heels of winning the twisted Crucible Games, Lyra—who has recently been granted goddess powers—finds herself trapped in Tartarus. Separated from her beloved Hades, she must liberate the fearsome Titans from seven Locks to restore the cosmic balance. As Lyra progresses through the Locks engineered by the Gods—each as tricky and lethal as the last—the pressure mounts as the Titans repeatedly remind her, “You will be our savior.” Rhea, the wife of Cronos, reveals that Lyra began this quest “a hundred and fifty years ago,” adding further devastation to the task at hand; the knowledge is helpful, but also painful, as Lyra reflects, “Suddenly, I don’t want to know that it’s real. Because then I have to contemplate how many times I might have ended up in Tartarus already.” As she materializes in and out of time pockets, Lyra sees Hades’ troubled childhood unfold and struggles not to intervene to save the man she loves. In this second entry in the author’s Crucible series, following The Games Gods Play (2024), Lyra’s cynical quips continue to make her an engaging protagonist. Her inner monologues are balanced with hope, love, and longing for Hades as she meets various versions of him. While resilient, Owen’s heroine is also vulnerable (“Was I his pawn in more ways than I ever realized?”). Her introspection effectively contrasts with the simmering rage and restraint in Hades’ chapters. The supporting Titans are given more depth than the traditional myths allow, weaving a knotty family fabric for the reader to navigate alongside Lyra.
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781649378538
Page Count: 500
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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