Sublime characters headline this mythical tale of mysteries and perseverance.
In Dabney’s fantasy sequel, a highly skilled climber scales a precarious mountain and searches for evidence of a king’s deceit.
Klarke Ascher is finally an Ascenditure, one of the elite climbers who perform maintenance on dams and collect medicinal flowers. While she’s earned the reluctant respect of some of her fellow Ascenditures, women in her kingdom of Ectair are still treated appallingly. Klarke can’t even choose whom she wants to marry, though her betrothed is Prince Otto, her trustworthy best friend. Both she and Otto want the duplicitous King Adolar off the throne. One way of accomplishing this goal, Klarke believes, is to find the prince’s secret twin sister, thereby proving the king concealed her birth to quash a prophecy. Because she’s likely in the adjoining kingdom of Ainar (“She’s there. I know it, and I have to find her”), Klarke makes certain the Ascenditures join a “peace climb” there with Ainarian climbers. Reaching the summit is challenging enough, but further complications arise, from a romantic interest in another Ascenditure to the possibility that someone will sabotage her climb or even murder her. Dabney’s sophomore installment in her Daughter of the Summit and Sea series teems with subplots, some of which carry over from the preceding novel. (Mysterious climber Haydrich, for example, has a shady plan that, he claims, aligns with Klarke’s, while Klarke’s late mother’s cryptic note citing “Ramanata” may reference Otto’s sister.) An extraordinary cast of characters enriches the plotlines, including Naisae, the woman who leads Ainar’s climbing team, and Nopsan, an imprisoned climber with striking similarities to Klarke’s long-lost childhood friend. Throughout, the book has a strong but never overbearing theme of discrimination: Otto must keep his sexuality (and his boyfriend) secret, and a climber who identifies as neither male nor female is dubbed a “freak.” The author’s tight narrative is at its best when Klarke and the Ascenditures are fully engaged in the craft, hanging off a bridge to make repairs or enduring the thin air on a blisteringly cold mountain.
Sublime characters headline this mythical tale of mysteries and perseverance.Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781646036219
Page Count: 316
Publisher: Fitzroy Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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