An imaginative but vulgar sendup of all that is holy.
A gorgeous sex vampire and a rabbi team up to settle the fate of the universe in this fantasia.
Danchik’s raucously off-color novel embeds bizarre characters in a satirical reimagining of Jewish religious traditions. Front and center is Viila, an irresistibly beautiful goddess who has slept with many of the men in the Bible as well as demons, giants, and historical figures. The most fatale of femmes, she tempts men into assaulting her and then slaughters them and drinks their blood after sprouting fangs and razor-tipped breasts. Just as unfortunate are the men she likes: After treating them to heavenly sex, she dumps them, whereupon they waste away pining for her. Viila feels so guilty about their plight that she wishes she could end her wearisome life. One night, she is gallantly defended by Rabbi Benjamin. The members of the rabbi’s sect fight by hopping about with their backs turned to opponents. Impressed by Benjamin’s pious resistance to her charms, she accompanies him on a quest to Mount Sinai to find the tablets given to Moses by God, which have the power to grant any wish. Rounding out their company are Benjamin’s horny teenage son, Milton, and a Teraphim, a disembodied head given to uttering prophecies and sleazy come-ons. Vying with them to get hold of the tablets are the Master of Death, an archvillain who wants to end all life in the universe, and the Sect of the Holy Nose Bashing, whose high priest wants to become God. Danchik sets his picaresque amid ribald spoofs of Torah stories—Adam appears as a narcissistic dolt who mates with every species in Eden—and Talmudic ruminations. (“By tradition and by ancient law, all Rabbis must master the 3,721 basic sexual positions approved by the Bible, and, most importantly, do nothing” that Amorites do “with Camels.”) The author’s fictive world is inventive and his prose is vigorous and colorful. Unfortunately, his shambolic humor is aggressively lewd and crude. (“Barnabus pushed forward three or four pairs of male genital organs in different sizes and colors. ‘You never know what a hot chick will like,’ he confided to the Rabbi. ‘I like to give them a choice.’ ”) The narrative sometimes feels like an overelaborate excuse for a series of gonzo japes.
An imaginative but vulgar sendup of all that is holy.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2022
ISBN: 9781639886203
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
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.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
