Pleasant “chosen one” YA fantasy, with little tension, a few bracing scenes, and a likable hero.
In sibling authors Shaffer and Shaffer Kaminski’s debut novel, the first volume of a trilogy, a young dwarf with magical powers undertakes an important mission.
Although 50 years old, bookish dwarf Gavrin is a youth. At the requisite foretelling ceremony to determine his life path, Gavrin learns he is a mage, one of only three in existence. In the past, power-hungry Mezzarin, also a mage, abused his powers; although not dead, he has been asleep for hundreds of years. Another mage, wise Mellarin, is rumored to live in Northern Alzrith, far from Gavrin’s home of Sanctuary. Although Gavrin would rather remain with his mother, the beautiful Belvin, it is his mission to locate Mellarin, from whom he will receive valuable instruction in using his powers. Accompanying Gavrin on his journey are the brave warrior Thundermark, a son of King Meteormark; the human Brill, a sergeant in the King’s Army; the giant Karnik; and Palar, a somewhat reformed thief. In this first installment of three, characters are introduced along with some lore, including how Gavrin must find six valuable and powerful talismans in various locations throughout the land. This volume seems less a stand-alone book than a set of introductory chapters with an ending that suggests what’s to come. Thus far, the villains, although portrayed as self-interested and evil, don’t act particularly evil. Gavrin—an emotional and exceedingly decent fellow—vacillates between childlike and adult perspectives, as teens do. He’s given to weeping (even in passages that don’t seem to warrant it) and capable of mercy, as when he saves Palar from beheading; however, he and his companions abandon a treacherous bridge keeper to a cruel fate. The story, which seems best suited for tweens and younger, is clearly and simply told and evenly paced, with little violence or edge. That said, there are the occasional inspired moments; in particular, an encounter with a runaway dragon ends unexpectedly and humorously.
Pleasant “chosen one” YA fantasy, with little tension, a few bracing scenes, and a likable hero.Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-1495478703
Page Count: 168
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 1, 2015
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
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
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