Extraordinary characters populate a fascinating, fully immersive world of magic and dangerous illusions.
In Ready’s fantasy series opener, a woman harboring a rare ability mingles with conjurers engaged in a potentially deadly competition.
New Yorker Mari Locke, a 22-year-old orphan, has grown up in a hidden world of conjurers who wield illusions. The greedy man who’s raised her, Jagger, has coerced her into a life of thievery. Mari has become an exceptional thief, primarily because she’s a born lockpick, which means she has the ability to break apart any illusions (“In this world, a lockpick is the best defense and the greatest weapon. If you control a lockpick, you can own the world”). Jagger’s latest plan could earn Mari not only her freedom but a chance at revenge against the man who killed her parents. It involves the upcoming Hundred Year Games, in which the four families of conjurers (the Wards, Bards, Smiths, and Clarks) compete for the crown. As she can’t take part in the games, she’ll be the “body” (akin to a page) for Finn Alterra, the Smith family head’s estranged, half-human/half-conjurer son. (Mari must first ensure the families will allow Finn to join the competition as a paladin.) Once he wins, she will, per Jagger’s orders, steal the crown and kill Finn. That’s even harder than it sounds, as Mari isn’t sure whom she can trust, including Finn, a full-fledged addict dependent on the depressant-like solange (a drug that reveals the falsity of conjurers’ illusions). Further complicating matters, Mari finds herself drawn to Finn, who seemingly reciprocates despite having a fiancée. As murder isn’t unheard of in the Hundred Year Games, there’s a chance Finn won’t make it out alive—much like Mari herself, if any of the conjurers discover her ability.
Ready’s epic-length novel takes its time establishing its magical world and extensive cast. Mari’s backstory alone is dense; as a “nine,” she returns to life after she dies—she has a limited number of resurrections (“If she’s so careless as to die right before the game, what’s to stop her from dying during them?”). She makes for a superb hero, displaying a near-perfect blend of strength and sympathy. It’s understandable that Finn catches her attention; there’s clearly much more behind his perpetual solange-enhanced daze. Supporting characters likewise shine, namely Jagger’s much kinder, on-again-off-again lover, Roumelade, and Mari’s fellow orphans Justice and Griff. With the spotlight predominantly on Mari, readers see little of the four games played (each family is in charge of one). There is, however, a novel narrative perspective courtesy of “the wind,” an enigmatic presence that sees what Mari can’t, such as occasional moments of gameplay or characters plotting against her. (“The wind was so struck by the mist rising off the black water and the droplets falling in a raindrop symphony over the moonlit night that it almost missed the trickster slipping through the front door of the Night Den.”) The story, despite its bulk, maintains tension. The frenetic, unpredictable final act makes checking out the forthcoming sequel a virtual necessity.
Extraordinary characters populate a fascinating, fully immersive world of magic and dangerous illusions.Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2025
ISBN: 9781954007895
Page Count: 788
Publisher: W. W. Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 23, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.
A fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit.
Tress is an ordinary girl with no thirst to see the world. Charlie is the son of the local duke, but he likes stories more than fencing. When the duke realizes the two teenagers are falling in love, he takes Charlie away to find a suitable wife—and returns with a different young man as his heir. Charlie, meanwhile, has been captured by the mysterious Sorceress who rules the Midnight Sea, which leaves Tress with no choice but to go rescue him. To do that, she’ll have to get off the barren island she’s forbidden to leave, cross the dangerous Verdant Sea, the even more dangerous Crimson Sea, and the totally deadly Midnight Sea, and somehow defeat the unbeatable Sorceress. The seas on Tress’ world are dangerous because they’re not made of water—they’re made of colorful spores that pour down from the world’s 12 stationary moons. Verdant spores explode into fast-growing vines if they get wet, which means inhaling them can be deadly. Crimson and midnight spores are worse. Ships protected by spore-killing silver sail these seas, and it’s Tress’ quest to find a ship and somehow persuade its crew to carry her to a place no ships want to go, to rescue a person nobody cares about but her. Luckily, Tress is kindhearted, resourceful, and curious—which also makes her an appealing heroine. Along her journey, Tress encounters a talking rat, a crew of reluctant pirates, and plenty of danger. Her story is narrated by an unusual cabin boy with a sharp wit. (About one duke, he says, “He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”) The overall effect is not unlike The Princess Bride, which Sanderson cites as an inspiration.
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781250899651
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
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