Five new first-person perspectives replace Cal’s heated singular voice from Peeps (2005) in this continued thriller about an ancient vampire-spawning parasite and its role in saving civilization. Moz and Zahler, guitarists, are walking down the street when a parasite-positive woman throws an expensive guitar out a window. Moz and a stranger—Pearl—catch it in a blanket, and the three form a band. Pearl recruits Minerva—locked in her room for months because she’s parasite-positive, light-phobic and cannibalistic—to sing. Alana Ray, a synesthete who drums on paint buckets in Times Square, adds a brilliant backbeat. New York City is in shambles, with garbage piling up everywhere, peeps multiplying rapidly (some nursed back to sanity, others roaming the streets eating people) and mammoth underground worms breaking through concrete to devour masses of humans. The band’s urgent music calls to the worms in an obscure hypnotic language. Less startling and revelatory than Peeps; a broader, lateral look at the same world, with suspense, touches of humor and eminently appealing characters. (Fantasy. YA)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-59514-062-X
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2006
An atmospheric and promising first installment.
A series opener blending fantasy and horror with an undercurrent of romance.
The sudden disappearance 50 years ago of the Sun Goddess, Raina, left the realm of Asidia awash in moonlight and misery. The annual Calling drafts boys, such as 18-year-old Kiara’s sickly brother, Liam, into the Knights of Eternal Star, who then venture into the accursed land of the Mist in search of answers. But Kiara’s brazenness captures the attention of the Hand of Death, the Commander of the Knights, and she’s recruited in her brother’s stead. Years of rigorous combat training have prepared Kiara well for the Knights—but not for the growing attraction between her and the Hand of Death himself, enigmatic Commander Jude Maddox. As they journey into the Mist, they must trust each other in order to survive and untangle the legends that just might save the realm. In a crowded fantasy field, the novel distinguishes itself by leaning into the macabre nature of its literally dark world, complete with shadow beasts, flesh-eating spiders, and the mercurial Mist itself. The unrelenting action sequences are not for the squeamish, and the dead (and undead) body count piles up. Cutscenes provide necessary narrative magic, reviving Kiara and Jude’s romance and buttressing the worldbuilding lore that opens many of the chapters. Main characters are cued white.
An atmospheric and promising first installment. (map) (Fantasy/horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374318
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A deliberately paced tale for those who appreciate an eerie, character-driven mystery laced with supernatural horror.
A teen girl follows cryptic clues left by her best friend, who disappeared into the night.
On a cold winter’s night, four people in a small Illinois town vanished into thin air. One of them was Nora’s best friend, Becca, whom she hadn’t spoken to in the three months since their falling out. Although they had been close since childhood, Nora and Becca’s relationship was marked by codependency—until the night when everything changed. But ever since a mysterious night the previous summer when Becca went alone into the woods for a few hours, Nora had sensed that her friend was growing distant. Following Becca’s disappearance, Nora discovered a series of messages she left pointing to their childhood goddess games, based on an urban legend. The game shifted when then-12-year-old Becca was grieving the death of her mother and seeking vengeance against the hit-and-run driver. The first part of the story is slow to get going; eventually, Nora begins to suspect that the key to the mystery lies in uncovering the origins of the goddess game. Albert slowly teases out the supernatural element, but the details remain shrouded in murkiness. What’s more interesting is the dynamic between the two friends; the story is mainly told from Nora’s perspective, as she’s the one left behind to pick up the pieces and figure out how to stand on her own. Main characters read white.
A deliberately paced tale for those who appreciate an eerie, character-driven mystery laced with supernatural horror. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9781250894892
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
© Copyright 2024 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.
bookshelf
