At times overly familiar, other times creative; should please readers interested in adding oddities to slashing swords and...
Thornhill’s debut fantasy novel follows the adventures of four magical friends out to battle a jilted necromancer.
Mordic, a “half-elph,” recalls his teacher telling him, “Each person has been touched by the aftermath of the Calamity, the fall of Utatam.” That fall, which probably happened about 15 generations before, was followed by both the Great Waste of Time—“part of the great history of the world that no one remembers, nor was it recorded”—and a great deal of magic. Creatures of all kinds now compete for power: polymorphs can change themselves into different creatures, while necromancers are feared for their ability to bring death and destruction. Adventuring through this time are Mordic, Kale, Mattatias and Kalamar. Though they hail from different backgrounds and possess different abilities, the four become friends in a quest against the dreaded, lonely necromancer Nigel, who’s been rejected by Lady Elaina. He hasn’t taken it well: “I want her to love me of her own volition.” Added into the mix is the mysterious Simon, who possesses the “first and only onyx weapon to exist on this continent in over a thousand years!” Simon is a deadly figure who, with his powerful sword, is one to be reckoned with. Loaded with action and introspection—particularly from the contemplative Mordic, who is “seeking knowledge and adventure”—the complex story has numerous characters with varied motivations. Keeping track of it all can be challenging, even with “The Chronicler” introducing chapters and offering helpful information: e.g., “Ropermai teems with interesting people and places.” Fans of the genre will find much of interest, including elements such as the “Neuromantic Shocking Wave” from which “One quarter of the men fell asleep, one quarter were dazed, one quarter were killed, and one quarter were unfazed.” Though the story relies on many fantasy tropes (powerful magic, noisy taverns serving “goblin grog,” etc.) and an assortment of sometimes familiar weapons (“Mattatias drew his golden spear”), the story nevertheless manages to distinguish itself with things such as self-help books (“Intelligence Can Be Boosted”) and six-legged creatures called hexahorses. Occasionally, dialogue can be dull—“ ‘Sack of taters, you do that too well,’ Mordic thought to Kale”—but the strange story is ultimately an inventive one.
At times overly familiar, other times creative; should please readers interested in adding oddities to slashing swords and dangerous magic.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-1497336001
Page Count: 540
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 30, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.
After 1,000 years of peace, whispers that “the Nameless One will return” ignite the spark that sets the world order aflame.
No, the Nameless One is not a new nickname for Voldemort. Here, evil takes the shape of fire-breathing dragons—beasts that feed off chaos and imbalance—set on destroying humankind. The leader of these creatures, the Nameless One, has been trapped in the Abyss for ages after having been severely wounded by the sword Ascalon wielded by Galian Berethnet. These events brought about the current order: Virtudom, the kingdom set up by Berethnet, is a pious society that considers all dragons evil. In the East, dragons are worshiped as gods—but not the fire-breathing type. These dragons channel the power of water and are said to be born of stars. They forge a connection with humans by taking riders. In the South, an entirely different way of thinking exists. There, a society of female mages called the Priory worships the Mother. They don’t believe that the Berethnet line, continued by generations of queens, is the sacred key to keeping the Nameless One at bay. This means he could return—and soon. “Do you not see? It is a cycle.” The one thing uniting all corners of the world is fear. Representatives of each belief system—Queen Sabran the Ninth of Virtudom, hopeful dragon rider Tané of the East, and Ead Duryan, mage of the Priory from the South—are linked by the common goal of keeping the Nameless One trapped at any cost. This world of female warriors and leaders feels natural, and while there is a “chosen one” aspect to the tale, it’s far from the main point. Shannon’s depth of imagination and worldbuilding are impressive, as this 800-pager is filled not only with legend, but also with satisfying twists that turn legend on its head. Shannon isn’t new to this game of complex storytelling. Her Bone Season novels (The Song Rising, 2017, etc.) navigate a multilayered society of clairvoyants. Here, Shannon chooses a more traditional view of magic, where light fights against dark, earth against sky, and fire against water. Through these classic pairings, an entirely fresh and addicting tale is born. Shannon may favor detailed explication over keeping a steady pace, but the epic converging of plotlines at the end is enough to forgive.
A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63557-029-8
Page Count: 848
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.
A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.
Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune (The Art of Breathing, 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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