Good-hearted leads fight valiantly but wander off course in this confusing fantasy.
Four young people face an uphill struggle in saving the world against the forces of evil in this whimsical fantasy.
In this second book of Ruckus’ Princess Rouran series, university student Edith Orozco is still recovering from her train trip to a fantastical land in the series’ first volume, Princess Rouran and the Dragon Chariot of Ten Thousand Sages. Aided by her niece Moli and young strangers James and Kiza, Edith finds herself charged with a seemingly impossible task. To save humanity, the quartet must collect nine wonders from human history in nine days. Their first target is the Book of the Living, hidden in the Tomb of King Unas in ancient Egypt. If that weren’t challenge enough, they’re opposed by daunting foes—evil, babble-spouting AI Pandorai and his two henchmen, a resurrected Adolph Hitler and Japanese scientist Shiro Ishii. Sneaky human traffickers, mutated dinosaurs, and robot soldiers also meddle with their mission. That’s a lot to take on with just pluck and ingenuity on their side. They do receive aid from a handful of exotic creatures whose clues could best be described as cryptic. Despite an apparently never-ending string of obstacles, the foursome makes some headway until one of Pandorai’s minions changes that victory into defeat. Now they find themselves in a bigger hole heading into their next challenge. Ruckus’ YA novel works well about half of the time. The adventure sections featuring Edith and her sidekicks on their quest to save the world are enjoyable. Not so much the philosophical ranting of the megalomaniacal Pandorai and his lieutenants with their equally oversized egos, which serves to derail the narrative. Other derailments include the many strange beings popping in and out of the storyline without context. The dozen or so pages of notes and references testify to the density of the prose. Ruckus has painted a colorful world with appealing main characters, but many plot details will leave readers puzzled. Interested readers should start with the first installment.
Good-hearted leads fight valiantly but wander off course in this confusing fantasy.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2022
ISBN: 9781915338624
Page Count: 226
Publisher: UK Book Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
For readers of the once-popular dystopian YA novels who are now all grown up.
In a distant future, after the Last War when the human population became endangered, a new society formed from the ashes, strictly to optimize procreation.
But not procreation between just anyone. This society, ruled by the Illum—a mysterious authoritarian group—assigns mates to select for the best traits and to breed out defects, to grow the Elite population living in the clouds. Protagonist Emeline is a stubborn and bored young woman, working her days away on the ground as a Minor Defect—one of the class of women waiting to be approved for mating with an Elite, and hoping to never be banished further from society. Emeline’s instincts are apparently to reject the rigid decorum of her society, but she spends years trying to follow the rules set out for her, or at least dissociates enough not to challenge her way of life, until one day an elusive and charming man, Hal, walks into her office to talk about art. The same day, she is approved for mating and matched with Collin, the youngest member of the Illum, in the sort of pairing that hasn’t happened in decades. Courtship with Collin is full of luxury—fancy dinners and balls in the clouds—but also lies and days of discovering secrets kept from her, while trying to keep the Elite’s rumors and malicious Press at bay. Caught between these two men, with their own agendas, and so many unanswered questions, Emeline must decide what she wants, if she can want anything at all. With a rebellion rising in secret and the repression of the Illum close at hand, she’ll find what she’s willing to lose for the ability to choose for herself. The dystopian worldbuilding is underdeveloped at best, so get swept up in discovering truth from lies quickly before it starts to fall apart in your hands.
For readers of the once-popular dystopian YA novels who are now all grown up.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9798217090990
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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