Ever since the serpentine nagas fled Prithvi, the human world, to escape from the eaglelike garudas, they’ve used stolen dreams to satisfy their craving for mortal experiences.
Seventeen-year-old Tanvi, who is Indian American, was only a child when she was spirited away to Nagalok, a world influenced by Hindu mythology. In exchange for forgetting her most painful memories, she became a dream runner. Each night, she travels to Prithvi to harvest dreams that are sold to naga nobility. The promise of a wish-granting boon, earned according to the quality of the dreams, ensures that Tanvi and her fellow runners remain adequately motivated. Presiding over them is Venkat, a human boy with a rare dreamsmithing ability, who is the adopted son of the naga court historian. Though his role only requires him to assess dreams and parcel out boons, Venkat can’t help feeling concern for the runners, who all eventually suffer burnout. When Tanvi begins behaving oddly, Venkat worries that she has also reached her limit. But the truth is worse: Tanvi is dreaming during her sleep, something no runner should be able to do. The central mystery unfolds in careful layers amid evocative descriptions of Nagalok’s wonders. As the darkness beneath the opulence reveals itself and the threat of garuda invasion intensifies, Venkat and Tanvi must choose between comforting illusions and unpleasant truths in order to save themselves and those they love.
A lush fantasy. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: June 28, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-289466-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
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BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
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Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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Belial, Prince of Hell, makes his move on London in this trilogy closer.
With 11 ensemble characters (not counting the odd Greater Demon) to juggle, Clare uses up most of her chunky page count untangling the romantic snarls of the first two volumes—plus chucking in occasional attacks by lesser demons or raving maniac Tatiana Blackthorn to give her demon-slaying Edwardian-era Nephilim something to do besides steamily tonguing one another, lengthily weltering in secret longing and self-loathing, or (at last!) explicitly consummating their ardor. The angular figures posing stiffly in Curte’s randomly scattered tableaux do little to either raise or turn down the heat of a narrative that runs to lines like: “He was about to crush his lips to Alastair’s…when a scream split the air. The scream of someone in anguished pain.” Eventually Belial does get around to launching his evil scheme to take over London and then the world despite already bleeding from two wounds previously dealt by legendary magic sword Cortana. The love matches among the tight circle of friends are notably diverse, involving couples whose various members include some who are part Indian or Persian, those who are gay or straight, and even the formerly undead. The book closes with a tidying-up epilogue and even a bonus story, “Aught but Death,” which focuses on Cordelia and Lucie.
Fiendishly romantic from start to (eventual) finish. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9781481431934
Page Count: 800
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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