In this third installment of the Shadow Sword series, a centuries-old rivalry continues to threaten a kingdom, weaving the lives of friends and enemies together in a complex tapestry.
Betrayed by the warrior Val Arques, the dread lord and seer king Roaran is being held captive by the cruel ghoul god Archanin. Tortured relentlessly, Roaran has immortal blood that will not allow him to die, healing him quickly and causing his torment to last for years. Dannon, a former Varee raider and betrayer of Archanin, is tasked with leading a brotherhood meant to free Roaran and save the kingdom from the ghoul god’s tyranny. Meanwhile, Val is stuck in the past, looking after a woman now possessed by his charge, Kaell. This woman brought forth Roaran’s daughter, Genya, destined for great things. The line between good and evil shifts back and forth as the ghoul Raggamirron grows close to the captive Roaran and the seer king must contend with the guilt over his own unsavory deeds. The fate of this fantasy world relies on the actions of many diverse characters with differing needs and motives, all fighting their own personal battles to do what they believe is best. The riveting narrative flows back and forth in time, with many of the characters living for centuries, harboring old wounds, and yearning for vengeance. As in the previous volumes, Hartland’s writing is smooth and digestible; her action sequences are particularly compelling and sure to please fans of the series. Her characters are blessed with sensitivity and very human foibles, grounding them in reality despite the story’s mythic setting. This installment is best read after the previous two, as the saga’s lore is vast and intricate.
A gripping epic fantasy with plenty of intrigue, passion, and action. (map)Pub Date: May 9, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-648-43725-3
Page Count: 663
Publisher: Dark Blade Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 9, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: FANTASY | EPIC FANTASY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Categories: FANTASY | EPIC FANTASY | GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | GENERAL FANTASY
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SEEN & HEARD
A tale that’s at once familiar and full of odd and unexpected twists—vintage King, in other words.
19
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Narnia on the Penobscot: a grand, and naturally strange, entertainment from the ever prolific King.
What’s a person to do when sheltering from Covid? In King’s case, write something to entertain himself while reflecting on what was going on in the world outside—ravaged cities, contentious politics, uncertainty. King’s yarn begins in a world that’s recognizably ours, and with a familiar trope: A young woman, out to buy fried chicken, is mashed by a runaway plumber’s van, sending her husband into an alcoholic tailspin and her son into a preadolescent funk, driven “bugfuck” by a father who “was always trying to apologize.” The son makes good by rescuing an elderly neighbor who’s fallen off a ladder, though he protests that the man’s equally elderly German shepherd, Radar, was the true hero. Whatever the case, Mr. Bowditch has an improbable trove of gold in his Bates Motel of a home, and its origin seems to lie in a shed behind the house, one that Mr. Bowditch warns the boy away from: “ ‘Don’t go in there,’ he said. ‘You may in time, but for now don’t even think of it.’ ” It’s not Pennywise who awaits in the underworld behind the shed door, but there’s plenty that’s weird and unexpected, including a woman, Dora, whose “skin was slate gray and her face was cruelly deformed,” and a whole bunch of people—well, sort of people, anyway—who’d like nothing better than to bring their special brand of evil up to our world’s surface. King’s young protagonist, Charlie Reade, is resourceful beyond his years, but it helps that the old dog gains some of its youthful vigor in the depths below. King delivers a more or less traditional fable that includes a knowing nod: “I think I know what you want,” Charlie tells the reader, "and now you have it”—namely, a happy ending but with a suitably sardonic wink.
A tale that’s at once familiar and full of odd and unexpected twists—vintage King, in other words.Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66800-217-9
Page Count: 608
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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