An ambitious fantasy tale that builds an enticing world with simple but effective details.
In Jayaraj’s debut fantasy novel, a young orphan trains to be a dragon slayer and soon questions where his loyalties lie.
The peoples of the world of Adijari are waging war against the dragons. Many different species of dragons have gathered at the Zipacna Mountains, and the elves have constructed the nearby military base of Delthurk. Although it’s elven, other peoples, such as amesha, dev, and qui-lahk, reside at Delthurk as they prepare to fight the dragons into extinction. Twelve-year-old elf Gradni lives at an orphanage, having lost his dragon-slayer father, Yorn, to the reptilian creatures. After Gradni defeats a bully, Delthurk senator Mogurn recruits him to undergo training to become a dragon slayer with the belief that Gradni has what it takes to lead warriors in the final battle against dragons. The young man is in competition, of sorts, with Erdūn, an amesha with whom the Fire Spirit, Ta’ar, has chosen to share his power. Ta’ar hopes that the skilled Erdūn, who’s younger than Gradni, will turn out to be the world’s greatest slayer of dragons. Gradni, meanwhile, trains with Yagura, who’s one of the Disciples of Gaorda, a group of devs that reputedly wiped out the entire species of sesha dragons. The boy hopes to prove his worth on his first mission to the Zipacna Mountains. But he quickly learns why some slayers don’t return from those mountains—and that his loyalties may lie with the wrong side.
Over the course of this book, Jayaraj packs the tale with numerous characters, some of whom are only touched upon, such as the qui-lahk people, who are seen relatively rarely. Despite the narrative’s epic scale, it still moves at a rapid pace, which the author achieves, at least in part, with modest descriptions. The diverse peoples, for example, are distinguished primarily by their skin color: The devs are blue-skinned, for example, while the elves are frequently described as “pale.” Similarly, the differences between dragon species seem fairly minute. This does, however, lead to a pronounced, well-incorporated theme of “fear of difference”; the dragons, it seems, are truly united while the four peoples have a common enemy but often differing motivations. The story largely centers on Gradni, but a few subplots effectively expand Jayaraj’s world. One of the more notable storylines involves the amesha nation of Aristahl, where Ta’ar rules. Aristahl has made weapons and armor for other nations to fight the war against the dragons, causing its own resources to dwindle to the point that it’s headed “toward ruin.” The novel consists of two parts, the latter of which hinges on a drastic plot turn that ultimately reveals the predictable, titular secret and leads to hefty battle sequences in the final act. Moments of intrigue complement the action; some people at Delthurk aren’t as honest as they initially appear to be, and readers are made aware of a “new dragon” at the Zipacna Mountains that’s more formidable than the others.
An ambitious fantasy tale that builds an enticing world with simple but effective details.Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4787-6115-0
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.
A woman must undergo fearsome trials to free the imprisoned Titans of Greek myth in Owen’s fantasy novel, the second in a series.
Advancing from minor office clerk in the Order of Thieves to Queen of the Underworld, Lyra Keres’ star should be rising. But thanks to Cronos, King of the Titans, she and her longtime friend and fellow thief Boone have been ensnared in a new challenge beneath the earth: Hot on the heels of winning the twisted Crucible Games, Lyra—who has recently been granted goddess powers—finds herself trapped in Tartarus. Separated from her beloved Hades, she must liberate the fearsome Titans from seven Locks to restore the cosmic balance. As Lyra progresses through the Locks engineered by the Gods—each as tricky and lethal as the last—the pressure mounts as the Titans repeatedly remind her, “You will be our savior.” Rhea, the wife of Cronos, reveals that Lyra began this quest “a hundred and fifty years ago,” adding further devastation to the task at hand; the knowledge is helpful, but also painful, as Lyra reflects, “Suddenly, I don’t want to know that it’s real. Because then I have to contemplate how many times I might have ended up in Tartarus already.” As she materializes in and out of time pockets, Lyra sees Hades’ troubled childhood unfold and struggles not to intervene to save the man she loves. In this second entry in the author’s Crucible series, following The Games Gods Play (2024), Lyra’s cynical quips continue to make her an engaging protagonist. Her inner monologues are balanced with hope, love, and longing for Hades as she meets various versions of him. While resilient, Owen’s heroine is also vulnerable (“Was I his pawn in more ways than I ever realized?”). Her introspection effectively contrasts with the simmering rage and restraint in Hades’ chapters. The supporting Titans are given more depth than the traditional myths allow, weaving a knotty family fabric for the reader to navigate alongside Lyra.
An engrossing, action-packed sequel with a compelling cast.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781649378538
Page Count: 500
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: today
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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