A relatively strong offering that should appeal both to those who like their fantasy cynical and those who prefer it...
Prejudice against magic and the secret powermongering of a goddess continue to have repercussions in the second installment of a high fantasy trilogy.
The goddess Akosh’s existence depends on worshipers, and her chosen devotees are orphans. Therefore, she must continue to stir up war and chaos to create more of them. But her stoking of hatred against magic users, which ultimately led to the destruction of the Red Tower, a school for mages, is attracting unwanted attention from vengeful mages, law enforcement officers and governments of multiple countries, and her fellow divine beings, who have sworn not to intervene in mortal concerns. Can she and her network of followers survive the onslaught of the many parties determined to shut them down? And what of the anonymous god who has offered her an alliance; might accepting his help prove more dangerous than refusing it? Meanwhile, the young survivors of the Red Tower seek various new paths, some avenging themselves against the nonmagical people who hate and fear them, one falling under the sway of an ambitious politician, and others forming a community of magic users who at first try to remain secret but ultimately can’t help interfering in the local bandit situation despite the ingratitude of those they rescue. This book is blessedly freer than the prior volume of clunky attempts to associate the story’s issues and events with contemporary political and social problems, other than a relatively well-done exploration of the poisonous consequences of prejudice and how it can be exploited for gain. This is a fairly solid middle volume, with good action sequences, plausible character development, and enough dangling plotlines to motivate the reader to pick up the conclusion. One might certainly hope that Book 3 will clarify the currently murky motivations of Garvey, a mage who deliberately set himself up as a villain.
A relatively strong offering that should appeal both to those who like their fantasy cynical and those who prefer it sentimental.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-55481-7
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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
PERSPECTIVES
At Buckkeep in the Six Duchies, young Fitz, the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, is raised as a stablehand by old warrior Burrich. But when Chivalry dies without legitimate issue—murdered, it's rumored—Fitz, at the orders of King Shrewd, is brought into the palace and trained in the knightly and courtly arts. Meanwhile, secretly at night, he receives instruction from another bastard, Chade, in the assassin's craft. Now, King Shrewd's subjects are imperiled by the visits of the Red-Ship Raiders—formidable warriors who pillage the seacoasts and turn their human victims into vicious, destructive zombies. Since rehabilitating the zombies proves impossible, it's Fitz's task to go abroad covertly and kill them as quickly and humanely as possible. Shrewd orders that Fitz be taught the Skill—mental powers of telepathy and coercion possessed by all those of the royal line; his teacher is Galen, a sadistic ally of the popinjay Prince Regal, who hates Fitz all the more for his loyalty to Shrewd's other son, the stalwart soldier Verity. Galen brutalizes Fitz and, unknown to anyone, implants a mental block that prevents Fitz from using the Skill. Later, Shrewd decrees that, to cement an alliance, Verity shall wed the Princess Kettricken, heir to a remote yet rich mountain kingdom. Verity, occupied with Skillfully keeping the Red-Ship Raiders at bay, can't go to collect his bride, so Regal and Fitz are sent. Finally, Fitz must discover the depths of Regal's perfidy, recapture his true Skill, win Kettricken's heart for Verity, and help Verity defeat the Raiders. An intriguing, controlled, and remarkably assured debut, at once satisfyingly self-contained yet leaving plenty of scope for future extensions and embellishments.
Pub Date: April 17, 1995
ISBN: 0-553-37445-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Spectra/Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
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