A fantasy that’s full of colorful ideas but needs streamlining.
In this epic-fantasy debut, a young wizard goes on a quest to prevent the return of a dark cosmic force.
Eighteen-year-old Uwe is a wizard-in-training in the realm of Hopen. Six months ago, his wizard parents, Charring and Annabelle, died while fighting the Evilore, a seemingly invincible “force of nature.” Now Uwe continues the battle alongside his great-great-great-great-grandfather, a wizard named Edam, who knows that he must sacrifice himself to defeat the Evilore. Edam indeed perishes in victory, bequeathing to Uwe the potent staff of U and his book of wisdom. Unknown to Uwe, an evil wizard named Vector has escaped from the prison where Evilore placed him 1,000 years ago. He plans to help Uwe become powerful enough to destroy the lingering remains of the Evilore’s spirit and then seize power for himself. Uwe merges the staff of U and Evilore’s staff of death to re-create the long-lost, powerful staff of Ail. Next, as Edam’s book instructs, he meets with the king of thieves to acquire the first of many magical artifacts. The king, Aramaan, agrees to help, but only if Uwe marries his daughter, Amanill, a dragon mistress. Masia mixes various elements from classic fantasy, such as dragons and elves, with his own unique creations. Uwe’s extended quest will feel very familiar to those who play role-playing and video games, as the hero travels the world of Arden, visiting shrines and collecting numerous items, including the “greaves of stamina” and the “boots of speed.” Still, Masia packs his narrative with reliably startling descriptions: “The Hypothalami resembled flying bats, only with enlarged heads that looked like pulsating brains.” The story, however, mostly tells readers what happens in expository bricks of text rather than letting the tale unfold through the characters’ actions. Sometimes the author’s imagination reveals truly strange details, as well, as when Uwe “licked his lips as if waiting to taste the magic...and his lips tasted good, like orange sherbet.” Overall, though, this hero’s quest has heart, particularly in its depiction of the love between Uwe and Amanill, but it feels conceptually tangled and top-heavy.
A fantasy that’s full of colorful ideas but needs streamlining.Pub Date: April 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64426-168-2
Page Count: 426
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co.
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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