Another unique, stakes-raising entry in a formidable saga.
This fourth Elk Riders fantasy novel sees Neill’s (The Font of Jasmeen, 2016, etc.) heroes caught in the war for the land of Anthor.
After using the miraculous healing waters from the Font of Jasmeen, Prince Haille Hillbourne, his classmate Katlyn, Capt. Valateen “Val” Mandaly, and swashbuckler Cody Youngblood find themselves hunted in the eastern wilds of Anthor. The High Council of Carasans has hired the dauntless Victor Twenge to eliminate Val and Cody, the last of the Order of Oban. With the prince is Adamantus, a sage elk who helps the foursome survive after they plunge off a bridge and into a river. From there, they head for the majestic but cursed woods of Sidon, hoping to meet Haille’s father, King Talamar, in the realm of Karrith. A prophecy says that Haille will save the king during a battle with marauding tribes. On the way, the heroes find the farmhouse of legendary swordsmith Pathus Sumberland. He gives the prince a blade called Elk Heart, which proves essential to survival in the steamy, exotic world of Sidon. The group eventually runs into a cadre of foul creatures called Vaurgs, who’ve captured a wily young woman who isn’t what she seems. In this installment, Neill leans on numerous fantasy tropes in apparent homage to towering genre figures such as Lord Dunsany and J.R.R. Tolkien. That said, even seasoned genre fans may feel like Sidon is their first passage through an enchanted wood, as Neill’s prose is stately and hypnotic, telling readers, for instance, that the heroes hear “Clicks, songs, even throbbing, which was something like distant thunder, but with the regularity of a fading heartbeat.” But like Sidon, where “Emotion was the most powerful current,” this narrative is strongest when examining the movements of love, no matter how swift or hesitant they may be; Haille’s connection with Veolin Crossborn, the scarred elf girl, is achingly portrayed. Readers also revisit Gail, formerly the villainous Avenger Red, who struggles to atone for her past. This penultimate chapter of the series offers nobility and disaster, as Neill’s fans have come to expect.
Another unique, stakes-raising entry in a formidable saga.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5393-0950-5
Page Count: 264
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fantasy fans will love this fast-paced adventure, with its complex magic system, thoughtful hero and bold heroine.
A fast-paced fantasy adventure that takes readers into a series of interconnected worlds ruled by magic—or the lack of it.
Long ago, the doors between worlds were open, and anyone with magic could travel from one to the next. Now the doors are closed, and only a chosen few have the power to travel between Grey London, a world without magic, Red London, a world suffused with it, and White London, a world where magic is scarce, coveted and jealously guarded. As for Black London, the city consumed, no one would be so foolish as to risk a trip—not even Kell. Officially, he’s a royal messenger, carrying letters among the rulers of the three Londons. Unofficially, he’s a smuggler who collects artifacts from other worlds. It’s that habit that leads him to accept a dangerous relic, something that shouldn’t exist. And it’s when a wanted Grey London thief named Lila steals the artifact that the real trouble starts—for both of them. Schwab (Vicious, 2013, etc.) creates a memorable world—actually, three memorable worlds—and even more memorable characters. Lila in particular is a winningly unconventional heroine who, as she declares, would “rather die on an adventure than live standing still.” The brisk plot makes this a page-turner that confronts darkness but is never overwhelmed by it.
Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7645-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Too long, but few readers will fail to stay its magical course. Once again, the myth of Oz proves its enduring power.
Animals talk, attack dragons prowl the skies and political unrest afflicts the land of Oz in this richly detailed sequel to Maguire’s contemporary fantasy classic Wicked (1996).
Its protagonist is Liir, the probable offspring of Elphaba Thropp, the late, mostly unlamented Wicked Witch of the West (unless Liir’s birth mother was actually Elphaba’s unfortunate sibling Nessarose; it’s complicated). We meet Liir as he lies near death in one of Oz’s outlying lands and is taken to the Mauntery of Saint Glinda, where the venerable Superior Maunt entrusts his care to beautiful gypsy girl Candle. Parallel flashbacks mix with subsequent action to describe Liir’s boyhood adventures with Dorothy Gale (even if she has murdered his mother) and her nonhuman companions, various ordeals in an embattled Oz riven with rebellion (from which the Wizard has long since fled), as Liir seeks his missing childhood friend Nor as well as Elphaba’s notorious book of spells, joins the Emerald City’s Home Guard defense force and—aloft on Elphaba’s flying broomstick—challenges the forces of both disorder and incumbency, makes peace with his past and envisions a future in which even changelings may assume their full humanity. The book works too hard to dazzle us; it’s considerably more cluttered and strained than Wicked. But, like L. Frank Baum’s magical land itself, it’s filled with wonderful things: the neurotic kvetching of the Cowardly Lion (who disappears, alas, much too soon); a brilliant subplot involving the half-human, half-elephant Princess Nastoya; a Conference of Birds; and the political ascendancy of the Scarecrow, a puppet ruler serving a cabal of bankers. Best of all is Liir’s arduous pilgrimage toward becoming what he was meant to be.
Too long, but few readers will fail to stay its magical course. Once again, the myth of Oz proves its enduring power.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-054893-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2005
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