The characters’ wit and wisdom are unusual for the genre, but the plot—featuring by-the-numbers swordplay, sorcery, and...
Intensely complicated continuation of the far-future saga drenched in magic and Renaissance European political intrigue familiar from Edgerton’s earlier Goblin books (The Gnome’s Engine, 1991, etc., not reviewed). It’s the 65th century, and a scrappy young girl is discovered living with a humble goblin shopkeeper in a faraway village. The daughter of a banished queen descended from the brilliant, decadent, genetically engineered race of goblins that once ruled the world, Princess Sophonsipa, also known as Ys, was left with a necklace of settings for a series of jewels. The jewels, which have been scattered among ruined, vaguely medieval cities reminiscent of 16th-century Europe, are really goblin technology that can command the weather and hold volcanoes in check. Awakened to her heritage, Princess Sophonispa uses sorcery to seduce and marry the depressed King Jarred of Winterscar, launching a complicated scheme to reassemble the necklace and put goblins back in control over humans. In her way stand the charming human rake Wilrowan Krogan-Blackheart, a soldier of noble birth who has a psychic ability to talk to ravens; his sorcerer-physician wife Lillian, who endures her husband’s philandering because she likes him but can’t stand living with him; the befuddled historian Lucius Sackville-Guillian; a strange religious fanatic named Raith; and a host of other characters, human and goblin, high-born and low.
The characters’ wit and wisdom are unusual for the genre, but the plot—featuring by-the-numbers swordplay, sorcery, and campy villainy—takes far too long to cohere, ending with a few too many loose threads for the next volume.Pub Date: July 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-380-78911-6
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Eos/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2001
A promising page-turner from a poised newcomer who’s well worth keeping tabs on.
This doorstopper epic fantasy and trilogy opener was originally self-published in 2014.
The details that give this ingeniously plotted yarn its backbone emerge gradually—and are not always entirely clear. Twenty years ago, a war swept away and annihilated the tyrannical Augurs when their formidable magic inexplicably faltered. Their servants, the Gifted, whose lesser magic derives from Essence (Islington has an irritating habit of capitalizing things), were forcibly constrained to obey the Four Tenets, meaning they can no longer use their magic to cause harm even in self-defense. At a school-cum-sanctuary-cum-prison for the Gifted, three 16-year-old friends, Davian, Wirr, and Asha, face their final tests. Though an excellent student, Davian cannot use Essence and faces a cruel exile. He decides to abscond. Wirr believes Davian’s an Augur whose higher-order magic blocks his ability to channel Essence, and he insists on joining him. Ilseth Tenvar, a seemingly sympathetic Elder, gives Davian a mysterious magic box to guide his progress. The next morning Asha wakes to a nightmare of her own. On the road Davian encounters the strange, scarred Gifted Taeris Sarr, who three years ago saved his life (Davian doesn’t remember the incident) and supposedly was executed for his pains. In the far north an ancient evil stirs, while in a related development, Caeden wakes in a forest to find himself covered in blood and with no memory of anything. So, in time-honored fashion, nobody is what they seem to be, everybody has a secret agenda, and the key players all lack pivotal memories. And while there’s nothing much new here, Islington’s natural storytelling ability provides incessant plot twists and maintains a relentless pace. The characters have well-rounded personalities and don’t make decisions or errors merely to advance the plot, even if they all sound and act the same youngish age.
A promising page-turner from a poised newcomer who’s well worth keeping tabs on.Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-27409-8
Page Count: 704
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: Oct. 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A new series starts off with a bang.
A queen and her young daughter are forced to separate and go into hiding when a corrupt politician tries to take over the kingdom.
Queen Cressa of Weirandale is worried about her 8-year-old daughter, the “princella” Cerúlia. The people of Weirandale worship a water spirit, Nargis, who grants each queen a special gift called a Talent. Cressa herself is able to meddle with memories, for example, and her mother possessed supernatural strategic abilities that served her well in battle. Cerúlia, however, appears to have none, because surely her insistence that she can talk to animals is only her young imagination running wild. When Cerúlia’s many pets warn her about assassins creeping into the royal chambers, the girl is able to save herself and her mother. Cressa uses her Talent, which actually extends to forcing anyone to tell her the truth, to root out traitors among the aristocracy, led by the power-hungry Lord Matwyck. Fearing for her daughter’s life and her own, Cressa takes Cerúlia and flees. Thinking Cerúlia will be safer away from her mother, Cressa takes the girl to a kind peasant family and adjusts their memories so they believe Cerúlia is their adopted daughter. Kozloff’s debut is the first of four Nine Realms books, and Tor plans to publish them over just four months. Luckily, the series opener is a strong start, so readers will be grateful for the short wait before Book 2. Kozloff sets a solid stage with glimpses into other characters and nations while keeping the book together with a clear, propulsive plot.
A new series starts off with a bang.Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-16854-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
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