A creative and somewhat offbeat blend of fantasy and SF.
In Lantz’s YA series starter set in a steampunk-ish, magical world, a teenager gathers a band of unlikely heroes to save the world.
Ozwyn “Oz” Ashwood is the heir to the throne of the Dominion of Ashwood, but he’s hiding a dangerous secret. Although he’s Inclined—part of the magical elite—he’s also what people in his culture call a “mute,” as he doesn’t have full control over when or how his powers manifest. He would have ordinarily been put to death, but instead, his father kept his secret and sent him off to Ancona Academy for the Magically Inclined. The story begins when Oz is suddenly kidnapped as part of a sinister plot to start a war with the Dominion of Ashwood; just as quickly, Mal, a fellow student from the Academy, rescues him. She’s an advanced Hexer, with the power to inflict and cure physical ailments. Oz finds her “radiant,” with her “porcelain skin dotted with a tapestry of freckles, [and] silky raven hair highlighted the color of a ripe plum.” He strikes a deal with her in which she will agree to be his bodyguard if he rescues two missing girls. Together with Oz’s hulking cousin, Kyp, they embark on an investigation, finding links to a vast conspiracy as they progress. Eventually, Oz learns that he has a very unusual power: He’s a Familiarist, with “a rare type of magic that allows you to transfer your soul into the body of another creature.” Lantz’s novel is written from Oz’s first-person perspective, which provides readers with a useful point of entry into the fictional world, and it gives the work an engaging, self-deprecating tone that offers levity at just the right moments. The magical school feels a bit derivative, and it strongly brings Hogwarts to mind, but because the book doesn’t spend much time on it, it isn’t overly distracting. The plot gets a bit into the weeds when Oz discovers his new power, but it’s otherwise fast-paced and engaging. Steampunk elements, such as airships, add an intriguing thread that sets this book a bit apart from similar tales.
A creative and somewhat offbeat blend of fantasy and SF.Pub Date: March 7, 2025
ISBN: 9798992832501
Page Count: 250
Publisher: SmallPub
Review Posted Online: Sept. 8, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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