An ambitious, if somewhat overstuffed, beginning to a fantasy series.
In this fantasy novel spanning countries and centuries, an archaeologist and a duchess discover that they’re the reincarnations of Adam and Eve—and the world’s only hope in the battle against an ancient evil.
A trip to Bolivia to seek out some ancient relics changes the life of famed, London-based archaeologist Nickolaus Piper in more ways than one. There, his beloved mentor, Tobias Alger, was murdered, but he left behind a trail of cryptic clues to explain why. As Nick tries to figure them out, a stranger bestows him with a talisman and tells him that the demons who haunt his dreams are real—and that they won’t stop torturing him until he’s destroyed. Meanwhile, Duchess Lily Drescher-DuKent is mourning the death of her mother when she, too, receives an item from a stranger in London, who warns her that demonic forces are hunting her as well. It turns out that Nick is the latest incarnation of Adam, “the Sacred Lion, God’s first son, the one prophesied to unite angels and Man with their Creator and Benefactor.” According to an ancient scroll that Nick finds in Bolivia, he must destroy his ex-wife (and minion of Satan), Lilith. As the reincarnation of Eve, Lily must help Nick fulfill his destiny, as the fate of heaven and Earth depends on it. Debut author Newman has filled her story with more action than most entire series—and this is only the first volume. The most compelling parts take place in 12th-century Jerusalem with Nick and Lily’s previous incarnations;they’re packed with visual detail, including enough disturbing, violent acts and lush banquet scenes to rival George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. However, like that fantasy opus, the cavalcade of characters, and their various identities throughout the ages, is hard to follow. In addition, some scenes grow repetitive; characters’ clothes dissolve to reveal glowing symbols on their chests multiple times, for instance. Nonetheless, fans of fantasy stories with historical or religious bents will find plenty to interest them here.
An ambitious, if somewhat overstuffed, beginning to a fantasy series.Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4917-8903-2
Page Count: 542
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Oct. 3, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
FANTASY | SUSPENSE | EPIC FANTASY | SUSPENSE
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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