A thoughtful fantasy with a well-developed protagonist.
This multigenerational novel tells a story of enslaved people who try to protect themselves and their legacy with “water magic.”
Briar (Wrath and Ruin, 2016) tells the story of the Whisperers, men and women who have the “Voice” to command water and water spirits, but they can’t use their power for harm. Ten-year-old Eder witnesses the enslavement of Whisperers by fearsome worshipers of the god Resk, who consider them “abominations.” He’s charged with rescuing the Whisperers’ holy relics. The story then picks up years later with the story of Betka, the Resk worshippers’ palace Whisperer and slave. She aspires to earn her freedom by selling rubies embedded in her golden shackle. While studying in the palace library, Betka overhears a conversation between an army officer and King Ethriken about an attack on Kysavar Castle and a sailing expedition. She decides to join the latter to help her sister Tosna, another Whisperer, who was sent to the castle years before. During the voyage, Betka and fellow Whisperer Asi, face unknown magic; later, they discover Kysavar is impossibly covered in water, “as if a huge wave had crashed against the cliff...and then forgotten how to fall to the earth.” Cruel Capt. Rorlen forces the Whisperers and crew to press forward into the doomed castle. The story weaves in past tales of Betka and Eder, her grandfather, finding their way in a hostile environment. Briar’s exploration of the teachings of Whisperers creates a rich, vibrant fictional world, featuring riveting characters struggling against their enslavement. In particular, the horror at the castle emphasizes how people can question their values and beliefs in the face of death. The story ends a little abruptly; hopefully, it will be the first of several tales set in this lush world. Betka is fully fleshed out as a character, with a complex desire for freedom and loyalty to ideas. Her grandfather, however, doesn’t feel as well-rounded. Also, the jump from Eder’s story to Betka’s is a bit jarring; more time could have been spent exploring his later years, his children, and how Betka and her sister became enslaved.
A thoughtful fantasy with a well-developed protagonist.Pub Date: Feb. 19, 2019
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 233
Publisher: Uncommon Universes Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2018
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
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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