A diverting introduction to an inventive fantasy saga.
In this fantasy series opener, characters in a vast empire face such threats as warmongers and otherworldly creatures.
The Heli Empire, it seems, is “always at war.” So when the Renali Kingdom, a bitter enemy, suggests peace, some anticipate resistance to a treaty. A summit brings diplomats to Renali, including scribe and priest-in-training Marco dei Toriam and his mentor, Father Justin Wisenpraal. Unfortunately, conflict awaits them: sword-trained Marco chases down an assassin targeting a Renali princess—a killer whom apparently only the scribe can see. Not only do some people at the summit reject the attempts at peace, they also may be inciting further clashes or even war between nations. Meanwhile, an enigmatic, clawed creature from another plane of existence enters this world, likely the vicious being behind the recent “Butcher Murders.” In a concurrent plot, skilled thief and orphan Jiminy flees from a bounty, though he’s not exactly sure what sparked the price on his head. As he hunts for answers, he winds up in league with someone who needs his prowess to loot an immeasurably valuable item. Though van Wyck condensed his debut novel in this second edition, the engaging story retains an epic scale. The cast is unsurprisingly extensive, but the tale largely focuses on Marco, Justin, and Jiminy. Their individual subplots prove the most exciting; for example, Justin, using his empath ability, blocks Marco’s memory of a past trauma. And Marco’s recurring nightmares tease his dark, ominous history. In addition, the author shrouds much of the innovative story in mystery: Jiminy embarks on a prolonged journey before learning specifically what he’s stealing, and clawed creatures appear in glimpses of the long-ago past (“The final days of the Age of Magic”). Despite the book’s bulk and deliberate pace, the author’s brisk dialogue complements his indelible, concise prose: “The unhorsed rider was borne to the ground, hard. The victor held aloft a broken lance, galloping the length of the pitch.” The ending leaves at least one character’s fate in question, practically demanding that readers keep their eyes out for the sequel.
A diverting introduction to an inventive fantasy saga.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2016
ISBN: 979-8721831485
Page Count: 617
Publisher: Independently Published
Review Posted Online: Oct. 31, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A beautiful meditation on queer identity against a supernatural backdrop.
Three women deal very differently with vampirism in Schwab’s era-spanning follow-up to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2020).
In 16th-century Spain, Maria seduces a wealthy viscount in an attempt to seize whatever control she can over her own life. It turns out that being a wife—even a wealthy one—is just another cage, but then a mysterious widow offers Maria a surprising escape route. In the 19th century, Charlotte is sent from her home in the English countryside to live with an aunt in London when she’s found trying to kiss her best friend. She’s despondent at the idea of marrying a man, but another mysterious widow—who has a secret connection to Maria’s widow from centuries earlier—appears and teaches Charlotte that she can be free to love whomever she chooses, if she’s brave enough. In 2019, Alice’s memories of growing up in Scotland with her mercurial older sister, Catty, pull her mind away from her first days at Harvard University. And though she doesn’t meet any mysterious widows, Alice wakes up alone after a one-night stand unable to tolerate sunlight, sporting two new fangs, and desperate to drink blood. Horrified at her transformation, she searches Boston for her hookup, who was the last person she remembers seeing before she woke up as a vampire. Schwab delicately intertwines the three storylines, which are compelling individually even before the reader knows how they will connect. Maria, Charlotte, and Alice are queer women searching for love, recognition, and wholeness, growing fangs and defying mortality in a world that would deny them their very existence. Alice’s flashbacks to Catty are particularly moving, and subtly play off themes of grief and loneliness laid out in the historical timelines.
A beautiful meditation on queer identity against a supernatural backdrop.Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781250320520
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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