After an unhurried start, this debut switches gears into an inventive, intriguing novel.
Daniels’ blend of sci-fi and religious allegory explores the development of an entirely new, undoubtedly superior species of human.
Mary and Joe Christianson believe Dr. Benjamin Gabriel has finally answered their prayers for a baby. Dr. Gabriel, a friend and fertility specialist in Bethlehem, Pa., is supremely confident about his new procedure. He even asks the Christiansons to list their preferred physical traits for a child. Although they know that the doctor’s treatments are considered classified by the government, Mary and Joe are thrilled when the procedure helps them finally have a healthy baby boy, whom they name Justice. When Justice begins speaking and walking at only 5 months old, they enroll him in the school affiliated with Dr. Gabriel’s clinic to determine whether he’s gifted. He is, but so are the majority of his schoolmates. Mary and Joe eventually start asking questions and learn that Dr. Gabriel’s procedures are not merely successful—he’s actually created an improved species of human called Homo selectus. As the result of a genetically enhanced embryo, Justice is a member of the new species. The “children” of Dr. Gabriel’s program, who develop at an alarming rate, are fully mature by age 10. They are assigned work in highly specialized jobs at top companies and the government. Looming over them, however, is the threat that nefarious parties will exploit their abilities. Daniels skillfully develops the sense of threat from both outside groups and the top officials within Dr. Gabriel’s program. The pace, which tends to languish when discussing Mary and Joe, accelerates when following the children’s physical development, personal relationships and outsized intelligence. The novel focuses on a child named Jackson, who becomes a secret agent in Syria. Although his adventures seem divergent at first, they quickly cultivate suspense. Daniels’ prose can be awkward or too elaborate. For example, in describing Mary’s eyes Daniels writes, “those who were captured by those mesmerizing, cobalt spheres often lost track of time itself, having to be shaken to consciousness by Mary’s next unintended victim.” But these bumps will likely be overlooked in favor of the animated plot and thoughtful questions posed about genetic manipulation.
After an unhurried start, this debut switches gears into an inventive, intriguing novel.Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-1475942088
Page Count: 214
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Lush, gorgeous, precise language and propulsive plotting sweep readers into a story as intelligent as it is atmospheric.
In 16th-century Madrid, a crypto-Jew with a talent for casting spells tries to steer clear of the Inquisition.
Luzia Cotado, a scullion and an orphan, has secrets to keep: “It was a game she and her mother had played, saying one thing and thinking another, the bits and pieces of Hebrew handed down like chipped plates.” Also handed down are “refranes”—proverbs—in “not quite Spanish, just as Luzia was not quite Spanish.” When Luzia sings the refranes, they take on power. “Aboltar cazal, aboltar mazal” (“A change of scene, a change of fortune”) can mend a torn gown or turn burnt bread into a perfect loaf; “Quien no risica, no rosica” (“Whoever doesn’t laugh, doesn’t bloom”) can summon a riot of foliage in the depths of winter. The Inquisition hangs over the story like Chekhov’s famous gun on the wall. When Luzia’s employer catches her using magic, the ambitions of both mistress and servant catapult her into fame and danger. A new, even more ambitious patron instructs his supernatural servant, Guillén Santángel, to train Luzia for a magical contest. Santángel, not Luzia, is the familiar of the title; he has been tricked into trading his freedom and luck to his master’s family in exchange for something he no longer craves but can’t give up. The novel comes up against an issue common in fantasy fiction: Why don’t the characters just use their magic to solve all their problems? Bardugo has clearly given it some thought, but her solutions aren’t quite convincing, especially toward the end of the book. These small faults would be harder to forgive if she weren’t such a beautiful writer. Part fairy tale, part political thriller, part romance, the novel unfolds like a winter tree bursting into unnatural bloom in response to one of Luzia’s refranes, as she and Santángel learn about power, trust, betrayal, and love.
Lush, gorgeous, precise language and propulsive plotting sweep readers into a story as intelligent as it is atmospheric.Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781250884251
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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
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