Facts, fantasy, and mysticism skillfully intertwine in a compelling tale with memorable characters.
This sequel offers a collection of Nordic historical adventures set during the 11th century.
Book 2 of Fox’s sweeping fictional epic, in which an assortment of personal quests gradually becomes woven together, opens in 1008 in Tønsberg, Norway, during an era of transition in the Scandinavian countries. Christianity is threatening to replace the beliefs and gods of the North. Olav Haraldsson, 13, one year short of adulthood, breaks loose from his training as a Viking warrior and heads off on his first spree of pillaging and plundering. He and his coterie of followers steal an old sailing vessel belonging to Lord Sigurd Syr, his benefactor and his mother’s fiance. When Lady Asta Gudbrandtsdotter learns of her son’s exploits, she consults Hekka, the Witch of Vestfold, whose magic she calls on to protect Olav. Meanwhile, Hilja of Kokolu, a young Healer from a tiny, ransacked village on the northern coast of Lapland, currently living with Hekka, decides to journey to the frigid terrain of the colonies in Greenland. Hilja hopes to find her mother and sister, kidnapped and sold into slavery many years ago by Norsemen. Able to communicate with the natural world, Hilja communes with a gull she calls Skeet. She sees what he sees, reads the winds, and observes the faces of people in far-off settlements as she searches for her family. Accompanying her as her protector is the formidable Laplander Agatha Rothskilde, trained as a warrior but prevented by her gender from fulfilling her dream. The development of friendship and mutual respect between the diminutive Hilja and the “Giantess” Agatha, so different in personality and upbringing, presents the most enjoyable, humorous episodes of this complex tale that includes voluminous plot threads. Fox provides enough grisly battle scenes to engage armchair adventurers and enough historical factoids about period lifestyles and political intrigue to satisfy those interested in Norse culture. In between are vivid ecological descriptions, romance, jealousy, and vengeance. Fortunately, the author supplies a cast of characters to help readers wade through the plethora of names and relationships.
Facts, fantasy, and mysticism skillfully intertwine in a compelling tale with memorable characters. (glossary, appendix)Pub Date: Nov. 24, 2021
ISBN: 979-8-57-049747-4
Page Count: 487
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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