Engaging characters enliven an impressive dystopian fantasy tale.
In Lorimer’s dark fantasy novel, a priestess enters a holy city for the sole purpose of slaying a god.
Ruxindra l’Maer, alongside companion and sorcerer Gerritt, traverses a valley to reach Mahakalpe. Many have gathered in this Holy City to witness a god’s rebirth; the Eidolon arrives soon after Ruxindra and Gerritt do. Eidolons are humans who carry a “divine seed” until they’re called to an altar in Mahakalpe, where they embody a deity. When such a god last walked the “fallen world” of Hebdomar, civilizations either “knelt in servitude” or were obliterated. Ruxindra aims to stop that from happening again; as an Apotastic Priestess, she’s a daemon hunter and god slayer. She hears of a corresponding ritual: People have brought lehakva to the city—virgins betrothed to the Eidolon right before they’re sacrificed on a pyre. With help from a local magic-wielding thaumaturge, Ruxindra disguises herself as a lehakva and becomes one of 30 “brides” to the Eidolon, who, this time, is Luka, a boy of about 12 or 13. Ruxindra just wants to get close enough to kill him, but a god reborn may not be the only threat in Mahakalpe. The gathering in the Holy City includes figures from all over Hebdomar, from the “tempestuous” Varag to glass-winged Sylphids who’ve seemingly arrived in a Swarm. Somewhere in the massive crowd is a group that has another agenda altogether. And if the situation weren’t volatile enough, Luka makes an unexpected decision that puts everyone in danger.
Lorimer’s novel, which launches a prospective series, is surprisingly taut for an opening installment. The author introduces myriad places toward the beginning but doesn’t describe them in excessive detail, effectively hinting at Hebdomar’s expanse. Mahakalpe is home to a sprightly cast of characters. The Inaghke, for example, have eyes like “glowing coals,” tentacled heads, and fanged lamprey-like mouths; the presence of just a few of them puts Ruxindra on edge. Much of the novel thrives on suspense; the sacrificial ritual is mere days away, and the protagonist must suppress her warrior instincts (which she only sometimes succeeds at doing). Evocative prose meticulously describes the Holy City at a deliberate pace that builds further tension: “We took a circuitous route around clusters of domed houses, over commercial thoroughfares lined with shuttered shops…. We passed a trellised ziggurat anchoring a humble enclave of the orthodox, their congregation gathered at its base in their stoic expressions and tahliz scarves.” The narrative’s first half offers a touch of comic relief, courtesy of Gerritt, who’s an accommodating companion but usually intoxicated and perhaps more flippant than he should be. The story becomes progressively dour but also picks up steam as Ruxindra and others face off against various menaces, leading to worthy action sequences and more than one opportunity for Ruxindra to prove she knows how to handle the sword that’s usually at her side. The novel is self-contained for the most part, although the sensational ending teases where sequels might go.
Engaging characters enliven an impressive dystopian fantasy tale.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781968122034
Page Count: 202
Publisher: High Trestle Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.
Using mystery and romance elements in a nonlinear narrative, SenLinYu’s debut is a doorstopper of a fantasy that follows a woman with missing memories as she navigates through a war-torn realm in search of herself.
Helena Marino is a talented young healer living in Paladia—the “Shining City”—who has been thrust into a brutal war against an all-powerful necromancer and his army of Undying, loyal henchmen with immortal bodies, and necrothralls, reanimated automatons. When Helena is awakened from stasis, a prisoner of the necromancer’s forces, she has no idea how long she has been incarcerated—or the status of the war. She soon finds herself a personal prisoner of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s “monster” psychopath who has sadistically killed hundreds for his master. Ordered to recover Helena’s buried memories by any means necessary, the two polar opposites—Helena and Kaine, healer and killer—end up discovering much more as they begin to understand each other through shared trauma. While necromancy is an oft-trod subject in fantasy novels, the author gives it a fresh feel—in large part because of their superb worldbuilding coupled with unforgettable imagery throughout: “[The necromancer] lay reclined upon a throne of bodies. Necrothralls, contorted and twisted together, their limbs transmuted and fused into a chair, moving in synchrony, rising and falling as they breathed in tandem, squeezing and releasing around him…[He] extended his decrepit right hand, overlarge with fingers jointed like spider legs.” Another noteworthy element is the complex dynamic between Helena and Kaine. To say that these two characters shared the gamut of intense emotions would be a vast understatement. Readers will come for the fantasy and stay for the romance.
Although the melodrama sometimes is a bit much, the superb worldbuilding and intricate plotline make this a must-read.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780593972700
Page Count: 1040
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.
A fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit.
Tress is an ordinary girl with no thirst to see the world. Charlie is the son of the local duke, but he likes stories more than fencing. When the duke realizes the two teenagers are falling in love, he takes Charlie away to find a suitable wife—and returns with a different young man as his heir. Charlie, meanwhile, has been captured by the mysterious Sorceress who rules the Midnight Sea, which leaves Tress with no choice but to go rescue him. To do that, she’ll have to get off the barren island she’s forbidden to leave, cross the dangerous Verdant Sea, the even more dangerous Crimson Sea, and the totally deadly Midnight Sea, and somehow defeat the unbeatable Sorceress. The seas on Tress’ world are dangerous because they’re not made of water—they’re made of colorful spores that pour down from the world’s 12 stationary moons. Verdant spores explode into fast-growing vines if they get wet, which means inhaling them can be deadly. Crimson and midnight spores are worse. Ships protected by spore-killing silver sail these seas, and it’s Tress’ quest to find a ship and somehow persuade its crew to carry her to a place no ships want to go, to rescue a person nobody cares about but her. Luckily, Tress is kindhearted, resourceful, and curious—which also makes her an appealing heroine. Along her journey, Tress encounters a talking rat, a crew of reluctant pirates, and plenty of danger. Her story is narrated by an unusual cabin boy with a sharp wit. (About one duke, he says, “He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”) The overall effect is not unlike The Princess Bride, which Sanderson cites as an inspiration.
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781250899651
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
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