A fine fantasy featuring giant-sized themes of empowerment and self-acceptance.
In the first entry of a YA fantasy series, outcast youth on a post-apocalyptic Earth uncover a scheme by shape-shifting cyborgs to foment war.
An apocalyptic conflict against rebellious robots and AIs resulted in “The Long Night,” during which human civilization made a grueling recovery from ruin and radiation. Now, after 374 years, four humanoid species survive in the former North America, which enforces Dune-like bans on computers and information technology. One faction is made up of unaltered humans; another, called Scavengers, are survivors who use recovered tech to keep their damaged bodies alive. They have an uneasy peace with elflike tree-dwellers called Dryads and with giant warriors who emerged from underground shelters much larger and stronger than most other humans. Brianna MineShaker is an adolescent girl giant who’s too independent-minded for her community’s tradition-bound social order. She’s forced to attend HarmonySchool, a last-chance remedial boarding school for problem children from all four groups. Although she disdains friendship, she connects with two kindred nonconformists: Rayel Juniperus, a colorful Dryad girl; and Davyd ShieldBreaker, a pacifist human boy. Cheverton, after writing multiple fantasy novels derived from Minecraft video gaming, such as Invasion of the Overworld (2014), forges a new path with this Giants of StoneHold series launch. Readers dreading a Hogwarts pastiche need not fear; almost instantly, the trio of characters are on the run due to a Scavenger conspiracy to infiltrate the school and trigger destructive war between the four groups. It’s not the first time this has happened according to chapter prologues from 150 years earlier that form a secondary running narrative; cleverly, there’s a flip-book illustration on each odd-numbered page that tells a third little tale. The story never stops moving, even if some moments on the young giant’s rocky path to self-realization seem a bit familiar. The lessons about being kind to animals also feel heavy-handed. Still, this imagined world is a robust one, and the nimble narrative will attract a YA audience craving action and role models.
A fine fantasy featuring giant-sized themes of empowerment and self-acceptance.Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2020
ISBN: 979-8-69-006196-8
Page Count: 285
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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