A free-wheeling, if sometimes meandering fantasy with two captivating heroes.
An adult fantasy novel stars an unlikely duo.
Capes introduces readers to Helisent West of Jaws. Some say Helisent is the most powerful witch in Mieira. Despite such a lofty reputation, Helisent often uses her magic for menial tasks and basic bartering. She can, for instance, clean the laundry at a tavern in exchange for drinks. Helisent has been searching for a witch named Oko for four years. Her reasons for seeking Oko are personal. Samson 714 Afador is also looking for Oko. Samson is a high-ranking wolf known as the “imminent Male Alpha of Velm,” meaning he will one day be the leader of his pack. In his position, he hears “unsolicited opinions and advice almost daily.” Samson searches for Oko, as she is likely the only one who knows the whereabouts of his mother (or her remains). As Helisent and Samson hunt Oko together, questions arise, namely: Can the two trust each other? The history between wolves and wielders (witches like Helisent) is a long and bloody one. As the relationship between the two protagonists deepens, things only become more complicated. Capes’ series opener often puts a playful twist on the fantasy genre. Helisent certainly likes cutting loose with substances like pear wine and a drug called dextro. Who knew witches liked to party? And though witches have their own guidelines to live by, Helisent’s hedonistic inclinations are in contrast to someone like Samson (“Wolves have a thousand rules for everything”). But explaining the intricacies of witches and wolves requires long stretches of exposition. Helisent, for instance, lived in a group called a warren. Everyone in a warren “has a specific responsibility, and every warren has slightly different rules.” Warren duties do not make for the most spellbinding reading. Yet as things turn ever more ribald (as when one character’s “cock twitches at the ready” in anticipation of a sexual encounter), there is much in this novel to keep readers intrigued.
A free-wheeling, if sometimes meandering fantasy with two captivating heroes.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9798986316703
Page Count: 514
Publisher: Capas LLC
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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