A vibrant, deliberately paced, and enthralling fantasy.
A small group of allies in a faraway world battles oppression and seemingly indestructible fiends in this fantasy sequel.
Democryos was once a master “voider” in the Northern Kingdom. He honed magiclike abilities from an otherworldly plane called the void, an act he renounced after learning that trapped souls powered the voidstones wielded by voiders. The secret to stopping voidance may now lie in his lover Chimeline’s vivid dream-visions of Temberlain, the first effulgent, who died generations ago. (Effulgents belong to a religious sect that doesn’t believe in relationships or ownership.) But Dem and Chimeline have trouble deciphering events and figures in her recorded dreams, including exactly what that silver-armored “azureman” is. Meanwhile, Dem and his friend Blythe work to free countless souls stuck in an impossibly large voidstone. But danger looms. The king unleashes an enigmatic plan to round up effulgents, and someone kills voiders and steals their pocket-sized voidstones. Dem, Blythe, Chimeline, and others soon realize that people are disappearing in the Northern Kingdom, and azuremen (like those in Chimeline’s dreams) are suddenly showing up. The dreams may prepare the companions for facing both these never-speaking, startlingly durable beings and quite likely an even greater enemy. Wozniak’s effective, unhurried pace guides readers through dense worldbuilding. This second installment, for example, touches on events from the preceding novel and spotlights intermittent dream episodes with Temberlain that confuse even Dem and Chimeline. Nevertheless, beautifully detailed scenes fill the pages, most notably of the void—a “colorless darkness” in which voices of souls or voiders “weave in and out like braids in a rope.” The story zeroes in on an indelible cast, from foulmouthed friend Colu, perpetually guzzling the alcoholic beverage sugarcanex, to Chimeline, continually doubting her ability though she may prove more powerful than skilled voiders. All the while, a slow-burn mystery plays out and a revealing final act answers questions surrounding the blue-faced azuremen and Chimeline’s “voidreaming.” Although a third volume is certainly possible, this tale ends with a thorough and satisfying wrap-up.
A vibrant, deliberately paced, and enthralling fantasy.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022
ISBN: 9798986681818
Page Count: 591
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Nov. 14, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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