A sequel with a solid narrative that reveals the flawed beginnings of Avatar Kyoshi.
After fighting physical battles, Avatar Kyoshi faces new foes, this time in diplomacy.
In order to fully appreciate this second installment of the Kyoshi Novels, readers must be familiar with the East-Asian–inspired culture of Avatar as well as the events that transpired inThe Rise of Kyoshi (2019). Yun, abandoned after losing the title of Avatar, battles for survival against the malevolent spirit Father Glowworm, a struggle that hints at a gruesome ending. Meanwhile, Kyoshi avoids the social obligations of being Avatar by traveling across the land to personally subdue criminal activity, occasionally with violence. Unable to avoid politics any longer, she acquiesces to a small meeting with the Fire Lord. Upon her arrival she is dismayed to find that it is instead a well-attended feast riddled with political intrigue. The Fire Lord Zoryu asks for Kyoshi’s support with his waning popularity among the fire clans, especially as his half brother Chaejin seeks to rule. As Kyoshi blunders through the court, Yun appears and promises revenge. Kyoshi and her allies now race to stop Yun and keep the Fire Clans from dissolving into war. While the narrative is gripping, multiple themes crowd the plot and occasionally disrupt the flow. Also, Kyoshi’s ongoing defeats both on and off the battlefield may leave some fans frustrated.
A sequel with a solid narrative that reveals the flawed beginnings of Avatar Kyoshi. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3505-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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