A frighteningly frank and brutal consideration of slavery, post-slavery, and colonialism in metallic garb.
The thoughtful, blood-soaked conclusion to an alternate-history trilogy (The Rising, 2015, etc.) in which the Dutch rule Europe and the New World thanks to their control of Clakkers, mechanical servants fueled by clockwork and alchemy.
The mechanical Daniel has freed all Clakkers from their alchemical servitude to their human masters. Some Clakkers have simply walked away from their centuries of slavery. Others have come to the aid of the Dutch Empire’s underdog rival, the French. And many have chosen to violently revenge themselves on all humans, regardless of nationality. While the French struggle to seize the advantage and reclaim their long-abandoned homeland, the Dutch must accept that, contrary to their long-held beliefs, their metal creations are thinking, feeling beings…and what they are feeling is very, very angry. The battle between two nations metastasizes into a desperate fight for human survival. The Dutch and the French must put aside their centuries-old enmity to ally against their common foe: the monstrous mechanical Queen Mab, who seeks to draw all mechanicals—and all humans—under her sway, willingly or not. Rarely (possibly never?) in our history have slaves entered freedom with such significant physical and technological advantages over their former masters, and so it is interesting and frequently stomach-turning to witness how such a scenario would play out. The series makes it clear that mechanicals are not insensible machines; it emphasizes how deeply Clakkers feel and how profoundly they experience pain when they attempt to defy orders, how dreadful it is for Clakkers (and humans) to be without free will, and how devastatingly confusing it can be to have it restored. Their often violent response is disturbing but highly understandable, practically inevitable, in context.
A frighteningly frank and brutal consideration of slavery, post-slavery, and colonialism in metallic garb.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-24805-1
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.
A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.
Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune (The Art of Breathing, 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
A charming and persuasive entry that will leave readers impatiently awaiting the concluding volume.
Book 2 of Hearne's latest fantasy trilogy, The Seven Kennings (A Plague of Giants, 2017), set in a multiracial world thrust into turmoil by an invasion of peculiar giants.
In this world, most races have their own particular magical endowment, or “kenning,” though there are downsides to trying to gain the magic (an excellent chance of being killed instead) and using it (rapid aging and death). Most recently discovered is the sixth kenning, whose beneficiaries can talk to and command animals. The story canters along, although with multiple first-person narrators, it's confusing at times. Some characters are familiar, others are new, most of them with their own problems to solve, all somehow caught up in the grand design. To escape her overbearing father and the unreasoning violence his kind represents, fire-giant Olet Kanek leads her followers into the far north, hoping to found a new city where the races and kennings can peacefully coexist. Joining Olet are young Abhinava Khose, discoverer of the sixth kenning, and, later, Koesha Gansu (kenning: air), captain of an all-female crew shipwrecked by deep-sea monsters. Elsewhere, Hanima, who commands hive insects, struggles to free her city from the iron grip of wealthy, callous merchant monarchists. Other threads focus on the Bone Giants, relentless invaders seeking the still-unknown seventh kenning, whose confidence that this can defeat the other six is deeply disturbing. Under Hearne's light touch, these elements mesh perfectly, presenting an inventive, eye-filling panorama; satisfying (and, where appropriate, well-resolved) plotlines; and tensions between the races and their kennings to supply much of the drama.
A charming and persuasive entry that will leave readers impatiently awaiting the concluding volume.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-345-54857-3
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
