An emotionally nuanced, character-driven medieval fantasy.
A princess thought dead by her family grows up to stymie her father’s evil plans in this fantasy series opener.
Edmund VI, known as the Dark King, rules Bounten. He’s obsessed with finding stores of the rare, powerful metal tarilium, which would help him conquer surrounding kingdoms, such as Attaveer and Northland. He’s also due an heir from Queen Ava. When she births a pale, sickly girl with white hair, Edmund suspects a demon’s curse. He summons Storm, his magical Valomere wolf, to strike at the newborn’s soul, killing her. However, Nurse Meriden and the castle servant Faye smuggle the miraculously living child outside. Meriden names the girl Sarana and brings her to Attaveer, to the home of her sister Allison and her husband, William, who are farmers. Sarana grows into a capable young woman. She loves sparring and exploring the land and knows nothing of her true origin. She also pairs with her own Valomere named Halo, a golden, bear-sized wolf. Edmund, meanwhile, closes in on the locations of several maps created by the deceased wizard Terabin. The maps will reveal the location of tarilium and embolden the Dark King to invade Bounten’s neighbors. Can Sarana, having become a messenger for a network of spies, help save her family and friends from a tyrannical king? Keating’s medieval fantasy is a coming-of-age tale that employs subtle magic and uncluttered worldbuilding to let the characters shine. Sarana shares the stage with Edmund, whose evil is palpable throughout much of the narrative. He’s a smooth liar, especially to Queen Ava regarding the whereabouts of his mistress, Lahna, whom he imprisons in a tower. Yet his villainy is balanced by the joy others experience; Meriden, nearly a spinster approaching her 30s, finds love with Richard, a fisherman. Sarana also meets Cabe, a Bounten soldier who frees her after she’s been captured. Skillfully placed time jumps carry Keating’s hero to adulthood and place her on course to face the Dark King. Halo has a unique skill that, when combined with Sarana’s drive for justice, makes them a formidable pair. The finale’s much-altered status quo promises a rousing sequel.
An emotionally nuanced, character-driven medieval fantasy.Pub Date: June 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77155-979-9
Page Count: 261
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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