Epic in scope and size, this book sets itself up for many sequels to come.
In Victorian London, two foundling boys with unusual talents find themselves at the center of an ancient battle between the worlds of the living and the dead.
Charlie Ovid is a 16-year-old mixed-race orphan in Reconstruction-era Mississippi who has been convicted of murdering a White man. So far, he has been executed three times for his crime, but in spite of the nightly beatings inflicted upon him ever since, Charlie remains physically unscathed, his uncanny healing power a mystery even to himself. Marlowe is another orphan, found as a baby gently glowing in a freight train at a dead woman’s breast and raised by two adopted mother figures, the timid Eliza and the muscular, tattooed Brynt. “The shining boy,” as he comes to be called, is raised in the slums of London and then as part of a sideshow act in a traveling circus crisscrossing the American heartlands. His origins, his powers, and his fate are as much mysteries to him as Charlie’s cycle of suffering and healing, until they're each visited by Frank Coulton and Alice Quicke, a detective duo employed to find remarkable children like Charlie and Marlowe and bring them back to the mysterious Cairndale Institute in the far north of Scotland, where they will be protected and trained in the uses of their powers. Cairndale, a labyrinthine manor house on the shores of a dark, fathomless loch, turns out to be as full of secrets as the children themselves, and Charlie and Marlowe—along with a Japanese dustworker named Komako; Ribs, the invisible girl; and shy Oskar and the flesh giant Lymenion who sleeps under his bed—must unravel the true motives of their inscrutable guardian, Dr. Henry Berghast, before Jacob Marber, a figure of tremendous power who used to be an unusual child just like them, can tear apart the seal between the worlds of the living and the dead. A fast-paced novel whose action and intrigue make short work of its daunting page count, this tome is clearly set up to be Book 1 of a larger series. However, while the world is intricate and the characters finely drawn, there is such a sheer volume of people, plotlines, backstories, and lore being introduced that the autonomy of the novel itself suffers.
Epic in scope and size, this book sets itself up for many sequels to come.Pub Date: June 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-83366-2
Page Count: 672
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
An expertly crafted page-turner with unpredictable twists, steamy romance, and magical creatures.
A princess and a gladiator join forces amidst political intrigue and bloody carnage in Robson’s fantasy novel.
For the citizens of the wealthy kingdom of Arrow, the most exciting entertainment can be found in the arena—for the gladiators from the surrounding kingdoms, it’s a relentlessly brutal series of fights to the death. The combatants hope to win enough matches to earn the royal title of “Bloodguard,” which will allow their families to immigrate to Arrow. Leith, a gladiator in his mid-20s, is a skilled fighter driven by his desperation to support his mother and two younger sisters (and by the rage built from years of killing his peers for an audience’s delectation). After killing the arrogant Lord Filip (who challenged him to an impromptu duel) and subsequently emerging victorious in a surprise melee with a group of his peers and a dragon, Leith is getting closer to becoming a Bloodguard. He attracts the attention of Princess Maeve, a 20-year-old healer. Now that her fiance, Lord Filip, is dead, she’s in dire need of a noble spouse so that she can claim the throne when she turns 21. Maeve proposes a deal: She’ll help Leith achieve the Bloodguard status in exchange for his hand in marriage. But as their relationship blossoms, problems arise when royal secrets are revealed and government corruption is exposed. Soon, they’re not just vying for a title and a crown—they’re fighting for their lives. Robson’s novel is an exciting blend of action, palace intrigue, and romance in a high fantasy setting. The story unfolds through the perspectives of Maeve and Leith, who are both compelling and well developed, with flaws, foibles, and distinctive voices. The supporting characters are equally intriguing. Readers will love the richly detailed worldbuilding and combat sequences, as well as the use of snarky, modern language (“Of course the only royal offering me help is one who’s clawing her way to the throne, not already sitting pretty on one. That tracks,” Leith gripes). The book’s thoughtful queer representation and exploration of oppression and exploitation are also noteworthy.
An expertly crafted page-turner with unpredictable twists, steamy romance, and magical creatures.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9781649374059
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: yesterday
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
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