A somewhat formulaic but ultimately satisfying military fantasy.
In Allen’s YA fantasy series starter, a teenage boy whose village is destroyed by raiders must find his way to safety and then train with a legendary order of knights.
Fifteen-year-old Fordain Abendroth and his twin brother, Amon, are days short of officially coming of age when their village is attacked by soldiers of the Primus Emprius, a faction that would plunge the Republic of Emprius into civil war. Their parents are killed and their village burned to the ground; Amon is captured, and Fordain escapes with only his horse, Solus, and a mysterious amulet he’s worn for his entire boyhood. He pursues the rebel soldiers, vowing to rescue Amon. Instead, he manages to free Ingred de Haas, a girl his age who was taken prisoner while journeying from the land of the reptilian humanoid Draga. Fordain and Ingred set out for Aralia, a renowned island kingdom whose knights fight for just causes. Along the way, the pair are joined by the Draga-raised woodsman Elagor Vos and orphaned farm boy Evander Carro; soon, they’re all taken under the wing of Lord Maritius, a general from Aralia. The four companions are trained as knights, but will they be ready when the time comes to fight? Allen writes in the third person, primarily from Fordain’s perspective but occasionally from those of his companions. This touch of omniscience takes away some narrative urgency, as does Fordain’s philosophical attitude toward misfortune; he spares barely a thought for his dead parents, and the search for his brother feels more like a plot device than a driving motivation. The setting is refreshingly suggestive of several historical Earth cultures—ancient Rome, heraldic England, and possibly Dutch South Africa—but its rendering feels haphazard, mingling generic fantasy with Cockney English and incongruous uses of the words ere, prithee, doest, and bade (speciously rendered as bad). Allen shows a deft hand at characterization and description, effectively investing readers in the land, its peoples, and their fate. Although the story is slow to build and the conflict proves relatively small-scale, it remains engaging throughout.
A somewhat formulaic but ultimately satisfying military fantasy.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2022
ISBN: 9781956619096
Page Count: 347
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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