A vivid mix of history, romance, and folklore with a notably relatable hero.
A teenager leaves 1940s Pennsylvania to seek her destiny in medieval Russia in the second book in Mathison’s Old Rus fantasy series, following Vasilisa (2021).
It’s 1942, and 15-year-old Elena Ivanova Volkonsky loves James Cagney movies, flying with her pilot father, and listening to great-grandmother Babka’s Russian ballads about witches, spirits, ogres, and giants. Her favorite: the saga of “Dobrynya and the Dragon.” A strange black stone gives her visions of the dragon slayer, and her focus shifts to Mitya, Dobrynya’s teenage son, as events unfold involving his father and the court’s ruler, Prince Vladimir. Elena’s odd feeling of kinship with Mitya, her discovery of her mother’s companion black stone, and hints of enigmatic secrets allow her to find her way into the Russia of Babka’s tales. Mathison weaves themes of love, betrayal, and self-discovery into a believable world of magic, myth, and history. In it, three remarkable young people—Elena, 16-year-old noble Mitya, and their young companion, Sasha, a 12-year-old boy saddened by his own secrets—embark on a quest through forest, desert, and mountains to find Dobrynya, whom scheming Prince Vladimir has ordered to slay one last dragon. (A mysterious traveler lists the trio’s unseen burdens, integral to what is to come: Mitya carries his “father’s sins,” Sasha bears “the burden of knowledge without wisdom,” and Elena’s “line bears the burden of the stones.”) Mathison’s tale hauntingly interweaves the dragons, 1940s America, and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in a way that might have felt forced in less-skilled hands. Elena is a spirited hero who’s quick to castigate herself for impetuosity but just as apt to put her knowledge, generosity, and intuition into action. As she affects those around her, she absorbs lessons about love and loss. Readers will root for Elena to stay with Mitya and not return home, and the author masterfully finesses that decision. Also included is a glossary of historic and mythical Russian names and words.
A vivid mix of history, romance, and folklore with a notably relatable hero.Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 9781735003788
Page Count: 344
Publisher: Starr Creek Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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