Doesn’t quite reach classic status but captures many of the genre’s most enjoyable aspects while flowering with a fertile...
A war for succession consumes an imaginative fantasy world in Beas’ extremely entertaining debut novel.
King Aerostat II has two sons: the vain, narcissistic elder one, Gorgan, and his kindhearted younger brother, Alexander. Although tradition would dictate that the throne should go to Gorgan after Aerostat’s death, the old man decides to give his kingdom to Alexander. Just as Aerostatis about to make the announcement, however, the dark Lord of the Shadows, Kavardas, assassinates him, facilitating Gorgan’s rise to power and setting off a civil war between Gorgan and Alexander. While this may seem a familiar plot to fantasy fans, Beas’ novel distinguishes itself with elements as unusual as they are imaginative. One of its appealing and unique elements is the magical board game Strump, which is inextricably, mystically linked to the makeup of the actual kingdom. In order for the king or lesser leaders to rule, they must wield certain game pieces, each represented by a letter in the acronym STRUMP—S for strength, T for truth, R for righteousness, U for unity, M for malice and P for power. The type of ruler depends on the pieces he uses. Meanwhile, the kingdom is populated not only with humans but with magical figures such as pixies, mermen and brainy animals, some of the most prominent being mice—some are wizards, others are warriors—which Beas treats with only the hint of a wink. From start to finish, the novel is an immensely fun read and a wonderful throwback to fantasy classics. Perhaps one drawback, though: Whereas many contemporary fantasy novels feature morally ambiguous, complex characters, this novel’s universe is more straightforwardly black and white, good vs. evil. Nevertheless, the nostalgic vibe is balanced by sheer invention, strong prose, and a great deal of cleverness and wit.
Doesn’t quite reach classic status but captures many of the genre’s most enjoyable aspects while flowering with a fertile imagination.Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-1493148226
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.
Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.
Yanagihara (The People in the Trees, 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
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BOOK REVIEW
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Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of...
Lifelong, conflicted friendship of two women is the premise of Hannah’s maudlin latest (Magic Hour, 2006, etc.), again set in Washington State.
Tallulah “Tully” Hart, father unknown, is the daughter of a hippie, Cloud, who makes only intermittent appearances in her life. Tully takes refuge with the family of her “best friend forever,” Kate Mularkey, who compares herself unfavorably with Tully, in regards to looks and charisma. In college, “TullyandKate” pledge the same sorority and major in communications. Tully has a life goal for them both: They will become network TV anchorwomen. Tully lands an internship at KCPO-TV in Seattle and finagles a producing job for Kate. Kate no longer wishes to follow Tully into broadcasting and is more drawn to fiction writing, but she hesitates to tell her overbearing friend. Meanwhile a love triangle blooms at KCPO: Hard-bitten, irresistibly handsome, former war correspondent Johnny is clearly smitten with Tully. Expecting rejection, Kate keeps her infatuation with Johnny secret. When Tully lands a reporting job with a Today-like show, her career shifts into hyperdrive. Johnny and Kate had started an affair once Tully moved to Manhattan, and when Kate gets pregnant with daughter Marah, they marry. Kate is content as a stay-at-home mom, but frets about being Johnny’s second choice and about her unrealized writing ambitions. Tully becomes Seattle’s answer to Oprah. She hires Johnny, which spells riches for him and Kate. But Kate’s buttons are fully depressed by pitched battles over slutwear and curfews with teenaged Marah, who idolizes her godmother Tully. In an improbable twist, Tully invites Kate and Marah to resolve their differences on her show, only to blindside Kate by accusing her, on live TV, of overprotecting Marah. The BFFs are sundered. Tully’s latest attempt to salvage Cloud fails: The incorrigible, now geriatric hippie absconds once more. Just as Kate develops a spine, she’s given some devastating news. Will the friends reconcile before it’s too late?
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of poignancy.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-312-36408-3
Page Count: 496
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007
BOOK TO SCREEN
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