An unnerving and immensely entertaining dark fantasy.
In Duff’s debut novel, a man must choose between honoring a demon’s centuries-old contract or using his newfound magic to fight his way out of it.
Timothy Kovak is nearly killed by an otherworldly beast on his 25th birthday. His world in 2058 is accustomed to both demon attacks and mages, such as those in the Bluestar 7 team of metahuman cops. But he’s still shocked when he awakens to find the succubus Lydia in his Boston apartment. She claims he’s now inherited magic, an ancient book, and a blood contract that his soul-selling ancestor signed in the mid-14th century; now he’ll have to serve Demon Prince Baalphezar. While Lydia can’t force Timothy to honor the contract, Baalphezar may send a more vicious demon to enforce his will. Timothy takes his time, learning what he can about the book, the terms of the contract, and Lydia’s methods of seduction (“Her body had stopped being titillating and was starting to feel like a threat”). If Timothy can master his new magical abilities, he can do good, like the Bluestar mages he admires—he may also be able to defeat Baalphezar and permanently cancel his contract. Duff’s leisurely paced tale, which opens a series, masterfully develops multilayered characters—Timothy, for example, seems hung up on his ex, but his genuine care for others is apparent when the Demon Prince threatens his friends. Similarly, Lydia is unpredictable, a powerful succubus who sometimes shows a warmhearted side. Despite Timothy’s intermittent cynicism. Lightening the mood, the narrative remains tense throughout. Even the protagonist’s apartment, a principal setting, is in a “No-Fly Zone” where a dead god’s miasma randomly kills anything in the air (and most other things). Demons rearing their ugly heads guarantee gory bits along with supernatural action. The novel’s latter half picks up considerably as Timothy hones his magic and his circumstances grow increasingly dire. There’s plenty left to explore in sequels.
An unnerving and immensely entertaining dark fantasy.Pub Date: Feb. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9798990103030
Page Count: 541
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2024
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
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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