An inventive quest tale with colorful concepts that take center stage.
A young man embarks on a heroic mission after the woman he loves vanishes in this fantasy debut.
In the Lowland valley, where it’s always autumn, is the village of Fogland. Fleex of the Hatters clan goes to meet his love, Fin, and reveal his feelings to her. Like all Hatters, Fleex wears a special cap of tentacles that move to reflect the wearer’s inner self. His tentacles form red hearts, and so his nickname is “Roseheart.” But while sitting with Fin in a cafe, Fleex learns that she’s upset. She has started remembering her life before entering Fogland—and those who tell more than one person their remembered past will be whisked away by fog forever. Fleex listens intently about Fin’s two suitors in Richland: the poor Dane and the wealthy Chaz. Unfortunately, the Gossiper, a pumpkin-shaped creature, eavesdrops above them, causing fog to surround Fin. Meanwhile, in the Nebula of the Gods, Fog Almighty sends Flip and Flop, two tiny Greenies, to help Fleex, the chosen one, “walk through the door to Other World” and ultimately restore balance to the Universe. Also at work is Master Lou, a cosmic collector who’s become greedy. Can Fleex bring Hope back to the Confused World, return the Goddess Afafa to the Enchanted World, and reunite with Fin? Behm unleashes an imaginative whirlwind in her exploration of grand themes like faith, destiny, and love. At one point, Afafa asks: “What is a god if nobody believes in them?” Fantasy fans will encounter things utterly new to the page, like the octofruit, a pineapplelike plant, loyal to its master, that has edible innards and spidery legs that help it escape tough spots. Violence is minimal except for a scene in which a deadly musical instrument induces “fits” and people’s “faces were twisted and deformed” and “foam came out of their mouths.” The only drawback to the author’s storytelling is that many fantastical elements pile up on the narrative roadside, barely used (the “Magic Limitation Act,” for example). The book includes gorgeous color illustrations by Netsova.
An inventive quest tale with colorful concepts that take center stage.Pub Date: Dec. 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-578-31338-2
Page Count: 202
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2021
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
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
