An adventure fantasy held together by a complex, compelling protagonist.
Bow’s terrific debut YA novel takes readers into an action-packed fantasy world.
This first installment of a planned series follows Timothy, an ambitious but self-pitying teenager. He has some of a typical teenager’s problems, like not getting any respect from his father, but he is also haunted by the memory of Fenae, a girl he once loved who was killed, along with her family, by the occupying Huctan forces. Timothy is Botani, living under the subjugation of the Huctans, who have legalized alcohol after conquering Botan and killing most of the Botani people. Often plagued not only by doubt but by full-blown self-loathing, Timothy makes an atypical protagonist. Eventually, he gets the chance to become a Thane, a servant of Botan, someone who spends his life “learning how to keep secrets and control conversations.” But Thanes, despite being “big shots,” are very human, with all sorts of human foibles. (“He hadn’t expected Thanes to have a hard time waking up in the morning.”) This kind of humanity, both in the troubled protagonist and the flawed Thanes, gives the novel its energy and seems to set it apart from lesser fantasy stories. Bow has a gift for building a world that is at once instantly recognizable yet alien. The sense of place comes gradually, naturally, as readers are thrown into the story with little in the way of explanation; watching another world unfurl becomes one of the novel’s great pleasures. Sometimes, conversations play out in lengthy dialogue that could be summarized, and readers might be left wanting more descriptions, an occasional break from the fast pace. The story—to its benefit, much of the time—is like a runaway freight train, barreling forward and fun to read; perhaps, though, it would benefit from stopping occasionally to give readers the opportunity to see what is on either side of the tracks, so to speak. But overall, it’s a well-plotted, elegantly written book, and by the time readers get to the exciting finale, they’ll be anticipating the promised sequel.
An adventure fantasy held together by a complex, compelling protagonist.Pub Date: June 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-9914-6570-5
Page Count: 329
Publisher: Mask and Mallet Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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