IRIDESCENT FURY

This YA fantasy series starter features a princess who ventures into forbidden territory on a quest to understand her father’s uncharacteristic behavior.

After Frederick Vox, king of Equadoria, returns from a trip to the south, he unsuccessfully tries to kill his 16-year-old daughter, Princess Ariadae. He’s always been a loving, doting parent, so Ariadae is determined to figure out what’s responsible for the change in him. She believes that the answer lies in Elkwood Forest, a swath of wilderness that she’s been forbidden to enter because her mother was murdered at its border years ago. On her travels, she takes Jeremiah, her 18-year-old best friend; Snow, her white tiger; and trained sentinels Zube, Gaston, and Novid. As they traverse Elkwood, Ariadae is shocked to find legendary, monstrous creatures called the Forsaken there. Attacks by savage Wood Nymphs and Wendigos fracture the party, and after one battle, Zube suspects that the princess may have latent telekinetic skills of which she isn’t aware. Eventually, Ariadae becomes separated from her companions and wakes up in the hidden city of Flori. It’s a melting pot of magical peoples ruled by the cruel High Lady Evaflora, who uses a spell to keep her citizens docile. Here, the princess meets Lunan, High Lord of Solis, who believes that Evaflora wants to restart a war between Mortal and Immortal races. For his debut novel, James walks a well-trod fantasy path, full of magical beings and prophecy, but he does so with formidable vision. The scenes often possess an eldritch allure, as when Ariadae views a mosaic that features three figures and “long crackling fingers of lightning that scatter...bright, jagged lines studded with sapphire and lapis lazuli.” The plot twists, including one that’s quite substantial, bring agility to the narrative and a sense of wonder. James’ prose, however, sometimes excessively lingers on his heroine’s first-person perspective, filtering everything through her emotional turmoil. For example, when someone else is shot with an arrow, the princess thinks, “now I know what pain is.” Still, this opening volume sets up a sturdy foundation for more action to come.

An often vivid fantasy tale, although its verbosity sometimes works against it.