A well-developed character study that does justice to the fantasy genre.
After years spent hiding her identity, a misanthropic princess-turned-thief must join the army in the fight to reclaim her rightful place as royalty in this fantasy sequel.
Ari Debouryne and Ely Novian are on the run. The 20-somethings have stolen the dragith stone and Ari has been forced to reveal her true identity as Princess Ariana, rightful heir to a usurped throne. She’s kept this fact guarded for many years, living a fierce, solitary life with only her symbiotic animal familiar (the bobcat Jagger, “whose purrs [rumble] joyfully into the air and the earth” when she pets him) for company. This novel’s events directly follow those of Barkley’s debut novel, A Memory of Light (2021) and no attempt is made to orient new readers. When Ari finds her underworld contact dying, she and Ely feel obliged to take the dragith stone to the Third Army gathering against the Malavi usurpers. The stone, it transpires, is a weapon that only Ely can wield. Ari may be able to keep him safe, but if she stays, she will be hailed as a princess—a title that comes with responsibilities. Can she reconcile the past and present and find a way forward? Barkley writes from Ari’s and Ely’s third-person perspectives and very occasionally from a lesser character’s, which affords readers a wider understanding of the main conflict. Ari is a remarkable protagonist—strong yet distant, and always tightly controlled. Her relationship with Ely is one of tolerance, unshakable camaraderie, burgeoning friendship, and perhaps something more. This uncertainty is representative of a story that eschews predictable genre conventions; for example, the magical artifact is a MacGuffin that the characters fight not to use, and the final battle plays out not in rousing overview but in breathless, confused flashes. Barkley’s prose is occasionally poetic, but the narrative itself is unromantic and the dialogue realistic. Events gain impetus from character development rather than tricks of plotting or prose, and the final resolution proves more bitter than sweet—an outcome that many fantasy fans will welcome.
A well-developed character study that does justice to the fantasy genre.Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63988-416-2
Page Count: 524
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: July 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
A dark and gripping feminist tale.
A young woman faces her past to discover the truth about one of her nation’s heroes.
When Effy Sayre, the only female architecture student at her university in Llyr, wins the competition to design Hiraeth Manor for the estate of the late Emrys Myrddin, national literary figure and her favorite author, it is the perfect opportunity to leave behind a recent trauma. She arrives to find the cliffside estate is literally crumbling into the ocean, and she quickly realizes things may not be as they seem. Preston, an arrogant literature student, is also working at the estate, gathering materials for the university’s archives and questioning everything Effy knows about Myrddin. When Preston offers to include her name on his thesis—which may allow her to pursue the dream of studying literature that was frustrated by the university’s refusal to admit women literature students—Effy agrees to help him. He’s on a quest for answers about the source of Myrddin’s most famous work, Angharad, a romance about a cruel Fairy King who marries a mortal woman. Meanwhile, Myrddin’s son has secrets of his own. Preston and Effy start to suspect that Myrddin’s fairy tales may hold more truth than they realize. The Welsh-inspired setting is impressively atmospheric, and while some of the mythology ends up feeling extraneous, the worldbuilding is immersive and thoughtfully addresses misogyny and its effects on how history is written. Main characters are cued white.
A dark and gripping feminist tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780063211506
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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