An exciting and complex tale with memorable characters, standout battle scenes, and riveting worldbuilding.
An aspiring comic-book artist and the ghost of his best friend join a fight against soul-seeking private military contractors in James’ fantasy novel.
Twenty-something freelance artist Clyde Williams dreams of drawing comics but so far has collected nothing but rejections. He shares his Brooklyn apartment with Kevin “Kev” Carpenter, who’s been his best pal for 20 years—and for the last two months, he’s been a ghost. Shot to death in a liquor-store robbery, Kev simply appeared to Clyde as an apparition afterward and stuck around (although he refuses to serve as Clyde’s “ghost writer”). Both friends feel as if they’re at an impasse—so when Agent Rose Hadfield knocks on their door, the pair hear her out. She works for Hourglass, a black-ops government department that trains ghosts, or “Post-Life Entities” like Kev, and their physical anchors, like Clyde, to take on unusual threats. Clyde, whose father and brother both died in combat, despises the military but agrees to accompany Kev to Hourglass for training. The friends learn all kinds of fighting tactics as well as information about Erebus, the land of the dead that’s also called “the Null”: “There are no pearly gates, no kingdoms of clouds, or 72 virgins,” explains an Hourglass trainer. Meanwhile, the wealthy, powerful, and clandestine Cairnwood Society is planning a raid on Erebus from its Brooklyn warehouse in order to harvest souls and monetize them—maybe as energy, maybe as weapons. The strike force needs a guide, so Cairnwood has coerced Konstantin Kozlov, a Russian monk and ghost anchor who’s been to Erebus before, into service. For his part, Konstantin hopes to find the Firmament Needle, which he believes “could stitch together a heavenly Paradise.” A showdown in hell, and in New York City, awaits all the players in this game, with the fate of many souls hanging in the balance.
James, in his first fantasy work, tells a story that’s bursting its seams with imaginative ideas, backstory, combat scenes, and developing relationships. It’s a little slow to get started, but once it does, readers will be drawn deep into this well-developed world—or rather, worlds. These include such arcane elements as Konstantin’s Rising Path sect, the hellish creatures of Erebus, evil capitalists, and the comic-book subculture. Similarly, Clyde and Kev provide emotional ballast among so much that’s unusual and extraordinary; indeed, Clyde serves as an anchor in more ways than one. His relatable struggle over whether he should join the battle connects directly with his family history, and the descriptions of his artwork’s visual impact help prepare readers for the novel’s bravura training and battle scenes. The latter are densely choreographed with verve, intelligence, and plenty of operatic (or maybe comic book–like) action. Even the names of Erebus’ nine territories are evocative, such as The House of Fading Light, The House of Silent Screams, and The House of Cold Stars. With Konstantin’s quest incomplete at the end, readers will likely want a second volume.
An exciting and complex tale with memorable characters, standout battle scenes, and riveting worldbuilding.Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2020
ISBN: 979-8-68-891068-1
Page Count: 378
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PROFILES
Though it falters a bit under its own weight, this series still has plenty of fight left.
In this long-awaited fifth installment of Shannon’s Bone Season series, the threat to the clairvoyant community spreads like a plague across Europe.
After extending her fight against the Republic of Scion to Paris, Paige Mahoney, leader of London’s clairvoyant underworld and a spy for the resistance movement, finds herself further outside her comfort zone when she wakes up in a foreign place with no recollection of getting there. More disturbing than her last definitive memory, in which her ally-turned-lover Arcturus seems to betray her, is that her dreamscape—the very soul of her clairvoyance—has been altered, as if there’s a veil shrouding both her memories and abilities. Paige manages to escape and learns she’s been missing and presumed dead for six months. Even more shocking is that she’s somehow outside of Scion’s borders, in the free world where clairvoyants are accepted citizens. She gets in touch with other resistance fighters and journeys to Italy to reconnect with the Domino Programme intelligence network. In stark contrast to the potential of life in the free world is the reality that Scion continues to stretch its influence, with Norway recently falling and Italy a likely next target. Paige is enlisted to discover how Scion is bending free-world political leaders to its will, but before Paige can commit to her mission, she has her own mystery to solve: Where in the world is Arcturus? Paige’s loyalty to Arcturus is tested as she decides how much to trust in their connection and how much information to reveal to the Domino Programme about the Rephaite—the race of immortals from the Netherworld, Arcturus’ people—and their connection to the founding of Scion, as well as the presence of clairvoyant abilities on Earth. While the book is impressively multilayered, the matter-of-fact way in which details from the past are sprinkled throughout will have readers constantly flipping to the glossary. As the series’ scope and the implications of the war against Scion expand, Shannon’s narrative style reads more action-thriller than fantasy. Paige’s powers as a dreamwalker are rarely used here, but when clairvoyance is at play, the story shines.
Though it falters a bit under its own weight, this series still has plenty of fight left.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781639733965
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fresh, arresting entry in the vampire genre that revels in violent, bloody delights.
An orphaned teenager tries to connect her sister’s disappearance to their family’s decadeslong relationship with vampires.
Nineteen-year-old Kidan Adane wants nothing to do with her family’s horrifying rules and traditions, which stipulate that Kidan and her sister, June, who are Black girls of Ethiopian heritage, must honor soul-binding contracts with dranaics, or vampires. After their parents died, the sisters were placed in foster care with Mama Anoet. For years, Kidan had thought they were safe from evil—until Silia, their maternal aunt, unexpectedly died, and June and Kidan became the last two living members of House Adane. When June is abducted in the middle of the night by an unknown assailant, Kidan traces the clues to Uxlay University, where worthy leaders are taught how to protect a hierarchical society in which humans and vampires harmoniously coexist. Kidan believes that June was taken by Susenyos Sagad, the formidable vampire who’s bound to her family’s bloodline. As she dives deeper into this cruel new world, the line between her hatred of Susenyos and her growing fascination with him begins to blur. Debut author Girma’s trilogy opener offers a richly detailed, sweepingly imaginative narrative that artfully explores the dark heart of desire, rage, and loss through expansive worldbuilding. Kidan’s powerful characterization is layered, and her journey toward the truth has been crafted with a cinematic eye.
A fresh, arresting entry in the vampire genre that revels in violent, bloody delights. (map, content warning) (Fantasy. 15-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780316581448
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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