A multilayered exploration of the complacent as complicit, all within a unique yet relatable magic system.
An orphaned prince on the run gets a chance at freedom if he can become one of his would-be enslavers.
Three years ago, when the Hierarchy killed his family, 17-year-old Vis Solum had to hide in their Republic, bury his rage, and pretend to support the population’s enslavement in order to survive. The Hierarchy is built on Will—a person’s mental and physical energy—ceded by the low to those above them, and then again, all the way to the top of the three pyramids of leadership: Military, Governance, and Religion. Will powers carts and carriages, keeps vaults locked, and gives Will-users inhuman abilities while sapping ceders of their health and life span. So far, Vis has managed to refuse the ritual to cede his Will. Now, he has little more than a year before he legally has to cede or have his Will drained by Sappers. When Senator Quintus Ulciscor Telimus offers Vis the chance to escape ceding for at least another year, and perhaps never do it at all, Vis agrees. The man officially adopts him so he can attend the Catenan Academy, where all students are tested and prepared for the highest Hierarchy positions. If Vis dominates at the Academy, he can choose a position where he doesn’t need to cede or receive Will at all, far away from the Hierarchy. In return, Vis must act as a spy to prove Religion is unearthing a dangerous weapon. Then, when Vis is blackmailed to act as a double agent, everything changes. In order to succeed, he must become one of those he so hates while keeping his true identity a secret. If he doesn’t, he’ll end up dead, or worse. This Roman-inspired fantasy starts slow but more than makes up for it soon enough. With the inevitable comparisons in mind, fans of Pierce Brown's Red Rising will enjoy this book, but it’s darker, deeper, and takes unexpected paths worth traveling. Trust that the author will get you there in the end.
A multilayered exploration of the complacent as complicit, all within a unique yet relatable magic system.Pub Date: May 23, 2023
ISBN: 9781982141172
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Saga/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.
After 500 years, the Grief of Ages is a distant memory—until dragons hellbent on destruction begin to wake again.
In this relatively brief prequel to the epic The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019), the kingdoms of Virtudom have experienced centuries of relative peace. Marosa Vetalda, the Princess of Yscalin, spends her days behind castle walls under the gaze of her overprotective father, awaiting the date when she’ll be wed to Aubrecht of Mentendon, her ticket to freedom. While the book’s main focus is initially on the political threads weaving the Western kingdoms together, the frailty of best-laid plans is exposed when evidence of the reemergence of draconic beings reaches castle ears. These tales often come from the cullers who make their living slaying these creatures, and who are often blamed for intentionally waking them for profit. No one alive remembers the Grief of Ages, so no one’s prepared when Fýredel, the great High Western dragon, surfaces from the volcanic mountain that towers ominously over Yscalin’s capital city of Cárscaro. What follows is the backstory of how the devoted Yscali kingdom comes to shift allegiance to Fýredel and his master, the Nameless One, a main catalyst to events in The Priory. Overall, this book reads more like history lesson than fantasy adventure, but the sheer terror that befalls the Yscali people as they face Fýredel’s pure evil is both powerful and relevant. Marosa’s plight further solidifies her as a hero worth remembering; her strength and defiance shine through as hope for the future she’s dreamed of slowly flickers out.
Devoted series fans will appreciate the added pieces to this expansive narrative puzzle.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781639736010
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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