An absorbing, well-developed entry in a remarkable ongoing saga.
In Kim’s fantasy sequel, a powerful beast threatens the existences of a dreamlike realm and the waking world.
Whenever Californian James Mun sleeps, he enters a place called the Flowering. There, he belongs to Crew Blue, along with E, Honey, and Lux, whose job is to kill monstrous “moulded” citizens of the realm. Their latest mission involves the Red Calf, a legendary beast that was defeated and imprisoned in a purple orb, but whom the crew has reason to believe is returning to consume everything in the Flowering. If that happens, the realm will gradually disappear, along with the “dimension of human dreams” and even sleep itself; without slumber, of course, humans will die back in Reality. The Third, who’s one of 12 sightless, formidable Shamans, wants the beast’s power, and specifically its golden eye, to restore each of Shamans’ eyesight. However, the Shamans aren’t trustworthy, with the exception of Snow (aka Twelve) who joins Crew Blue and its allies. James and the rest can materialize weapons for battle out of thin air, but defeating the Red Calf will require unwavering teamwork, as well. This sophomore installment, following Eye in the Blue Box (2025), moves at a slow and deliberate pace, notwithstanding a handful of impeccable action sequences. Kim uses the opportunity to dive deeply into characterization. E, for example, has a thorny history with Kit, and is understandably wary of relying on him as a potential ally. Readers also get more than a glimpse of characters’ lives in Reality, where they go by different names. There’s plenty of tension as well, as getting to the Red Calf necessitates encounters with vicious individuals and, in one Crew member’s case, entering a dangerous tournament. Other highlights include an endearing reunion between Bloom (a giant blue wolf and an original Crew Blue member) and his colorful wolf pack, along with well-earned, heartfelt moments as the characters’ bonds strengthen further.
An absorbing, well-developed entry in a remarkable ongoing saga.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2026
ISBN: 9798992555547
Page Count: 402
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.
A fantasy adventure with a sometimes-biting wit.
Tress is an ordinary girl with no thirst to see the world. Charlie is the son of the local duke, but he likes stories more than fencing. When the duke realizes the two teenagers are falling in love, he takes Charlie away to find a suitable wife—and returns with a different young man as his heir. Charlie, meanwhile, has been captured by the mysterious Sorceress who rules the Midnight Sea, which leaves Tress with no choice but to go rescue him. To do that, she’ll have to get off the barren island she’s forbidden to leave, cross the dangerous Verdant Sea, the even more dangerous Crimson Sea, and the totally deadly Midnight Sea, and somehow defeat the unbeatable Sorceress. The seas on Tress’ world are dangerous because they’re not made of water—they’re made of colorful spores that pour down from the world’s 12 stationary moons. Verdant spores explode into fast-growing vines if they get wet, which means inhaling them can be deadly. Crimson and midnight spores are worse. Ships protected by spore-killing silver sail these seas, and it’s Tress’ quest to find a ship and somehow persuade its crew to carry her to a place no ships want to go, to rescue a person nobody cares about but her. Luckily, Tress is kindhearted, resourceful, and curious—which also makes her an appealing heroine. Along her journey, Tress encounters a talking rat, a crew of reluctant pirates, and plenty of danger. Her story is narrated by an unusual cabin boy with a sharp wit. (About one duke, he says, “He’d apparently been quite heroic during those wars; you could tell because a great number of his troops had died, while he lived.”) The overall effect is not unlike The Princess Bride, which Sanderson cites as an inspiration.
Engrossing worldbuilding, appealing characters, and a sense of humor make this a winning entry in the Sanderson canon.Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781250899651
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
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