Hot pilots slug it out with the galactic overlords in a collection that will please series fans.
In a trio of novellas, supporting characters take center stage to battle treachery and cement alliances with aliens while the series’ protagonist is off on a quest.
Separately published in 2021 as e-books, the three tales included here string together both personal and political developments: Sunreach sees empathetic fighter pilot FM and engineer Rig, both White, awkwardly reach the smooching stage while learning how to work with adorable talking slugs that have cytonic powers. Violet-skinned Alanik has to overcome mistrust of humans to enlist their aid in fending off an attempt by supporters of the oppressive galactic Superiority to take over her planetary government on gas giant ReDawn in the eponymous second story. Finally, in Evershore, Skyward Flight leader Jorgen, who reads as Black, discovers both command potential and superpowers of his own while coordinating a defense of the valiant (if furry and squirrel-sized) kitsen. All three episodes kick up the action with both large- and small-scale battles in air and space—all brisk if remarkably low in explicit fatalities—dovetailing neatly in the end into the closing events of Cytonic (2021). Sanderson credits Patterson with the lion’s share of the writing but adds five deleted scenes from his series opener, Skyward (2018), with commentary as a literary lagniappe. Each novella opens with skillful character portraits in contrasting styles by the two illustrators.
Hot pilots slug it out with the galactic overlords in a collection that will please series fans. (Science fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-56785-2
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
Eragon continues his Rider training in this dense sequel. After the epic battle at Farthen Dûr, Eragon travels to the elven city Ellesméra to complete his magical education. There he learns from Oromis and Glaedr, a wounded Rider and his dragon who have been hidden for years, ever since Galbatorix overthrew the old order and slew the Riders. Meanwhile, inhuman servants of Galbatorix have invaded Eragon’s home village Carvahall, hoping to capture Eragon’s cousin Roran. Roran leads the villagers to join the Varden rebellion against Galbatorix’s tyranny. Another epic battle concludes the story and brings the cousins together just in time for a revelation of dark secrets. Suffused with purple prose and faux-archaic language, this patchwork of dialogue, characters and concepts pulled whole cloth from the fantasy canon holds together remarkably well. Dramatic tension is maintained through the interweaving of Eragon’s and Roran’s adventures, though too much time is spent on the details of Eragon’s training. Derivative but exciting. (Fantasy. 12-15)
Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-375-82670-X
Page Count: 704
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2005
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
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