Astonishing, puzzling, and hallucinatory as only Murakami can be, and one of his most satisfying tales.
Another beguilingly enigmatic tale from Murakami, complete with jazz, coffee, Borgesian twists, the Beatles, and other trademark motifs.
In what is in many ways a bookend to 1Q84, Murakami blends science fiction, gothic novel, noir mystery, horror (think Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s film Pulse), and coming-of-age story. His protagonist and narrator, as the novel opens, is a 17-year-old boy aswoon in love with a 16-year-old girl. “At that time neither you nor I had names,” he sighs, and when the girl slips away, he knows too little about her to find her. Before that, though, she transports him to a walled city that’s not on any map: “Not everyone can enter. You need special qualifications to do that.” Both of them have those qualifications, the young man filling the urgently needed role of a reader of dusty and long-backlogged dreams. The girl moves on, the boy becomes a middle-aged man, and back in the real world where “silence and nothingness, as always, were my constant companions,” he abandons Tokyo for a little mountain town to become its librarian, curating real books, not dreams. There he encounters two otherworldly characters, one a neurodivergent teen, Yellow Submarine Boy, who memorizes every book he reads, whatever the subject. The other—well, as he explains, “without hesitation, I’d say that although it’s rather dated and convenient, you could call me a ghost.” Both characters point in their own ways to a fleeting world where all that matters, in the end, is love—and where love is always just out of reach. It’s an elegant fable that deftly weaves ordinary reality—“something you have to choose by yourself, out of several possible alternatives”—with a shadow world that is at once eerie and beautiful.
Astonishing, puzzling, and hallucinatory as only Murakami can be, and one of his most satisfying tales.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2024
ISBN: 9780593801970
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
An expertly crafted page-turner with unpredictable twists, steamy romance, and magical creatures.
A princess and a gladiator join forces amidst political intrigue and bloody carnage in Robson’s fantasy novel.
For the citizens of the wealthy kingdom of Arrow, the most exciting entertainment can be found in the arena—for the gladiators from the surrounding kingdoms, it’s a relentlessly brutal series of fights to the death. The combatants hope to win enough matches to earn the royal title of “Bloodguard,” which will allow their families to immigrate to Arrow. Leith, a gladiator in his mid-20s, is a skilled fighter driven by his desperation to support his mother and two younger sisters (and by the rage built from years of killing his peers for an audience’s delectation). After killing the arrogant Lord Filip (who challenged him to an impromptu duel) and subsequently emerging victorious in a surprise melee with a group of his peers and a dragon, Leith is getting closer to becoming a Bloodguard. He attracts the attention of Princess Maeve, a 20-year-old healer. Now that her fiance, Lord Filip, is dead, she’s in dire need of a noble spouse so that she can claim the throne when she turns 21. Maeve proposes a deal: She’ll help Leith achieve the Bloodguard status in exchange for his hand in marriage. But as their relationship blossoms, problems arise when royal secrets are revealed and government corruption is exposed. Soon, they’re not just vying for a title and a crown—they’re fighting for their lives. Robson’s novel is an exciting blend of action, palace intrigue, and romance in a high fantasy setting. The story unfolds through the perspectives of Maeve and Leith, who are both compelling and well developed, with flaws, foibles, and distinctive voices. The supporting characters are equally intriguing. Readers will love the richly detailed worldbuilding and combat sequences, as well as the use of snarky, modern language (“Of course the only royal offering me help is one who’s clawing her way to the throne, not already sitting pretty on one. That tracks,” Leith gripes). The book’s thoughtful queer representation and exploration of oppression and exploitation are also noteworthy.
An expertly crafted page-turner with unpredictable twists, steamy romance, and magical creatures.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9781649374059
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.
A young Navarrian woman faces even greater challenges in her second year at dragon-riding school.
Violet Sorrengail did all the normal things one would do as a first-year student at Basgiath War College: made new friends, fell in love, and survived multiple assassination attempts. She was also the first rider to ever bond with two dragons: Tairn, a powerful black dragon with a distinguished battle history, and Andarna, a baby dragon too young to carry a rider. At the end of Fourth Wing (2023), Violet and her lover, Xaden Riorson, discovered that Navarre is under attack from wyvern, evil two-legged dragons, and venin, soulless monsters that harvest energy from the ground. Navarrians had always been told that these were monsters of legend and myth, not real creatures dangerously close to breaking through Navarre’s wards and attacking civilian populations. In this overly long sequel, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons are determined to find a way to protect Navarre, despite the fact that the army and government hid the truth about these creatures. Due to the machinations of several traitorous instructors at Basgiath, Xaden and Violet are separated for most of the book—he’s stationed at a distant outpost, leaving her to handle the treacherous, cutthroat world of the war college on her own. Violet is repeatedly threatened by her new vice commandant, a brutal man who wants to silence her. Although Violet and her dragons continue to model extreme bravery, the novel feels repetitive and more than a little sloppy, leaving obvious questions about the world unanswered. The book is full of action and just as full of plot holes, including scenes that are illogical or disconnected from the main narrative. Secondary characters are ignored until a scene requires them to assist Violet or to be killed in the endless violence that plagues their school.
Unrelenting, and not in a good way.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374172
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
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