An immersive tale about the cost of ambition and the balance of good and evil in a world on the brink of change.
Herndon’s dark fantasy novel explores a world of political intrigue, ancient mysteries, and dangerous power struggles.
In the fantastical realm of the Elonia Empire, Collin Bright, a 10-year-old orphan, vanishes under mysterious circumstances. His sister Lucy is distraught by his disappearance (“She could not think of much else except her brother”), and after pleading with the city’s council of Seers for financial aid, Mother Superior Margaret, who runs the orphanage housing Collin and Lucy, is able to hire detectives Sara Blackmoore and Darren Footer to take on the case—despite push back from Aden Bashford, the Seer of Wealth. Later, Lucy discovers a hidden passage to the city’s mysterious vaults, where she suspects Collin was taken. Her friend Ezra also joins in trying to find Collin, but he is pulled away when he is adopted by a noble, Adelaide Eldrion, whose family’s mining concern competes with the Bashford family’s business. Meanwhile, detectives Blackmoore and Footer interrogate Firehands and Drigg, two individuals identified as being tied to Collin’s last movements. Through this and other clues, the detectives deduce Collin was specifically targeted because of his potential link to “bloodcrystals”—a rare and potent resource tied to ancient alchemical practices—or for his knowledge of the vaults’ layout. Collin also knows that Blaylock, one of the most notable criminals in the slums, has been using the Vaults to smuggle the bloodcrystals. At the Festival of Lights (“It was to celebrate the ray of colorful light that flooded the night, following the lunar eclipse”), readers learn about Aden’s disappointment in his son Rodrick Bashford, who discovers a journal written by a distant ancestor that contains cryptic symbols and mentions of the bloodcrystals. Motivated by his desire to gain respect from his father, Roderick allows himself to be manipulated by Derkell, a goblin and once-respected figure attempting to regain his position after being deemed a madman, into participating in his dark experiments to harness the crystals’ abilities to heal, control minds, and create near-immortal beings.
Herndon excels at building upon established fantasy elements to create an elaborate and unique world, including maps, political systems, songs, religions, and other lore to immerse the reader in the story. The mystery elements—the investigation by the detectives into Collin Bright’s disappearance and how it could be connected to the bloodcrystals—function as an intriguing hook that makes the narrative more accessible to those who may find the extensive worldbuilding intimidating. It is, in fact, difficult to absorb all of the details, which are often delivered through exposition-heavy passages that hinder the overall pacing. Despite this, the primary characters are all well developed, with their own plot threads and motivations intersecting in unexpected ways. The point of view alternates between the perspectives of Lucy, the detectives, and Rodrick to create a dynamic and layered storytelling approach; each storyline enriches the others. Fans of high fantasy will want to add this book to their collection.
An immersive tale about the cost of ambition and the balance of good and evil in a world on the brink of change.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9798992022421
Page Count: 502
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2025
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
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
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