A resilient female protagonist braves the perils of wizardry, ancient cults, and college life.
A teen girl who dabbles in magic finds herself immersed in a war between kingdoms and the gradual rise of a potentially dangerous cult in Forrester’s (Death Mage, 2015, etc.) YA fantasy novel.
It’s forbidden for Lady Elendria Orensal to study unsanctioned magic, which is reserved for wealthy nobles who can afford the admission fee into a magical order. The 17-year-old and her family of minor nobles moved from the war-ravaged south to Criswall in the northern Kingdom of Mar Thagroth. A first-year college student, Elendria’s amassed some knowledge of magic as well as a blinding-light spell she picked up from a witch back in her homeland, Maren Downs. One night she witnesses a cloaked man murder a young boy and is suddenly worried about her missing pal, Remi, a homeless orphan. Her search takes her to a temple full of atrocities, resulting in a harrowing experience she barely survives. Emerging cultists, who, like the priests from the temple, worship the Lord of the Fallen, Ba’al, threaten the likelihood of peace between Mar Thagroth and the southern kingdom, Jalinfaer. At the same time, Elendria soon realizes other young boys have become murder victims, possibly as some sort of ritual for the cult. She vows to find the killer(s), but a magic-boosting black stone may cause her to lose control. Forrester’s novel thoroughly blends the fantastical and the contemporary. The setting, for starters, is the quintessential faraway land (sorcery and kingdoms) with an indeterminable time frame allowing for modern touches: Elendria walks the campus like a typical college student. There’s a notable class struggle theme that’s fortunately never heavy-handed, showing a clear separation of the city and the slums Elendria traverses looking for Remi. Big reveals come later, involving Elendria’s elemental-magic skills and her ultimate decision to choose an alliance, because pinpointing the villains is far from simple. Elendria persistently displays strength, even when facing seemingly hopeless situations. Supporting characters are equally noteworthy, particularly bestie Lysha, who shares both a love of magic and—fingers crossed—a dorm room next year.
A resilient female protagonist braves the perils of wizardry, ancient cults, and college life.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5398-6836-1
Page Count: 394
Publisher: Amber Muse
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.
A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.
Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune (The Art of Breathing, 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road meets Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in this frightful medieval epic about an orphan girl with visionary powers in plague-devastated France.
The year is 1348. The conflict between France and England is nothing compared to the all-out war building between good angels and fallen ones for control of heaven (though a scene in which soldiers are massacred by a rainbow of arrows is pretty horrific). Among mortals, only the girl, Delphine, knows of the cataclysm to come. Angels speak to her, issuing warnings—and a command to run. A pack of thieves is about to carry her off and rape her when she is saved by a disgraced knight, Thomas, with whom she teams on a march across the parched landscape. Survivors desperate for food have made donkey a delicacy and don't mind eating human flesh. The few healthy people left lock themselves in, not wanting to risk contact with strangers, no matter how dire the strangers' needs. To venture out at night is suicidal: Horrific forces swirl about, ravaging living forms. Lethal black clouds, tentacled water creatures and assorted monsters are comfortable in the daylight hours as well. The knight and a third fellow journeyer, a priest, have difficulty believing Delphine's visions are real, but with oblivion lurking in every shadow, they don't have any choice but to trust her. The question becomes, can she trust herself? Buehlman, who drew upon his love of Fitzgerald and Hemingway in his acclaimed Southern horror novel, Those Across the River (2011), slips effortlessly into a different kind of literary sensibility, one that doesn't scrimp on earthy humor and lyrical writing in the face of unspeakable horrors. The power of suggestion is the author's strong suit, along with first-rate storytelling talent.
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-937007-86-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
