An indelible cast fuels this wildly entertaining, supernaturally enhanced detective story.
In Susman’s urban fantasy sequel, a private investigator assists a ghost who is bound to him and in serious danger.
Korean-American shamus Jae Kim has connections in “Wolftowns.” These walled-in neighborhoods were built decades ago all around the United States, including in Chicago, where Jae lives. Their original purpose was to confine extranormal people, or “extras,” including werewolves, vampires, and other shape-changers. Jae is human, but his boyfriend Czoltan is a werewolf activist fighting for the rights of extras. While Jae can’t shift forms, he does have a special ring and a corresponding spell for binding a ghost; these come in handy when a staggeringly loud “screeching” practically overtakes Chicago’s Wolftown. This caterwauling is the product of Penny, a recently-deceased 17-year-old who, like many ghosts, can’t remember specific details about her death. She also isn’t very happy about being bound to Jae, who can converse with her in his head (if she doesn’t manifest, others can’t see or hear her). Jae now has the legal responsibility of turning Penny over to her next of kin, but that doesn’t stop a Bureau of Extranormal Affairs agent from demanding that Jae give up the (bound) ghost. Penny fears the BEA and wants the detective to take her to her enigmatic friend Marta, but she’s otherwise frustratingly mum. The agency unquestionably wants something from her and is likely behind the people assaulting and shadowing Jae and threatening his loved ones. Jae, working with Captain Yumi Hachimura of Wolftown’s peacekeeping force, digs into the BEA and the mystery of a late teenager, who may know too much.
Susman here, as in the series’ opening entry Unfinished Business (2022), deftly fuses a detective story with the supernatural. Although this installment rarely strays from Jae and Penny’s mutual dilemma, shape-changers pop up throughout the narrative, and the author showcases a variety of mythologies and folklore, from the Indigenous American thunderbird and the Mesoamerican nagual (were-jaguar) to the serpent-like Naga of a number of Asian religions. The discrimination the extras suffer is analogous to that experienced by real-life marginalized groups; the narrative acknowledges the need for more sensitive nomenclature (“multimorph” is suggested as a potential replacement for “extra,” which implies only humans are “normal,” and the term “remained person” is considered preferable to “ghost”). Series hero Jae is a sharp, intuitive, and likable detective with relatable personal problems. The supporting cast is equally engaging; Penny has a tendency to whine or childishly ignore Jae, but she’s a brand-new ghost who’s just learning what she’s capable of. Czoltan makes for a sympathetic and devoted boyfriend, and Yumi, a yuki-onna (Japanese snow spirit) is a wonderful, strong character to have on Jae’s side. They’re all entangled in a mystery that ends with a satisfying resolution and hints at another sequel.
An indelible cast fuels this wildly entertaining, supernaturally enhanced detective story.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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