A romantic maritime epic and a charming tribute to mapmakers, calligraphers, and explorers.
Mysterious maps from opposite ends of the sea cast doubt on the whereabouts of two princes, long presumed dead.
Nineteen-year-old Lord Elias, whose father, Lord Antoni, was the Royal Navigator of the kingdom of St. John del Mar, is summoned by the king, his dear friend Ulises, to examine two recently created maps that have just been discovered. They bear no identifying cartouches and yet they have unmistakably been painted by his late father. Even stranger, they hint that not only Lord Antoni, but also the rightful heirs to the throne are still alive. Eighteen years ago, Elias’ father disappeared and the royal princes were kidnapped by the neighboring kingdom of Mondrago. Eager to find Lord Antoni and the king’s brothers, Elias, Ulises, and Mercedes, Ulises’ beautiful and capable cousin, chase clues gleaned from the parchments, traveling to distant lands through serpent-infested waters only to suspect that the biggest threat to their kingdom lies within their own castle walls. Elias has long, wavy, sun-lightened brown hair, while Mercedes, half Mondragan, half del Marian, struggles with the disdain of her countrymen; she has black hair and golden skin, however her green eyes and freckles are a sign of her Mondragan ancestry.
A romantic maritime epic and a charming tribute to mapmakers, calligraphers, and explorers. (Fantasy. 12-15)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-96857-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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
Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development.
A portal fantasy survivor story from an established devotional writer.
Fourteen-year-old Eva’s maternal grandmother lives on a grand estate in England; Eva and her academic parents live in New Haven, Connecticut. When she and Mum finally visit Carrick Hall, Eva is alternately resentful at what she’s missed and overjoyed to connect with sometimes aloof Grandmother. Alongside questions of Eva’s family history, the summer is permeated by a greater mystery surrounding the work of fictional children’s fantasy writer A.H.W. Clifton, who wrote a Narnialike series that Eva adores. As it happens, Grandmother was one of several children who entered and ruled Ternival, the world of Clifton’s books; the others perished in 1952, and Grandmother hasn’t recovered. The Narnia influences are strong—Eva’s grandmother is the Susan figure who’s repudiated both magic and God—and the ensuing trauma has created rifts that echo through her relationships with her daughter and granddaughter. An early narrative implication that Eva will visit Ternival to set things right barely materializes in this series opener; meanwhile, the religious parable overwhelms the magic elements as the story winds on. The serviceable plot is weakened by shallow characterization. Little backstory appears other than that which immediately concerns the plot, and Eva tends to respond emotionally as the story requires—resentful when her seething silence is required, immediately trusting toward characters readers need to trust. Major characters are cued white.
Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development. (author’s note, map, author Q&A) (Religious fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780593194454
Page Count: 384
Publisher: WaterBrook
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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