Circle of Shadows

November 5, 2018
Skye (The Crown’s Game) mixes original story elements with familiar components in this middling series opener about war coming to a peaceful kingdom. A decade ago in Kichona, Prince Gin rebelled against his older twin, Empress Aki, in a Blood Rift that ended with Gin’s apparent death. Now, 18-year-old apprentice taiga warriors and mentally linked partners Sora and Daemon discover a group of soldiers in a remote part of the kingdom, led by Prince Gin himself. It falls to them and their friends, Fairy and Broomstick, to convince the taiga leaders that the threat is real—and, barring that, to use their ninjalike skills, magic, and wits to defend Kichona. Time-honored tropes include unhelpful adults and individuals who aren’t, after all, dead, and the prose is sometimes stale (“Everything was quiet. Too quiet”). But Skye’s magic, conveyed via the taiga and Gin’s soldiers, proves unusual and interesting, and the cliffhanger ending will leave readers who can overlook the volume’s flaws eager for the series’s next installment. Ages 13–up. Agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House.

November 15, 2018
Grades 9-12 Readers of Skye's Russian historical fantasy series (The Crown's Game, 2016) will be happy to see her turn her attention to Japanese-based culture, history, and mythology in a fast-paced adventure of young taiga (think ninja) warriors sworn to protect Empress Aki. Ten years ago, during the Blood Rift, Aki's brother Prince Gin attempted to overthrow the kingdom and sacrifice citizens in service to the Cult of the Evermore, which promised that the gods would grant paradise on earth if 200 citizens were sacrificed in their names. Gin was himself overthrown and died?or did he? Now taiga apprentices Sora and Daemon uncover evidence that Gin is alive and has amassed a following of magically trained warriors ready to murder Empress Aki and implement the sacrifice. Plentiful details of food, clothing, history, magic, and culture of Kichona create a rich backstory for this politically-driven action romance. Although characterization remains rudimentary, the archetypal protagonists are satisfyingly active according to their natures, providing a folkloric predictability. An abrupt ending promises at least one sequel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

November 15, 2018
A faction pursuing the spoils of a dark legend threatens the land of Kichona and countries beyond.Kichona, ruled by benevolent Empress Aki, has known a decade of peace since the defeat of Prince Gin in the Blood Rift. Sora and Daemon are apprentice taigas, warriors marked by the goddess Luna, and trained in combat and ability-enhancing magic to serve the empire. Called by their taiga names, Spirit and Wolf, Sora and Daemon are also each other's gemina, divinely-linked warrior partners who share a mental connection. Talented but mischievous Sora finds purpose and motivation after reflecting on her younger sister's death during the Blood Rift. Daemon, physically strong but less gifted magically, is struggling to prove himself while hoping to discover his parents' identities and struggling to suppress his feelings for Sora, as romantic relationships between gemina are forbidden. While Sora and Daemon seek to find out the truth about Daemon's missing parents, they uncover a startling enemy with phenomenal powers beyond any that they have ever seen--and the ambitions of this enemy are darker and deadlier than any previous one. Skye (The Crown's Fate, 2017, etc.) has built a world that loosely fuses elements of Japanese and European folklore, legends, and naming conventions. The storyline however, occasionally falls flat, and characterizations feel somewhat trite. Characters have different shades of hair, including blue, platinum blonde, golden, or dyed black, but race is indeterminate.Lackluster. (map) (Fantasy. 12-18)

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