THE LIBRARIAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE
As the novel opens, hatred and resentments that have been smoldering for thousands of years are finally igniting. The three kingdoms—led by the newly crowned but unbalanced Konag Mandan—are going to war against the nation of Ishara. Adan Starfall, king of Suderra, and Kollanan, king of Norterra, understand that Ishara isn’t the three kingdoms’ biggest worry—that would be the wreths, a race of magical humanoid creatures who believe their ultimate destiny is to awaken, and slay, the great dragon Ossus so that the god Kur can remake the world. Attempting to kill Ossus would require the wreths to wake the monstrosity from its slumber underneath a mountain range— and waking it could not only remake the world, but destroy it. Adan and Kollanan are also aware that dethroning Mandan is of utmost importance in stopping an unwanted war with Ishara. In Ishara, a power-hungry priest named Klovus has grabbed control after attempting to kill Empra Iluris, the nation’s spiritual leader. Barely alive, and hidden away, Iluris must somehow win back her people and country. Meanwhile, Koru, queen of the frostwreths, plots to kill the sandwreth queen in order to unite all wreths before waking the dragon….Although the narrative— parceled out in the form of multiple storylines from a diversity of characters—is a bit unwieldy in the opening chapters, those storylines slowly converge and intertwine, propelling the grandscale action forward at what turns out to be a relentless pace. The numerous threads eventually meet in an earth-shattering bloodbath of a final conflict that will have fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire standing up and applauding. Shelf-bending fantasy that is action-packed, intricately plotted, and breakneck paced.
Wingate, Marty Berkley (336 pp.) $26.00 | Jan. 4, 2022 978-1-984804-16-7
Murder seriously complicates a librarian’s life. Things have been going rather well for the First Edition Society library. With Hayley Burke in charge, the small private collection, once the sole province of its late owner, Lady Georgiana Fowling, has become a regular part of Bath’s literary life. Buoyed by the success of her monthly meet-the-author evenings, Hayley manages to persuade Glynis Woolgar, the society’s stubborn, conservative secretary, to open Middlebank House, the society’s home, to the general public from 1:00 to 5:00 every Wednesday afternoon. Their first Wednesday brings a guest whose interest is both more abstract and more urgent than that expressed by other visitors’ most frequent query: “Is there a tea room?” John Aubrey has come to bask in the atmosphere of the society and its home. After all, as the unacknowledged grandchild of Lady Georgiana, abandoned in Brittany during his grandmama’s sojourn in France, John feels it’s his birthright to connect with his British family. That family, embodied in Charles Henry Dill, whose claim to fame has always been that he’s the last surviving relative of Lady Fowling, feels otherwise, greeting Aubrey’s news with a sock in the kisser. Refereeing between pro-Aubrey and anti-Aubrey factions at Middlebank House is only part of Hayley’s latest challenge. When a murder on the streets of Bath is traced irrefutably to Aubrey’s connection to the society, she feels that she must take an active role in helping the police solve the crime or risk losing the goodwill she’s built up in the community. Fast-paced and quirky fare for literary sleuths and those who love them.
CYBER MAGE
Hossain, Saad Z. Unnamed Press (288 pp.) $18.00 paper | Dec. 7, 2021 978-1-951213-28-2
science fiction and fantasy
A Bangladeshi teenager battles foes both magical and technological in the late 21st century. Bringing fantasy elements into a story of hackers and virtual worlds is a task few have tried. G. Willow Wilson did it in Alif the Unseen; William Gibson arguably did it in Count Zero, though the book never ventures outright into the supernatural. Hossain’s latest novel borrows freely from both folklore and cyberpunk archetypes, making for an occasionally dizzying trip through a futuristic world. This is a world in which nations have transformed into corporations, hardcore gamers live in a state of suspended animation—and djinn walk the Earth. Protagonist Marzuk—the Cyber Mage of the title—is 15 and spends most of his days playing Final Fantasy 9000. Marzuk’s relatively comfortable life is juxtaposed throughout the book with that of the mercenary Djibrel, who carries a large sword as he makes his way across a futuristic version of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Hossain explains the juxtaposition of old and new technology briskly: “Cutting off heads
GODS AND DRAGONS
Anderson, Kevin J. Tor (496 pp.) $29.99 | Jan. 11, 2022 978-1-250-30220-5
The concluding volume of Anderson’s Wake the Dragon trilogy wraps up the epic fantasy tale chronicling a grandscale war between nations, races, and even family members that could raise a mythical creature and destroy the world. 132
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15 november 2021
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fiction
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kirkus.com
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