Kirkus Reviews - Tor/Forge Blog

Starred Review: Box Office Poison by Phillipa Bornikova

July 24, 2013May 15, 2024torforge

“Refreshingly different, intriguing and involving: A sequel that’s even better than the splendid opener.”

Phillipa Bornikova’s Box Office Poison gets a starred review in Kirkus Reviews!*

Here’s the full review, from the June 15th issue:

Second in the series (This Case is Gonna Kill Me, 2012) about New York lawyer Linnet Ellery and the vampire law firm she works for, set in a world dominated by the Powers—vampires, werewolves and Álfar (elves)—who revealed themselves less than half a century ago.

Last time out, Linnet found herself battling werewolves. This time, exquisitely beautiful Álfar are snaffling all the plum roles in Hollywood, much to the chagrin of human actors, who, naturally, bring a lawsuit against the studios and networks. Since Álfar charm fails to translate to the screen, the humans insist that they’re using magic to get the parts. Nobody in the Screen Actors Guild wants the dispute in the public domain, so Linnet and her vampire boss, David Sullivan, must fly to California and serve as arbitrators. Complications ensue when Human First agitators make themselves annoyingly obtrusive; and an Álfar actor who slaughtered his beloved human wife now claims to have no memory of the event. Still, the old, influential Álfar observer, Qwendar, seems helpful enough. But when handsome actor-turned-director Jeff Montolbano invites Linnet to the set of his latest movie, his lead actress, an Álfar, bursts in and, sporting enough weapons to stock a small arsenal, starts shooting the place up. Why? What’s really going on? Does Linnet have a secret protector or hidden talents? Bornikova accurately depicts Hollywood with warmth and wit, her puzzles will keep readers guessing until the end, and she tops it off with a smart, sassy heroine willing to poke and prod those more powerful than she.

Refreshingly different, intriguing and involving: A sequel that’s even better than the splendid opener.

Box Office Poison will be published on August 6th.

Kirkus Reviews is a subscription-only publication.

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Starred Review: Midnight by Kevin Egan

June 13, 2013May 15, 2024torforge2 Comments

“Slowly, methodically, excruciatingly, first-timer Egan shows his heroes’ plan spinning out of control in a classic illustration of the law of unintended consequences… A crystalline noir nightmare built on the premise that yes, things can always, always, always get worse.”

Kevin Egan’s Midnight gets a starred review in Kirkus Reviews!

Here’s the full review, from the June 15th issue:

A pair of court employees can hold onto their jobs for another year—if only they can hide the news of their boss’s death for 24 hours.

Even though money is tight, employees in the chambers of the New York County Courthouse are still guaranteed their paychecks till the end of the year if the judge they work for dies. When Judge Alvin Canter succumbs to a heart attack on the morning of New Year’s Eve, the timing couldn’t be worse for his secretary, Carol Scilingo, or his law clerk, Tom Carroway, for whom money is especially tight. But if only Judge Canter died on New Year’s Day instead, they’d both be taken care of for another crucial year—time to dig out of their financial holes and maybe come together for keeps as a couple. So Tom’s idea of concealing the judge’s death till the next day seems perfectly logical and even—considering how deserted the courthouse is on the last day of the year—plausible. As soon as you stop to think more than Tom and Carol allow themselves to do, however, you realize what a harebrained scheme it is, full of holes and dependent on good timing, good luck and the good will of a motley cast—from floating court officer Foxx, Carol’s ex-boyfriend, to Court Officers Union president, Bobby Werkman, to collection agent Dominic McGlinchy, an ex-pug who works for the gambler Tom owes eight large—not likely to be brimming with goodwill even during the holiday season. Slowly, methodically, excruciatingly, first-timer Egan shows his heroes’ plan spinning out of control in a classic illustration of the law of unintended consequences.

A crystalline noir nightmare built on the premise that yes, things can always, always, always get worse.

Midnight will be published on July 2nd.

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Starred Reviews: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

April 30, 2013April 9, 2024torforge

“Featuring ingenious magic (complete with profuse chalk drawing–style diagrams and illustrations from McSweeney), feisty characters, and a complex plot likely to unwind over several volumes, this high-spirited, exciting story will appeal to readers of all ages.”

Publishers Weekly

“Fantasy readers should devour this well-crafted mix of action and setup, enriched by thoroughly detailed cultural and historical background and capped by a distinctly unsettling twist.”

Kirkus Reviews

The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson, gets starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews!*

Here’s the full Publishers Weekly review, from the March 25 issue:

Bestselling author Sanderson’s first YA novel is a delightful fantasy set in an alternate early 20th-century America made up of 60 loosely federated islands protected by Rithmatists, who use powerful chalk-drawing magic to hold at bay the voracious wild chalklings. These mysterious, two-dimensional creatures from the dangerous island of Nebrask would wipe out the nation if they ever broke loose. Sixteen-year-old Joel attends Armedius Academy, a noted school for Rithmatists, as a general student; he has studied the intricate, magical chalk patterns his whole life, but missed his chance to become a Rithmatist. As his more talented schoolmates begin to disappear, apparently killed or kidnapped by wild chalklings, Joel; his new friend Melody, an incompetent young Rithmatist; and Fitch, their recently disgraced professor, become involved in a desperate attempt to avoid more bloodshed and save their schoolmates. Featuring ingenious magic (complete with profuse chalk drawing–style diagrams and illustrations from McSweeney), feisty characters, and a complex plot likely to unwind over several volumes, this high-spirited, exciting story will appeal to readers of all ages. Ages 12–up. Author’s agent: Eddie Schneider, JABberwocky Literary Agency. (May)

And here’s the full Kirkus review, from the May 1 issue:

Image Placeholder of - 22 The inhumanly prolific author of the Mistborn trilogy conjures similarly baroque magic for a lapidary series opener aimed at a somewhat younger audience.

Set on an alternate, steampunk Earth among the many squabbling United Isles of America, the tale pits Joel, teenage son of a poor chalkmaker, and allies against mysterious baddies who are snatching students of exclusive Armedius Academy. Among other subjects, the Academy teaches Rithmatics—a geometry-based system of offensive and defensive shapes chalked on flat surfaces and then animated by those endowed with a special magical ability in a ceremony as children. Though he himself cannot bring his figures to life like a true Duster, years of obsessive study have made Joel a brilliant theorist and designer. His skills plunge him into the middle of the kidnapping investigation and ultimately lead to hints of a larger plot to release floods of deadly wild “chalklings” against humanity. Stay tuned. Between (and occasionally within) every chapter, labeled diagrams and smaller drawings lay out an elaborate but generally logical set of rules and behaviors for Rithmatical attack and defense.

Fantasy readers should devour this well-crafted mix of action and setup, enriched by thoroughly detailed cultural and historical background and capped by a distinctly unsettling twist. (Fantasy. 10-13)

The Rithmatist will be published on May 14th.

Kirkus Reviews is a subscription-only website.

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Starred Reviews: The World of the End by Ofir Touché Gafla

April 25, 2013April 9, 2024torforge

“Gafla creates an interconnected puzzle of living and dead characters and their stories that will shock, amuse, and illuminate the nature of humans and their inevitable end.”

Publishers Weekly

“Simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking, handled with sublime assurance, astonishingly inventive, funny and totally fascinating.”

Kirkus Reviews

The World of the End, by Ofir Touché Gafla, gets starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews!

Here’s the full Publishers Weekly review, from the April 15 issue:

Poignant and funny, Gafla’s Geffen Award–winning 2005 novel is part romance, part mystery, and part science fantasy. Ben Mendelssohn is a “righter” who specializes in composing perfect endings for books and movies. When his beloved Marian dies “under bizarre aeronautical circumstances,” Ben plans the perfect ending to their romance, killing himself in order to be with her in the afterlife. The Other World is a surprisingly well-ordered place, full of cities of the dead and strange technologies, and managed by the mysterious, almost-human “aliases.” Ben finds a slew of relatives—the Mendelssohns have an extraordinary death rate—but no Marian, so with the help of an eccentric detective of the hereafter he goes on a quest, Orpheus-like, to find her. Gafla creates an interconnected puzzle of living and dead characters and their stories that will shock, amuse, and illuminate the nature of humans and their inevitable end. Agent: Kathleen Anderson, Anderson Literary. (July)

And here’s the full Kirkus review, from the May 1 issue:

Image Place holder of - 22 The first appearance in English translation for Gafla’s first novel (2004), and it’s a weird and effective blend of adventure/fantasy, whodunit and romance.

Ben Mendelssohn styles himself an epilogist—he writes endings to stories for people who are unable to. After the death of his beloved wife, Marian, under “bizarre aeronautical circumstances,” inconsolable Ben struggles through another 18 months of existence before putting a bullet through his brain. With thousands of others who died in the same instant, he wakes in the Other World (“We wish you a happy and satisfying death”), an orderly, secular and surpassingly strange realm where sleep and climate can be personally programmed; clothing, money and profit are unknown; and the no-longer-dead are housed in vast cities ordered by the year of the person’s death. Charlatans, people who never lived on Earth, tend forests of family trees and other matters. But of his Marian, there is no sign. Baffled, Ben turns to Samuel Sutton, aka The Mad Hop, a wacky afterlife investigator, for help in locating her. But as Samuel soon, and Ben eventually, grasps, the search is ineluctably interwoven with characters and actions in the world of the living. Born of their mutual fascination with the works of Salman Rushdie, a certain Ormus conducts an electronic romance with Vina. Samuel persuades irascible artist Raphael to paint Marian’s portrait, even though he, Raphael, isn’t dead yet. Ann “Anntipathy,” a nurse who hates people and urges her patients to die, finds herself the recipient of oral sex from Adam, a pedophile and video games designer, whose brother, Shahar, a famous actor, is also a murderer. A talking photograph inserts itself into the plot.

Simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking, handled with sublime assurance, astonishingly inventive, funny and totally fascinating.

The World of the End will be published on June 25th.

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Starred Kirkus Review: Wisp of a Thing by Alex Bledsoe

April 15, 2013April 8, 2024torforge

“This beautifully handled drama of Appalachian music and magic once again comes complete with fascinating characters, a persuasive setting and intriguing complications. Bledsoe’s on a roll.”

Wisp of a Thing, by Alex Bledsoe, gets a starred review in Kirkus Reviews!*

Here’s the full review, from the April 15 issue:

Another tale of Cloud County, Tenn., and its eldritch inhabitants: the dark-haired, dark-skinned Tufa (The Hum and the Shiver, 2011).

When musician Rob Quillen made it to the final stages of a network talent show, the producers insisted on flying in his girlfriend, Anna, but she was killed when her plane crashed, leaving Rob devastated. Then a mysterious stranger advised him to look in Tufa country for a song carved in stone to ease his desolation. With his Hispanic heritage, Rob looks like one of the Tufa, although he has not a drop of Tufa blood. Still, one of the locals invites him to an evening of Tufa music, where he’s astounded at the skill and power of their playing. Later, he tries to strike up a conversation with one of the players, Rockhouse Hicks, a supremely malevolent old man who occupies a chair outside the post office, and nearly gets beaten to a pulp for his pains. He’s rescued from further assault by Bliss Overbay, a Tufa First Daughter and EMT technician. To Bliss’ astonishment, after his head injury, Rob can now see the graveyards of the Tufa, which only Tufa should be able to do, and even read the inscriptions on the tombstones. Rob begins to grasp that there are undercurrents here beyond his comprehension—especially when he hears the eerie cries of a feral girl running in the woods. The girl, Curnen, has been cursed: When the last leaf falls from the Widow’s Tree, she will lose the last of her humanity. Bliss is faced with a terrible dilemma: By Tufa law, she may disclose nothing to outsiders, yet clearly Rob was brought here for a purpose.

This beautifully handled drama of Appalachian music and magic once again comes complete with fascinating characters, a persuasive setting and intriguing complications. Bledsoe’s on a roll.

Wisp of a Thing will be published on June 18th.

Kirkus Reviews is a subscription-only website.

Starred Review: Midnight by Kevin Egan

Starred Reviews: The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Starred Reviews: The World of the End by Ofir Touché Gafla

Starred Kirkus Review: Wisp of a Thing by Alex Bledsoe

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