EVERY STAR A SONG
science fiction and fantasy
Posey, Jay Skybound Books/Simon & Schuster (448 pp.) $17.00 paper | Oct. 19, 2021 978-1-9821-0777-2
INNATE MAGIC
When the exiled Elyth is finally captured by the Hezra, she thinks she’s done for, but instead they make her a compelling offer in this second book of Posey’s Ascendance series. Elyth has been on the run since the events of Every Sky a Grave (2020), and when she’s finally caught, she’s shocked to realize that one of her former friends from the Ascendance was working with the Hezra to hunt her down. Apparently the Ascendance and the Hezra have a problem, and not only have they agreed to work together to solve it, but they need Elyth’s help. Somehow, an entire planet has materialized out of nowhere. Not only that, but a team of experts including the Paragon herself, the great leader of Elyth’s former order, went to investigate the planet and were never heard from again. Elyth is to join a second team in order to find out what happened to that first crew and solve the mystery of the impossible planet. When they land on the surface, they find a deceptively normal landscape with hidden surprises. They notice that the planet itself seems to be changing around them, and it soon turns from simply strange to downright deadly. Posey tries hard for a lovably ragtag group dynamic here, but it doesn’t coalesce. Elyth’s attitudes toward different characters feel forced, as do the personalities of the other crew members. And while the plotting is better than in the previous novel, all the twists start to feel mechanical after the first few chapters end with a big reveal. The strange happenings on the seemingly haunted planet provide much better material, giving the book a delightfully spooky atmosphere that could have been further explored. A fun setting but a forgettable book.
Fay, Shannon 47North (384 pp.) $14.95 paper | Dec. 1, 2021 978-1-5420-3203-2 A newly minted cloth mage is pulled into a terrifying government conspiracy in this lively historical fantasy debut set in 1950s Britain. Paul Gallagher is a lovable, if perhaps slightly smug, recent graduate of the University College London program for cloth mages. Cloth magic involves using fabric and spells to craft clothing with magical properties ranging from allowing the wearer to walk on water to granting them anonymity to simply showing off at parties. Paul, his friend Thomas, and a few other working-class students are among the first common people to be allowed to become professional cloth mages. Paul, whose natural charm has been boosted with a little illegal magic that was practiced on him as a child, is so confident of himself and his talent as a mage that he aspires to be the very first cloth mage to serve as the King’s Court Magician. But in his quest to achieve this goal, Paul is soon tangled up with creepy government official Capt. Hector Hollister, who has sinister reasons for befriending him. Plus there’s the American gossip columnist Verity Turnbolt, who wants Paul’s help uncovering some awful deeds committed by the father of one of his wealthy classmates. When those threads start to come together, Paul might begin to wonder whether a lofty government position is worth having. Fay does her due diligence in building her alternate history, with plenty of detail around how magic functions and how various world governments use and abuse it. The first quarter of the novel is a bit overwritten, especially when it comes to expository dialogue, but when Fay gets some momentum going, her personable characters and twisting plot start to shine. The last few chapters do exceptionally well at both providing a propulsive ending to this first book in the series and setting up suspense for following installments. Great fun on its own and a series to watch for.
r om a n c e AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Beharrie, Therese Zebra (320 pp.) $15.95 paper | Nov. 30, 2021 978-1-4201-5338-5
A romance novelist stumbles on the man of her dreams, but she must reckon with reality before finding her own happy ending. After spending a childhood in foster homes, Gaia Anders is overdue for a miracle. So, just as she 36
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1 october 2021
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fiction
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kirkus.com
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