Child of Fire

Starred review from August 3, 2009
Connolly's gritty urban fantasy debut is not so urban: it takes place in Hammer Bay, Wash., where residents are thankful for the toy factory that stimulates their economy and are apparently oblivious to the frequent magical immolations of local children. Convicted felon Ray Lilly works for the mysterious Annalise Powliss and the Twenty Palace Society, hunting down people who use magic and the otherworldly predators whose power they channel. Callous Annalise and hard-nosed Ray have a complicated personal history that gradually comes to light as the Society faces off against factory employees, local law enforcement and other corrupt forces in the town. Unique magical concepts, a tough and pragmatic protagonist and a high casualty rate for innocent bystanders will enthrall readers who like explosive action and magic that comes at a serious cost.

October 1, 2009
Ray Lilly is Annalise Powys driver. She desperately wants to kill him, but that has been forbidden her as an agent of the Twenty Palace society, which seeks out and destroys rogue magic before unspeakable horrors are loosed upon our world. Annalise satisfies her dislike of Ray by telling him as little as possible about their mission in idyllic Hammer Bay, but an unexpectedly powerful attack leaves her too weak to finish the job. Ray steps in and, armed with one clever and invaluable piece of magic, searches out those responsible for the sacrifice of hundreds of innocent lives. Then he seeks out the culprits source of power and manages to destroy them and their power before it can get loose and ravage the world beyond Hammer Bay. This is a fast-moving, entertaining story, with an interesting take on magic and its consequences, not to mention tantalizing glimpses of a clearly well realized backstory (these constitute an especially good touch). May there be more like it to come from Connolly.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)