Roar of Sky

October 1, 2018
The conclusion to Cato's (Red Dust and Dancing Horses and Other Stories, 2017, etc.) Blood of Earth trilogy takes its magically gifted young heroine to Hawaii on a quest to understand both herself and her extraordinary powers so she can save the world and the people she loves.After using her unusually potent earth-based magic to escape the clutches of Ambassador Blum, the ruthless kitsune who is trying to engineer the social and military ascendancy of Japan in Cato's alternate 1906 world, Ingrid finds herself physically weakened and in constant pain. She flees to Hawaii on an airship in the company of her lover, Cy, and their friend Fenris, hoping to confirm her suspicion that she is descended from Madame Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, earth, and fire. Ingrid's time on Hawaii features a fascinating descent into the crater of Kilauea alongside a group of bumbling tourists, an uncomfortable backdrop of entrenched racism, and a sobering reflection on the consequences of power and personal choices. When their airship leaves the islands, Ingrid and her companions find themselves thrust back into the world of political and military intrigue and must race to California and then on to Arizona to confront their enemies and save their friends. Cato's alternate history, dominated by the Japanese-American alliance of the United Pacific and vicious racism against the Chinese, combines elements of actual history with the idea of an America influenced on every level, whether for good or ill, by a foreign culture. This interesting exercise of imagination is energized by Cato's likable characters but reveals some awkward authorial privilege. Cultural details, other languages, and the experience of living as a person of color are all often deployed with enthusiasm that feels, at best, like a tourist's appreciation and, at worst, like clumsy appropriation.A serviceable ending to a historical fantasy series that shifts between provocatively imagined and culturally clueless.

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Starred review from October 8, 2018
This satisfying finale to the Blood of Earth trilogy (following 2017’s Call of Fire) takes its heroes to the crest of victory. In this alternate early 20th century where magic and politics intertwine, the U.S. and Japan team up for a war against China. Hidden geomancer Ingrid Carmichael, granddaughter of the Hawaiian volcano goddess Madam Pele, is counseled by a legendary Chinese being to deliver a divine weapon, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, to her adoptive brother, Lee, son of the late emperor. This will allow Lee to defeat the Japanese fox spirit who is directing the United Pacific military. Aboard her true love Cy Jenning’s airship, Ingrid must devise a way to infiltrate the colossal United Pacific floating city, Excalibur, and hope to convince Cy’s sister Maggie, the chief engineer, to stop the behemoth before it is used. Cato skillfully arranges her scenes to underscore the emotional strengths that propel her characters to be “audacious and brave,” and empathy and redemption are at the heart of her tale. This is a sterling conclusion to a strong series. Agent: Rebecca Strauss, DeFiore and Company.

September 15, 2018
Mythology, racial tension, global conquest, humor, history, and romance all intertwine again in this dramatic conclusion to Cato's Blood of Earth trilogy. At the end of Call of Fire (2017), Ingrid Carmichael blocked a tracking spell placed by the kitsune, Japanese Ambassador Blum, by branding her own flesh. The enchantment worked, but with crippling consequences. To avoid further conflict with Blum, Ingrid sets out for Hawaii accompanied by her companions, Cy and Fenris, to seek aid from her grandmother, the goddess Pele. Although pleased to meet her granddaughter, Pele cannot heal the injury and refuses to battle Blum. Ingrid is despondent, but Cy's unwavering love provides renewed strength to persevere. Meanwhile, on the mainland, the ambassador's secret endeavor to subjugate China, the Gaia Project, reaches fruition just as a devastating epidemic sweeps toward the West Coast; there are whispers that this is a retaliatory plague released by the Chinese. Ingrid and friends must return to California for a final confrontation with the kitsune. Steampunk fans will be thoroughly pleased with the culmination of this fabulous fantasy adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)