The Burning Kingdoms

June 15, 2020
Picks up right where The Demon World (2019) left off: with a battle won, but the real fight is still to come. Catherine finds herself Queen of Pitoria after lying about her marriage to King Tzsayn. With Tzsayn injured, she is left to run the country and manage an army ravaged by illness. Knowing she cannot visit him in the infirmary, a wounded Ambrose nevertheless desperately misses Catherine. Edyon, now Prince of Abask and heir to the throne of Calidor, faces the monumental task of convincing local lords of the dangers of Aloysius' boy army, fueled by demon smoke. Will he be outmatched in a political game? All seems lost for March as he finds himself in Brigant with only the clothes on his back, but he decides his best bet is to join Aloysius' boy army, where he might secretly acquire useful information for Edyon, with whom he is still in love. Tash is still lost in the demon tunnels. Everyone seems to forget about Catherine's brother Harold, now heir to the throne of Brigant. Aware of the demon smoke, he is determined to lead an army to victory. While the book starts out slowly, due to multiple characters with point-of-view chapters, ultimately it is much more exciting and engaging than its predecessors. The often gory action sequences are well written and fascinating. The language at times can feel gratuitous. Fans of the series will be satisfied by this dramatic conclusion. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)

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August 21, 2020

Gr 9 Up-The final book in Green's "Smoke Thieves" trilogy opens with a bang as King Aloysius's scheme to mine demon smoke and use it to power his army of children threatens to utterly destroy Prince Tzsayn and his love, Princess Catherine. Ambrose, rejected by Catherine, no longer knowing what the future will hold for him, becomes the lynchpin as he leaves the kingdom to search for the origin of the demon smoke in order to cut off the supply to the enemy. Meanwhile, Tzsayn and Catherine are secretly married in spite of the turbulence around them that threatens any possibility of a happy union. Tash has disappeared, but in her search for the demon smoke discovers newfound talents of her own that just may be the salvation of the kingdom from the army of smoke-empowered children who threaten it. Culminating in an all-out battle scene in the last few chapters, the novel is replete with violence, graphic torture, and some horrific executions. Not for the faint of heart. VERDICT Though this series ender is marred a bit by multiple points of view and plot lines, as well as dozens of major and minor characters, it all seems to gloriously come together at the very end.-Jane Henriksen Baird, formerly at Anchorage Public Library, AK

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