Starred review from June 25, 2012
After being accused of heresy and booted from his religious sect for questioning the authenticity of a religious artifact, 17-year-old Luca De Vere is recruited by the Order of the Dragon, a unit commissioned by Pope Nicholas V to investigate supernatural occurrences across Europe. In another part of the country, 17-year-old Isolde is banished to a nunnery to prevent her from claiming her inheritance. But after Isolde arrives, the nuns begin walking in their sleep, have visions, and suffer from open wounds. Luca is sent to investigate and soon romance blooms between the two young people. Narrator Charlie Cox does an excellent job performing Isolde and Luca, as well as all the rich supporting cast—the narrator seems to almost relish playing the book’s smarmy characters. Additionally, Cox is adept at creating a sense of lingering dread and dramatic urgency. However, he is most impressive when he voices the two protagonists, so thoroughly capturing the essence of angry and fragile Isolde that listeners may forget that Cox is a male performer. Ages 14–up. A Simon Pulse hardcover.
June 11, 2012
Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl) makes a hypnotic YA debut with the first book in her planned Order of Darkness series. Set in 15th-century Italy after the Ottoman Empire captured the city of Constantinople, this historical fantasy follows two distinctive 17-year-old protagonists. Luca Vero is an alleged faerie changeling, who is kicked out of his monastery and sent on an ominous mission by the Pope: to document incidents of the uncanny that are believed to be the work of Satan and signs of approaching end times. Isolde is denied her inheritance and trapped in the role of Lady Abbess at a nunnery. Luca's first assignment sends him, his servant, and his clerk to investigate the nunnery, where women have been plagued by visions, sleep disturbances, and stigmata wounds since Isolde's arrival; she and her servant Ishraq are accused of witchcraft. Gregory creates an immersive medieval world that is under the sway of both unfounded superstitions and very real supernatural forces. Though dialogue-heavy scenes are occasionally labored, powerful imagery, picaresque humor, and a polished literary style should captivate mature readers. Ages 14âup. Agent: Anthony Mason.