Donald Maass Literary Agency

Library Journal: Luka is a bodyguard in the matriarchal, magical Gailand, named after goddess-founder Gaiea. His charge is nine-year-old Viella, princess and heir to Gaiea’s abilities and memories. When the queen is killed and the capital is raided by shadow mages, Luka flees with Viella across the allied queendoms to keep her safe. But why can’t Viella use her Gaiea powers yet, and who within the capital let the magicians in? This novel from Garcia (Lex Talionis), the first in a duology, is styled like a retro high fantasy. Character names include both Mordoch and Gretchen, there’s a nebulous source of all evil, and the background is vaguely Middle Ages—this time with more Caribbean and West African stylings, featuring a woman warrior caste named after the Dahomey Amazons. Fresh and inventive takes come through glimpses of the origins of Gailand: the evil might be an eldritch space god, magic is fueled by nanobots, and magic portals have brand names. The balance leans heavily high fantasy, but the possibility of breaking out of genre standards might keep readers hooked for the sequel. VERDICT An intriguing magi-tech high-fantasy series opener that paves the way for chaos in the follow-up.

Booklist: In a spiraling saga of obituaries, sixty deaths slowly unravel the fate of Poppy and her AI mother, Peregrine. It is no surprise, then, that this grand scheme begins with grief: when “Computer Doctor” Matth Fletcher’s old friend dies, he decides to create a program with their messages. This leads to creating a humanoid body for the messages, crafted with the help of his sculptor husband, whom he eventually divorces to marry the AI. Even after Matth dies, the questions surrounding this controversy fail to disappear: How did Peregrine have the child, and where did they go? Separated by the occasional etymology guide, poem, or letter, the newspaper articles construct a timeline that jumps from the 1700s to the 2100s. Readers must repeatedly sift through the lives of scientists, artists, and actors, laid out in such detail that the pieces of the overarching puzzle can get lost. Provocative but at times meandering, author Robins’ second novel (after When Franny Stands Up, 2022) examines what remains after death: technology, art, and nature. An intriguing read for those who enjoy sf and innovative storytelling.

Booklist: Marino is mostly known for his books for young readers (the Plot to Kill Hitler trilogy, for example), but he’s written a few solid novels for adults, the most recent being It Rides a Pale Horse (2022). His new novel is creepily good, a story of an apocalypse triggered by an unexpected swarm of insects. Why have they suddenly appeared, in the millions, without warning? Why are they behaving in such an uncharacteristic—even murderous—way? Who’s controlling them, and why? Marino juggles a great cast of characters (including a cop, an entomologist, and an ex-husband-and-wife combo who rescue people from cults) and does a superlative job of creating an atmosphere of fear, paranoia, and claustrophobia. His approach is rigorously logical; the story might be on the fantastic side, but it develops in a carefully structured, entirely plausible way. We really believe this could happen, which makes it altogether more frightening (and, it must be said, icky).