author of multiple books of speculative fiction including her trilogies Fallen World and Earth and Sky
launches her new series
Conspiracy of Magic
with its first book
Ruthless Magic
Written by Megan Crewe
Another World Press
978-1-989114001
352 pp.
Ages 13+
May 30, 2018
on
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
8 a.m.- 11:30 p.m. (EST)
at
https://www.facebook.com/events/230095127572989/
The online launch which will take place throughout the day will include:
• games
• giveaways
• a virtual book signing (you can request a signed bookplate)
• live chat from 9:30-10:30 p.m. EST, and
• guest authors visits (30 minutes each):
In the contest to keep their magic, the only options may be die… or kill.
Each year, the North American Confederation of Mages assesses every sixteen-year-old novice. Some will be chosen. The rest must undergo a procedure to destroy their magical ability unless they prove themselves in the mysterious and brutal Mages’ Exam.
Disadvantaged by her parents’ low standing, Rocío Lopez has dedicated herself to expanding her considerable talent to earn a place in the Confederation. Their rejection leaves her reeling—and determined to fight to keep her magic.
Long ashamed of his mediocre abilities, Finn Lockwood knows the Confederation accepted him only because of his prominent family. Declaring for the Exam instead means a chance to confirm his true worth.
Thrown into the testing with little preparation, Rocío and Finn find themselves becoming unlikely allies—and possibly more. But the Exam holds secrets more horrifying than either could have imagined. What are the examiners really testing them for? And as the trials become increasingly vicious, how much are they willing to sacrifice to win?
Lesley Livingston takes the fantasy reader back to the New York City of her Wondrous Strange series but veers off in another direction, now focusing on the Fennrys Wolf, the Janus Guard who'd made an extreme sacrifice at the conclusion of Tempestuous.
The Starling of the title is Mason Starling, a student and avid fencer at the venerable Gosforth Academy. Well-protected (or over-protected?) by her very wealthy father, Gunnar Starling, and eldest brother Rothgar, Mason suffers from debilitating claustrophobia, courtesy of a childhood prank played on her by her other brother, Rory, during a game of hide-and-seek in which she was locked in a shed for days. Rory is hardly the caring older brother that Roth is to Mason. And, sadly, Mason does not have the comfort of a mother, her own dying giving birth.
When Mason, Rory, and their fencing teammates at Gosforth Academy are attacked by horrible, mutable creatures during a violent storm that knocks out all power, a beautiful, naked blond man, who identifies himself as the Fennrys Wolf, comes to their aid. Beyond using his sword to fight off the creatures he calls draugr, saving the life of Calum Aristarchos, who is in love with Mason, and reassuring the claustrophobic Mason (when the group shelters itself in a cellar), the Fennrys Wolf has little to offer about himself. He knows a lot about the draugr and such, but he doesn't know how he knows it.
After Fennrys gathers some clothes from the group he's sedated with magick, he goes off in search of some answers. He is attacked by centaurs, crosses the East River over a bridge called Hell Gate to Dead Ground, and reconnects with Mason whose dark blue eyes continue to haunt and mesmerize him. Mason is similarly drawn to Fennrys. Together they piece together bits of Fennrys' memories, including finding his warehouse apartment and a cache of weapons, and practise fencing, with Mason using a sword which Fennrys gifts to her. Of course, there seem to be a lot of strange entities coming after them - draugr, fireballs, nixxies - but Fennrys is determined to keep Mason safe.
Meanwhile, through Rory who has secretly availed himself of his father's old diary, the reader learns that the Starlings had dedicated their lives to the service of the Norse gods, by vowing to help bring about Ragnarok, the catastrophic end of the world, and thus the return of the gods to the mortal realm. There are other clans, however, in service to the gods of Greek and
Celtic worlds, for example, who are just as happy to leave the mortal world
as is. But, the appearance of the Fennrys Wolf, who has walked between the mortal world and the Dead, is seen by some as a harbinger of the end or the means by which Ragnarok may begin. Sadly, unbeknownst to all, Rory who has learned to do magick is determined to follow the Starlings' destiny.
So, while Fennrys and Mason fall in love, he learns more of his tragic story and the plots to manipulate him, and she questions her choices and tries to resolve discrepancies between what she feels and what she is told. Ultimately, both Mason and Fennrys become pawns in a larger-than-life plot that could lead to the end of the world.
That synopsis doesn't even come close to the depth and layering of plots and characterizations in Starling. There's a sharp learning curve about mythological concepts from various civilizations that Lesley Livingston obviously is well versed in. When they all come together, both in conflict and in harmony, the result is a multi-layered story in which it's almost impossible to know in whom to trust. That would explain Mason's own confusion: a father who seems to love her; contemptuous and contemptible Rory but her brother just the same; Roth who the readers learn has a few secrets of his own, including an alliance with the servants of the Greek gods; Calum who wants to share with her his fears of the mer-people but blames her for his injuries; and Fennrys, to whom she is drawn and who seems to adore her but whose arrival has resulted in such mayhem.
I'm delighted that Lesley Livingston has chosen to re-introduce the Fennrys Wolf by way of his own series, especially after his heart-breaking ending in Tempestuous. And her innovative and rich melding of the Faery world with the realms of classic mythology is inspired. After all, many belief systems, including today's religions, have similar or identical premises upon which they are founded. With the addition of Mason and Fennrys' romance, sibling rivalries, peer relationships, and a classic good-versus-evil theme, Starling is that first burst of explosion at the onset of Ragnarok - it's startling, it's overwhelming, and it's just the beginning.
An additional video of Lesley Livingston recording the audio version of Starling at the CBC studios in Toronto demonstrates why listening to Lesley Livingston read her story is as much of a treat as reading it.
Crushed by her father’s relentless physical abuse and by the
unexpected departure of her older sister Lily who had promised never to leave her,
seventeen-year-old Sloane Price is already questioning the value of life, when
the dead become undead and rampage their small community of Cortege.Still referring to the suicide note she had
prepared for her sister, Sloane nonetheless follows the directives of the
announcement that purports that, “This is not a test,” while
encouraging everyone to find shelter and avoid detection. Sloane becomes part of a small group of teens
who find refuge in the town’s high school.The six students are a motley band of Cary Chen, twins Grace and Trace Casper, senior
Rhys Moreno and freshman Harrison. The
group had included Grace and Trace’s parents until they were swarmed by the
undead on the way to the high school, a loss for which Trace continues to blame
Cary.
While the six barricade all the school doors against the
thundering zombies (a word that Courtney
Summers uses sparingly, perhaps only once or twice in the book), the group
dynamics begin to evolve as the six individuals interact with one another.Harrison, the youngest at fifteen and new to
Cortege, spends a lot of time whimpering and flailing with his fear. Grace is the most compassionate, often
offering comfort, to Harrison, her brother, everyone.This is especially helpful with Trace whose antagonism
towards Cary, who seems to naturally take on a leadership stance, becomes
angrier and disdainful with every suggestion Cary makes.Thankfully, the sibling affection between
Trace and Grace keeps Trace in check most of the time.Sloane had seen this endearing familial bond
once when she was younger and, without her father’s permission, had a sleepover
at Grace’s.She still held the memory of
the love she felt there, well worth her father’s subsequent wrath.
Rhys, who Sloane remembers as one of the senior smokers that
hung around outside school in the morning, shows a surprising depth of understanding for their situation
and for Sloane, having taken note of her, before and now, recognizing her
intensity and pensive nature.But it is
Sloane who is perhaps the most confusing to the others as well as
herself, thinking that, “…it isn’t enough
to survive for the sake of surviving.” (pg. 60)
Sloane’s death wish becomes evident to Rhys after he and
Sloane leave the safety of the school to investigate a man outside who Trace is
convinced is his father and they have to defend themselves against an attack from
the undead, making some hard life and death choices.
With the added stress of discovering another person in their
midst and thus an unknown and unsecured access to the school, the six teens
find themselves changing loyalties and rationalizing their feelings and
subsequent decisions, good and bad, in favour of life and survival or
otherwise.
While many readers will call This is Not a Test a
zombie novel, just as other books are called vampire novels, the undead only
provide the premise by which Sloane and the others come together and focus
their energies for survival, or so it would seem.The zombies may be the walking dead but
Sloane acknowledges that she is the walking wounded, having “been variations of hurt all my life.”
(pg. 107)How the group changes and
adapts to new information and the consequences of their decisions (albeit in
the context of zombie attacks) makes This is Not a Test more a
psychological thriller, pitting psyches and personalities against each other,
with both the characters and the readers wondering what the true reality
is.
Having never read any of Courtney Summers earlier books (Cracked Up To Be, 2009; Some Girls
Are, 2010; Fall for Anything, 2010; all from St. Martin’s Griffin), I was not
prepared for the strength of her writing.Courtney Summers is a strong
proponent of “showing, not telling” in her craft. There are no long descriptive passages at the
onset to introduce the story elements; the first vivid description of the
walking dead that I noticed was on page 294 (28 pages before the book’s
ending).Courtney Summers' writing is rich without condescending to readers, who are treated like thinking participants, invited to read between the lines to understand the
direction of the plot and the motivations of its characters.Even the ending will leave the
reader contemplating the meaning of a single exchange with a young undead girl, so in keeping with the rest of the book.For This is Not a Test, a story about
uncertain and unfamiliar circumstances, Courtney
Summers’ writing provides the perfect conduit for sustaining the evocative
but intricate nature of the story.
Courtney Summers' website is rich in tidbits, including news that Sony has optioned this novel for a TV movie. It's worth a visit.
Reviewed from audiobook
Harper Audio
ASIN: B00309TZ04
Narrated by Lesley Livingston
6 hours, 58 minutes
2009
Tempestuous
Written by Lesley Livingston
HarperCollins
978-1–55468-455-7
361 pp.
Ages 12+
2011
Reviewed from audiobook
Harper Audio
ASIN: B004G81VZ0
Narrated by Lesley Livingston
8 hours, 39 minutes
2010
Lesley Livingston burst onto the YA literary scene in 2008 with her first novel, Wondrous Strange, which quickly won the accolades of readers and juries, winning the 2009 Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Book of the Year Award. Set in New York City, the Wondrous Strange series is an urban fantasy with the contemporary mortal world crossing paths with the hidden Faerie worlds, often as a consequence of the popular vices of revenge, greed and power.
Kelley Winslow is a young actor enjoying her first foray into professional theatre, performing in the Avalon Players' production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream. But, a chance and memorable meeting with the attractive Sonny Flannery, a Janus Guard, defender of the infrequently-opened gates between the Otherworld and the mortal realm, and Kelley's rescue of a horse from the lake in Central Park bring the Faerie world from the fiction of Kelley's script into her reality.
While Kelley attempts to explain and rid herself of the horse that magically re-appears in the apartment she shares with the beautiful Tyff, Sonny discovers evidence of a kelpie (magic-infused horse that drowns its victims) and ultimately the secret of Kelley's heritage. Through skirmishes with all manner of mortal and Otherworldly creatures, Sonny must convince Kelley of the reality and dangers of the Faerie Realm and keep her safe, while preventing the re-awakening of the deadly Wild Hunt.
In the second book, Darklight, the two young people, so desperately in love, are now forced to live in two different worlds: Sonny, still under orders from King Auberon, must destroy any remnants of the Wild Hunt in the Otherworld, while Kelley continues to perform with the Avalon Players, this time in Romeo and Juliet. After another Janus Guard, the Fennrys Wolf, tries to save Kelley from another attack in Central Park, they tumble into the Otherworld. But Kelley and Sonny's reunion is short-lived after Bob, the boucca, requests that Kelley visit the ailing Auberon and she refuses. Sonny, dealing with the jealous images Queen Mabh has shown him of Kelley with Fennrys, cannot comprehend Kelley's refusal, and seeks out Auberon himself. Happily, Kelley and Sonny are able to re-establish their love when they work together to thwart the leprechauns and the Green Magick, while attempting to save Auberon.
Sadly, Tempestuous begins with Sonny overhearing Kelley telling Tyff that she does not love him. Knowing that Faeries cannot lie, and not knowing Kelley's intentions (to keep him safe), Sonny disappears among the Lost Fae. But the murderous actions of rogue Janus Guards bring Sonny out of seclusion to fight, as does Kelley, those who would trade loyalty for power. As Shakespeare's The Tempest, the Avalon Players' current production, seems recreated in their lives, Sonny and Kelley do all they can to save each other and those for whom they care, mortal and Fae alike.
Though I've tried to give very little away regarding the plots of each book (not wanting to allude to culminating events that are key in the subsequent books), I can tell you that each book in the Wondrous Strange series has Lesley Livingston's signature wit, honest relationships, and sophisticated plotting, all embedded in the Old English folklore and the Bard's comedies and tragedies. For a special treat, listen to an audiobook of at least one volume of this series, as nothing can compare to author-actor Lesley Livingston reading her own work. Not only can she manipulate her voice to create very distinct characters, from young modern-day Kelley, to strong and loyal Sonny (with his disarming romantic side), mischievous Bob, regal Auberon, and self-absorbed Tyff, her sense of timing in the delivery of the clever repartee is impeccable. And the narrative, whether read or heard, is rife with the magick of a wordsmith who is able to forge rich tales that are emotionally engaging (whether to cheer for Kelley and Sonny's growing love, or despise the manipulations of the Faerie kings and queens) and edge-of-your-seat riveting (with chase scenes, deadly altercations, various assaults, and surprise revelations). The series may be called Wondrous Strange but it is more akin to Uniquely Wonderful.
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BOOK TRAILERS
I've put all the book trailers, uploaded by harperteen to YouTube, for the Wondrous Strange series on one page HERE for readers' perusal.
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AUTHOR TALKS
The following three videos (Lesley Livingston - On the Fly I, II and III), while not book trailers, offer a glimpse into Lesley Livingston's choices for her setting, characters and plot in the Wondrous Strange series.
