Review by Booklist Review
Mars, once known as the Shadow Fox, has been living on the straight and narrow for almost a year. But when Una, a pleasure-den owner and the woman who trained him as an assassin, sends a messenger, Mars finds himself falling back into the life he thought he left for good. The job turns out to be worse than he expected, but he needs the money to retire and get as far from Riven as he can, escaping the memories of the best friend who died on their last job. As Mars works to get close to Fura, the daughter of a man he was once hired to kill, he has to manage the person he used to be as well as the role he's now playing. Arnett (Onyx and Ivory, 2018) is practiced at creating new worlds, and there's a lot of thought built into Riven. This standalone, with its well-paced plot and fully characterized cast, is a great fit for fans of Six of Crows (2015).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Long ago, on the island of Riven, natural-born magicians, or "adepts," conducted a ritual intending to strengthen their power source, the Rift. Instead, though, they inadvertently created Ice, a magical but toxic substance that anyone--not just adepts--can wield, and which requires constant harvesting. Now the rich and powerful rule Riven, with the underprivileged mining Ice, and adepts' powers being strictly regulated, ostensibly to protect the public from their magic. Teen mercenary and secret adept Mars Darksvane fears someone will discover his abilities but lacks the resources to leave Riven. When crime boss Una Almadòttra offers him a lucrative job protecting teen heiress Fura Thorvald, he accepts, but the gig is a cover: Mars must try to persuade Fura to divulge the formula for something Una calls the Primer. Initially, payment and self-preservation are his primary concerns, but the more Mars learns about Fura and the Primer, the more conflicted he becomes. Lengthy expository worldbuilding and convenient plotting occasionally sap surprise, but escalating complications, shifting alliances, and high-stakes action, coupled with the core cast's nuanced, evolving relationships, impart tension and immediacy in this ambitious fantasy by Arnett (the Rime Chronicles). Most characters cue as white. Ages 14--up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Jan.)■
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--Arnett delivers a rich fantasy world with plenty of action. Mars Darksvane is an accomplished mercenary held in bondage to the crime boss Una Almadòttra, who rescued him from poverty as a child. His legendary status as "The Shadow Fox" comes from his secret ability to directly channel the magic which permeates Riven. Magic, however, also exists in the form of Ice, a toxic substance that is mined and tightly controlled by nine clans (kiths). Mars receives a contract to protect Fura Torvald, the daughter of a kith lord he killed. Fura doesn't know Mars's role in her father's death, and he must hide this fact from her while posing as her beloved. He's also secretly tasked to steal her father's work on a formula known as The Primer, which has the power to destroy Ice completely. Fura wants to benefit all of Riven by destroying Ice at its source, while her rivals want to steal it for personal gain. While they start at cross purposes, Mars and Fura eventually team up to a common goal and face down the threats arrayed against them. Arnett builds a consistent and vivid world, and the plot contains some good twists and tension given characters' secret agendas. But fantasy veterans will recognize a lot of familiar and predictable tropes, with a tidy and somewhat unsatisfying ending. VERDICT Recommended for larger collections with a strong fantasy readership.--Michael Van Wambeke
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A magical assassin for hire is forced into taking a gig as a bodyguard for the daughter of a man he killed; snogging ensues. As he closes in on 20, orphan Mars Darksvane has already made kills aplenty, but his latest two--one being his best friend and the other an older nobleman who turned out, just like him, to be a secret adept of blood magic--have left him tortured with guilt. It is considerably compounded when he is pressed into guarding Fura Torvald, the latter's grieving daughter. Fura, along with being beautiful and a dab hand at swordplay, is secretly working with brainier lifelong companion and lady's maid Katrìn Darksdòttra to continue her beloved father's research into destroying the poisonous Ice that powers another (more common) flavor of magic to the detriment of all but the oligarchic realm's leading families. As Fura's haughty reserve slowly melts, along with wrestling with his inner angst, Mars finds himself getting closer to Katrìn too. Various intrigues lead to a full slate of murders, fights, flights, betrayals, revelations, clinches, all leading to, in a credibility challenging climax, forgiveness in the midst of triangular unions both mystical and physical. The resolution is tidy, and while neither the magic nor the romantic entanglement makes much sense, readers may be willing to go with the flow. The central cast in this Scandinavian-inflected fantasy world reads White. Confusing worldbuilding, but it's nice to see the emotional conflicts playing out mostly in a male lead. (Fantasy. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
