Review by Booklist Review
Sim's first novel for adults is set in the city of Nexus, formerly the hub connecting the plane of life, Vitae, to the other three realms of Mortri, Noctus, and Solara. After the Sealing 500 years ago, the plane of Vitae and the nations within it are slowly running out of resources once supplied by the natural flow of energy between the realms. In Nexus, the four magic-using noble houses, one for each corresponding plane, compete to try and secure the throne of the heirless Holy King of Vaega, whether the four heirs of the houses like it or not. Taesia, Nikolas, Angelica, and Risha have known each other since they were children but now find themselves drawn not only into their parents' ambitions but into mysterious plots to use outlawed magic to reopen the barriers between the worlds. As the four heirs investigate, they will discover long-buried secrets about their city, their families, and even their gods. Recommended for fans of large-scale fantasy sagas with diverse, frequently queer protagonists.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this slogging first outing of the Dark Gods trilogy, Sim (Ravage the Dark) offers up a clunky secondary world fantasy where the heirs of four noble houses must work together to protect the eponymous city from demonic invasion. Each house descends from and worships a god of the realm: elemental-addicted Angelica Mardova's family serves Deia, god of life; stubborn Risha Vakara's serves Thana, god of death; god-forsaken Nikolas Cyr's serves Phos, god of light; and wild Taesia Lastrider's serves Nyx, god of shadows. When Taesia's brother, Dante, is linked to a group of Conjurers trying to seize magic for themselves and is arrested, the four heirs take up Dante's plan to reopen old portals to their gods, a decision that hinges unconvincingly on immature Taesia's supposed charm. Though the cultural specificity of each family and the casual diversity of the city freshens things up, it can't cancel out the awkward, backstory-heavy prose; uncomfortable, mechanical sex scenes; haphazard worldbuilding; and slow-moving plot. This is only for Sim's most devoted fans. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Literary. (Mar.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
As warring houses prepare for the death of an heirless king, a handful of young mages attempt to fix their world via forbidden magic. Taesia's world is dying. Five hundred years after the Sealing divided the Four Realms, supplies in the hub city of Nexus have begun to dwindle, and the Cosmic Scale of magical energies that once flowed freely between the Realms is now dammed up. As a spate of magical crimes stokes the public's fear of demon-summoning Conjuration magic, Taesia, the ne'er-do-well heir to House Lastrider, finds herself caught up in a conspiracy when her brother, Dante, devises a plan to use Conjuration to reverse the Sealing and restore order to their world. Dante's unexpected arrest for the murder of a public official leaves Taesia without his guidance, however, and she must work to finish what he started. Of course, as readers might expect, neither Dante nor his sister has an adequate grasp on the ramifications of their choices. Also at work are a bevy of magic users from other Realms, some of whom are angling for a shot at the throne. Although fantasy readers will appreciate Sim's attempt to create an expansive world in the vein of A Darker Shade of Magic or Gideon the Ninth, awkward infodumping crowds out any room that may have been left for character development. Perhaps more unsettling is the seemingly unending parade of names--from those of the unwieldy cast to the largely unexplained fantasy monsters--which will leave readers longing for an index. There's a lot to love here, but the novel's most interesting plot points and side characters get lost among the weeds. An ambitious work of fantasy that unfortunately overcomplicates an intriguing world full of murder and mayhem. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
