Silver throat

Gr 10 Up--The wolf-sickness epidemic, fueled by a drug made from the blood of the warow who have run the city for centuries, is out of control. Juva has taken over the responsibility of hunting, slaying, and bleeding those taken by the sickness before their humanity breaks and they go on a murderous rampage. Her ultimate goal, however, is to see to the destruction of the vardari as a whole--a destruction she set in motion by freeing the captive devil they had once fed on. As the warow become more desperate for immortality-granting blood, Juva finds herself with a worsening crisis on hand. This middle book of the trilogy echoes the first by delivering a busy plot with paradoxically slow pacing, which is not mitigated by the often-awkward phrasing of the dialogue. However, the fascinating and well-constructed mythology surrounding the vardari is all-encompassing enough for some to look past those challenges. VERDICT A dense translation with the type of prose more commonly found in adult fantasy; purchase only where advanced genre fiction is needed.

After risking her life--and heart--to free Grif inIron Wolf (2023), Juva turns her attention to wolf-sickness, which continues to spread in this translated title from Norway. Grif was an extraordinary being whose addictive blood sustained the lives of the vardari for centuries and incidentally fueled Náklav's wolf-sickness epidemic. Now he's gone, Juva distracts herself from the pain of his betrayal by dispatching the wolf-sick and nurturing her cadre of abandoned girls, fellow blood readers who can sense nearby vardari. Anxious to quell the spreading crisis, Náklav's rulers order Juva to join forces with Silver Throat, a strange, charismatic priest from far-off Undst whose followers believe he can end the plague. Increasingly suspicious of Silver Throat's real intentions and his association with Eydala, a vicious rogue vardari, Juva reluctantly allies herself with--and protects--the weakened vardari whom they've targeted. As Silver Throat's plans take shape, Juva discovers Grif left her something--wolf-sickness?--along with three tiny vials of his blood. Fed to the giant stones in Nákla Henge, wolf and human blood fuels world travel and commerce. The vardari stole Grif's blood to enrich Náklev and achieve immortality--and the price has yet to be paid. This middle volume builds suspense for the climax to come. Pettersen's richly textured, Norse-infused saga features comprehensive worldbuilding studded with well-developed architectural, cultural, linguistic, and historical details and compelling characters. Flawed and conflicted, generous and passionately ethical, Juva is a deeply engaging protagonist for our time. Vast in scope, intricately plotted, and utterly original.(Fantasy. 14-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.