Darker by Four

March 1, 2024
When a god of the underworld goes missing, the balance between worlds is upset, leading to an increase in the Blight, a supernatural virus, and the number of infected souls called Revenants. Lin Rui is the top cadet at the Exorcist Guild; she's skilled in combat against Revenants and possesses unusually high levels of magic due to the circumstances surrounding her birth. Her primary ambition is to exact revenge on the Hybrid monster responsible for her mother's death. Rather than grotesque monsters, Hybrids are sentient Revenants who resemble humans--and many people don't believe they even exist. Rui secretly visits a young man named Zizi, an eclectic underground mage who specializes in powerful spells, and feelings of attraction grow between them. Their fates become entangled with that of Song Yiran, a nonmagical normie, when he's attacked by a Hybrid. When nothing else works, Rui uses one of Zizi's experimental spells, transferring her magic to Yiran, who's able to destroy the Hybrid, saving them both. Fearing the political repercussions of using Zizi's spell, which has left Rui a normie and Yiran brimming with spiritual energy, the three seek to secretly reverse the spell. The tight narrative shifts viewpoints: One storyline follows underworld god Ten as he searches for his missing brother, Four, leading to a climax that pulls everything together. This duology opener is richly infused with Chinese and Southeast Asian cultural elements. A darkly exhilarating ride rich with unraveling secrets and intrigue. (cultural note, author's note) (Fantasy. 14-18)

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April 1, 2024
Grades 10-12 A Reaper who takes dead souls; a wannabe Exorcist who kills Revenants, a spoiled rich kid, and a young master mage don't have much in common, except for their involvement with the terrifying Revenants. Rui, who seeks to kill the monsters who killed her mother, sort of befriends rich Yiran when he sort of, accidentally saves her life from one. Then there's Zizi, a mage who works on secret talismans under the notice of the Exorcist Guild and has a mysterious history that might link him to Reaper Nikai. Their intertwined stories get very interesting as the Revenants grow more powerful and frightening--and one or all of these characters might be able to stop them. At the start, there's a lot going on, but it's not long before Tan deftly pulls the threads together. Recommend this to fans of Neal Shusterman's Arc of a Scythe series or to readers of the Sandman graphic novels--Nikai and the Kings will no doubt remind them of Death and Dream.

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Starred review from May 10, 2024

Gr 8 Up-The Fourth King of Hell went missing on the Reaper Nikai's watch, Rui's mother was killed by a hybrid creature the Revenant-fighting Exorcists claim doesn't exist, and Yiran, lacking the spiritual energy to carry on the Song family legacy in the Exorcist Guild, is a disappointment about to be sent to boarding school. One thrilling battle sequence and an accidental transfer of spiritual energy later, the three find themselves united in a quiet quest to discover the Fourth King's whereabouts in the mortal realm assisted by Zizi, Rui's off-the-grid mage friend. Although the starting points of the main characters seem wildly disparate, the core of the mystery is intricately layered and comes together neatly with a satisfying snap of revealed conspiracy. The mortal world and the underworld are complex settings but the lore unfurls naturally throughout the story, couched in hilarious character interactions. Banter aside, each character-including Zizi, who is not a point-of-view character-has a depth of characterization that will compel readers who crave character-driven stories even as the adventurous plot appeals to those who desire action. The cast of characters is largely coded as East Asian and there is significant queer representation. VERDICT A book that deserves both its own anime adaptation and a spot on the shelves of any library with fantasy-loving teens.-Austin Ferraro

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