Kingdom of Ruins

Fans of portal fantasy will be enthralled by the journey of a woman who’s about to quit her job before learning it’s an integral part of saving two worlds. Lori, an archeologist with a gift for finding hidden things, has inconveniently inherited atephobia, the fear of ruin, which runs in her family. However, before she can change careers, her grandfather shows her an artifact with unknown origins and she meets a mysterious man comes to view it. Needing to find out more about both of them, she follows the man to an alternate Earth on the other side of air, where “nature is aware of itself” and plants, animals, and even weather formations can take conscious action. Lori quickly plunges into the middle of a war against an evil king and an effort to break an 800-year-old curse. Marino writes lovely descriptions of natural entities and forces that get involved in the battle: “Mangroves rose up through the water and stood tall on their stilted roots to offer her help.” Fantasy readers will savor Lori’s story and the originality and beauty of this strange new world. (July)