The Alchemists of Loom

Kova (the Air Awakens series) crafts a fascinating divided world and a more threadbare plot for her Loom epic fantasy series launch. Arianna is a young woman out for vengeance. Her people, the Fenthri, have been subjugated by the magic users called the Dragons, who live above the surface of the world of Loom on the floating Isles of Nova. Ari is old enough to remember a time when the Fenthri were free and able to choose their own paths, and she aches to toss the hated Dragons out of Fenthri lands. Ari is a chimera, a Fenthri who has absorbed body parts and blood of Dragons and become imbued with Dragon magic. With that magic and the skills she’s learned, Ari has every intention of destroying all the Dragons—until the Dragon Cvareh Xin ’Ryu Soh drops at her feet and offers her a boon if she’ll take him to the Alchemists’ Guild, where he hopes to help the Fenthri liberation cause, for reasons that remain opaque. Ari’s rationale for accepting the task rather than killing this representative of her most despised enemies is likewise unclear. The steampunk technology of the Fenthri and magic of the Dragons are nicely depicted, making up for the rather large holes in plotting and consistency. (Jan.)