Kalyna the Cutthroat

Spector shifts focus in his fascinating if somewhat bloated second Failure of Four Kingdoms fantasy (after Kalyna the Soothsayer). It’s presented as the diary of Radiant Basket of Rainbow Shells, a Loashti scholar who ventured into Abathçodu to study the occult, and who’s relentlessly pursued by enemies who believe he’s a sorcerer. Fortunately, Dagmar Sorga, a warrior and friend of book one’s protagonist, Kalyna Aljosanovna, helps him escape. Dagmar then introduces Radiant to Kalyna, who accompanies him across Tetrarchia so that he may finally return home to Loasht, where a violent leader campaigns to eradicate Indigenous culture. The tale gets off to a slow start, introducing a new lead and delineating the various cultures and politics of the many peoples in Tetrarchia. The stakes initially feel uncertain, but the action picks up as Spector delves deeper into Radiant’s and the Loashti’s plight, and it’s a pleasure to revisit Kalyna, here scheming in the background. Though the narrative meanders, series readers will be rewarded by a satisfying payoff. Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Assoc. (Nov.)