Wednesday News

Some more interesting reviews from Harriet. I'm working on the book idea and have a second interview for a job lined up for Monday. Things may be looking up.

Sea Lord
Virginia Kantra
Berkley, May 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780425226360

Because she is the only family member without magical skills, Lucy is never included in any Worlds End demon hunting debates. Instead she is expected to remain a good girl teaching school and cleaning after her seemingly always drunken dad.

Her world radically changes when half-Selkie Prince Conn abducts her as she is the vision of his dreams that he prays will keep his people safe from a threat. Soon afterward a demon lord tries to kill her dog. Outraged Lucy decides no one will harm her or her loved ones; that is when the real odd events occur starting with the improbability of a Selkie lord falling in love with a mortal.

The third Selkie-human “Children of the Sea” romance (see SEA WITCH and SEA FEVER) is a fantastic romantic fantasy as Virginia Kantra enables the readers to look deep into the souls of a lonely single human and a Selkie. The story line is similar to the previous entries as the plot enables the reader to look deep into the hearts of the lead couple and believe in the existence of Selkie and half-breed Selkie. However, Virginia Kantra refreshes her saga by escorting her grateful fans into the realm of the Selkie. Harriet Klausner

Monster
A. Lee Martinez
Orbit, May 2009, $19.99
ISBN: 9780316041263

Monster runs a specialized pest control agency that advertises he catches pesty yeti; what he catches is placed in special in cryptobiological containment facilities as these are not rodents. One night Monster stops at the Food Plus Mart where Judy eats Rocky Road ice cream while working the late shift. He saves her life from a runaway yeti who was running wild in the frozen foods aisle.

Soon after that evening incident, Monster has to remove an infestation of trolls in Judy’s apartment. As with the yeti, Judy almost immediately forgets the paranormal events, which proves she must be a person whose mind cannot accept the existence of magic so she dumps those encounters as not being real. However, Monster does not accept coincidence as Judy seems to be the foci in the rise of deadly cryptobiological activity. Not long after her denial, Lotus, who possesses a stone linked to Judy, abducts her. Used to battling dragons, trolls and ogres, Monster follows her to save her life, but quickly realizes he is in deep trouble even more when he fights with his girlfriend who is literally from hell.

This humorous satire lampoons those street corner philosophers agonizing over how the universe began when people are malnourished, un-sheltered, and receiving no health care. The story line is fast-paced from the opening yeti assault and never slows down as Judy seems to have become the center of zany paranormal activity. Readers who believe in boiling the ocean to see what lives on ground below will pass, but the rest of the universe will enjoy Lee Martinez’s biting thriller that amusingly mocks social cosmologists who fail to see a tree in the forest. Harriet Klausner

Dead If I Do
Tate Hallaway
Berkley, May 2009, $14.00
ISBN: 9780425227534

In Madison, Wisconsin, Mercury Crossing bookstore manager Witch Garnet Lacey and her vampire fiancé Sebastian are making wedding plans when his dhampir son Matyas manages to wake up his mother, Tereza, who has been in a coma for centuries. Tereza is irate to learn her husband considers her his ex-wife. Her plan is to kill Garnet and Sebastian; as a special combo zombie, vampire and witch paranormal she might be able to achieve her objective.

In the meantime Tereza curses the engaged couple. This proves instantly successful as wedding plans collapse when everything is abruptly canceled. Losing her cools, Garnet is ready to tackle the ex as her inner Goddess Lilith is fuming for vengeance, but the bride also has new people problems to harass her with the arrival of her clueless mortal parents.

The latest Garnet Lacey urban romantic fantasy (see DEAD SEXY and TALL, DARK & DEADLY) is a lot more amusing than the previous tale (see ROMANCING THE DEAD), as Madison’s favorite witch learns a basic truism that Murphy was an optimist; nothing goes right. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Tereza curses the happy couple. Filled with angst yet amusing, DEAD IF IT DO is a terrific bewitching tale.
Harriet Klausner