Three from Harriet

Three from Harriet. More later

In Ashes Lie
Marie Brennan
Orbit, Jun 10 2009, $14.99
ISBN: 9780316020329

In 1666 having survived the Great Plague of last year, England is now wracked by civil war as King Charles II and the Parliament battle over who is in charge. Underneath, ironically the faerie Onyx Court faces an uncertain future as the Ancient ways that have sustained them for ages is ripping apart.

In London a baker Thomas Farynor has banked the fires of his ovens to go sleep. While he is sleeping, a spark escapes turning London into an inferno. He and his daughter Hanna flee into the night. At the same that the city is burning down, another threat has arisen to both the human and Fae occupants of greater London. This annihilator destroys anything in its path; to survive and perhaps defeat this invincible foe, the mortals and the fairies must unite, but neither side trusts the other.

Based on the real event of the Great Fire of 1666, IN ASHES LIE is a superb historical urban fantasy that grips readers who will feel transported back in time due to the vivid atmosphere that makes the seventeenth century human and Fae London seem alive and real. The story line is fast-paced as a deadly inferno threatens the mortal Londoners and an even deadlier malevolence threatens both species. Sub-genre fans will relish this exhilarating Restoration Era thriller and seek its prequel (see the Elizabethan Era MIDNIGHT NEVER COMES). Harriet Klausner

Fragment
Warren Fahy
Delacorte, Jun 16 2009, $25.00
ISBN: 9780553807530

On board the ship Trident are the crew of the reality TV show SeaLife and several scientists who were promised a year of sort of Darwin like research into the exotic ocean and island life on the planet in exchange for filming the contacts. So far, the voyage into the South pacific has been filled with ennui until a beacon help signal comes from nearby Henders Island. The vessel heads there to assist those in need.

However, what greets the seafarers is a shocker. There is flora and fauna like nothing ever seen anywhere else on the planet. As several scientists are killed by the intelligent animal life, botanist Nell Duckworth realizes what has happened on this remote island; evolution took a different path approximately a half billion years ago and miraculously survived. As the US Navy blockades the island and quarantines the Trident fearing anything escaping could prove hazardous to the rest of the world’s ecosystem, the natives prove sentient and resourceful as they seek off the island.

Though an obvious link to Jurassic Park, FRAGMENT takes a different scientific spin using evolution as the basis of what lives on the island. Warren Fahy provides an exciting story line yet loads his narrative with scientific terminology and theories without dumbing it down. Readers will appreciate this super science fiction thriller that explains the evolution of reproduction and the possibility of such an island like Henders existing with the unique marsupial population of Australia that superseded mammals as the dominant species. Science and fiction rarely blend together better than this winning thriller. Harriet Klausner

Seduce the Darkness
Gena Showalter
Pocket, Jun 30 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 1416531645

Targonia Royal House Prince Devyn de bon ci Laci had spent what seemed several lifetimes being in trouble with his royal father for his womanizing of any female of any species in spite of his being betrothed to Princess Mika since birth. Now he is an agent of AIR (Alien Investigation and Removal).

Bride McKellis grew up on the streets rather fast during the Alien-Human war, but now almost eight decades later the vampiric survivalist lives in New Chicago. She smells a special odor that reminds her of her long time friend Aleha Love whom she has not seen in sixteen years. She chases after the aroma, which leads her to the egomaniacal Devyn, still a womanizer and tries to pick her up though he is Targon and she is human; and he takes her underground so she can meet more. He also knows her blood is critical to save some friends of his, but he to his shock is falling in love; she fell in love when they were still on the streets of New Chicago. As Bride begins to comprehend who she truly is, she fears she must choose between love and her destiny to save the world.

SEDUCE THE DARKNESS is a super futuristic romantic thriller that takes an interesting urban fantasy spin from the previous Alien Investigation and Removal science fiction entries (see the Alien Huntress and Teen Alien Huntress saga). The story line is fast-paced but it is the pairing of Devyn and Bride that makes the tale fun to read as ironically the womanizer has finally met his woman, but she is destiny’s darling. Gena Showalter fans will enjoy her latest New Chicago tale that twists the series into a wider range of future possibilities. Harriet Klausner