Toxicity
by Andy Remic
Utopia crumbles on May 29th (US & Canada) and 7th June (UK)
£8.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-78108-003-0
$8.99/$10.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-78108-004-7
Available as an ebook
Andy Remic returns to the world of the Anarchy with another brash, no-holds-barred action!
Welcome to Manna – the utopian galaxy where all races exist in harmony. Ruled by perfect alien machines, Manna is a place of wisdom, technology and art. But on the edge of the galaxy, far away from romantic holiday cruises, hides Toxicity, a reprocessing planet where The Greenstar Company deals with all Manna’s waste. ALL of it.
But ECO terrorist Jenni Xi is fighting a cleanup war against The Company. Yet when a sabotage goes horribly wrong, she learns the future of the planet – and it’s far worse than she ever dreamed. Along with swashbuckler and bon viveur Svoolzard Koolimax and a torture model Anarchy Android known simply as The Dentist, Xi must survive on this polluted world long enough to ensure that the fate of Manna changes forever…
Remic’s irresistible blend of high-octane military SF and good old fashioned adventure is an absolute delight. Edgy, over-the-top, and provocative – Remic is the master of action!
"If you’re looking for something that mixes the sensibilities of Blackadder and an Iron Maiden album cover, with a pinch of vintage 2000 AD thrown in, then look no further."
– Financial Times on Cloneworld
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
New Reviews
DRIVEN, James Sallis, Poisoned Pen Press, $19.95, 158 pages, ISBN: 9781464200106, reviewed by Barry Hunter.
This is the follow-up adventure to DRIVE, which has been converted to a successful movie. At the end of DRIVE, Driver has decided to get out of the business and put his past behind him. We all know how that usually turns out.
It has been seven years and Driver has become Paul West and settled in Phoenix where his business is successful. He and his fiancée are walking down the street on a Saturday morning when they are attacked. Driver manages to take them both out, but discovers that Elsa, his fiancée, has been killed.
Driver enlists the aid of a friend from Desert Storm and spends the remainder of the book settling the account for Elsa. He makes no qualms in leaving a trail of bodies in order to complete his mission.
DRIVEN is a 1940s era noir story with all the trappings told in the settings of today. Sallis has written a mile a minute story that you move through like Driver handles his car at 120 mph. Be prepared to read this at one sitting. Be sure to buckle your seat belt.
The Gift of Fire / On the Head of a Pin: Two Short Novels from Crosstown to Oblivion, While Mosley, Tor, May 8 2012, $24.99, ISBN: 9780765330086, reviewed by Harriet Klauser.
“The Gift of Fire” - Prometheus escapes from Zeus’ divine punishment for his betrayal with The Gift of Fire to the mortals. Though Prometheus knows he should plead with Pluto or Neptune for asylum, he refuses to cower. Instead he hides as a human in Los Angeles with plans to give the second gift. Cops greet him by beating him. Soon afterward he calls himself Foreman Prospect and meets wino Nosome Blane who agrees to take the big man around the city. After facing a judge, Foreman continues his trek around South Central.
“On the Head of a Pin” - At Jennings-Tremont Enterprises, Joshua Winterland and Ana Fried are developing an animatronics editing technique to create movies that contain the same quality as live filming. Their method will enable the perfect blending of dead superstars with the top talent of today. However, neither is prepared for the final cut on their footage that denotes a new reality.
Somewhat different in tone, these are two superb urban fantasy novellas share in common a focus on mankind’s relatively short and low stature in the universe. This leads to a degree of separation between an African-American wino and a billionaire oil man being insignificant in the expanding realm of the big bang. Intelligent, readers will appreciate this fine two-story collection as Walter Mosley makes it look Easy switching from mystery to fantasy.
The Hot Gate, John Ringo, Baen, Apr 24 2012, $7.99, ISBN: 9781451638189, Harriet Klausner.
In the outer Solar System, the orbital gates appear as a trading boom for mankind and the Grtul, but the Horvath arrive in warships conquering Terra (see Live Free or Die). As humanity quickly teetered on the brink of extinction, tycoon Tyler Vernon converted the large asteroid Troy into a tremendous battle station that along with the Solar Array Pumped Laser humans was used to drive away the invaders from the Sol System. However, an even more dangerous threat entered the system as the reptilian Rangora began a deadly serpentine blitzkrieg (see Citadel).
Though earthlings have battled back, the threat remains ominous. To survive and thrive they must go where no one has dared ventured before: into the heart of the Rangora horde. Tyler Vernon and his unit aboard Troy begin the suicidal counter assault.
The latest Troy Rising storyline starts slow with a deep but irrelevant look into relationships in various cultures before finally turning back into the war of the solar systems. When the plot returns to its military science fiction theme, the tale goes into hyperspeed as readers anticipate the deadly confrontation that affirms Stalin’s commentary: "When one man dies it is a tragedy, when thousands die its statistics.”
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Fantasy Reviews
Witchful Thinking
H. P. Mallory
Bantam, $7.99
ISBN: 9780345531452
Almost thirty, fortuneteller Jolie Wilkins gave up on dating after the last few losers were deader than the reanimated she has brought back from beyond. Her self-image is pitiful; however, that was when she was just another mundane human trying to eke out a living. Her world spun off its axis when Rand the Warlock entered her shop. Soon afterward, she becomes a witch resurrected from the dead by Mercedes. Jolie is proclaimed the Queen of the Underworld of vampire, werewolf, fae, and witches; she has no earthly or other plane understanding of why or how it happened except some ties back to 1878 where she almost killed Rand.
Even more confusing for the new royal is Rand the hunk seems to want her. Throwing her already out of control life further into chaos is Sinjin the vampire who desires her Highness while vowing to protect her. Not used to one man coveting her let alone two, Jolie cannot make up her mind. However, Jolie has no time to ponder choosing one as a deadly paranormal species threatens genocide of her subjects even while she begins to learn governance is not a matchbook cover endeavor.
This is an engaging urban fantasy starring a self-deprecating heroine and two hunks who vie for her affection. The storyline starts off a bit choppy as the backstory (from self-published E-books) is provided. Once the game is set, Witchful Thinking turns into a wonderful amusing thriller as the paranormal seem real in the Mallory mythos. Wisenheimer Jolie makes the tale as she struggles with two males wanting her, preventing ethnic cleansing by malevolent mobsters, and learning governance of four conflicted species (like post Tito Yugoslavia). Harriet Klausner
Burned
J.F. Lewis
Pocket, $7.99
ISBN: 9781451651867
Eric Courtney the vampire wonders how killing one evil vampire ruler could cause such sh*tty chaos in Void City. His Mouser Talbot explained many time over the past year that it is easier to criticize the opposition than to rule. Still Eric in spite of his tumultuous tsuris as the city’s leader, would kill again; as Lord Phillip, the twisted late city ruler, deserved to die for his assault on Courtney’s adopted lunatic daughter Greta. Now by default he is the ruler of a lunacy ridden Void City as the riffraff has risen to the surface with Phil’s demise.
Responsibility sucks, but it is time for to begin the Big Plan. First is to kill immortal VCPD Captain Stacey the crooked Mouser running unlawful enforcement due to a deal with the Mages Guild. That is if Eric can remember not to step out of the squad car into the sun as his Alzheimer’s syndrome can make him forget to stay out of the sun.. He orders Stacey to leave his hole and meet him at a scene where many cops lay comatose thanks to his Eric’s mage Magbidion. Step two is to place Greta as sheriff; her crazed credo is to kill first and ask questions afterward. The final transformation is hell breaks loose in Void City as Lord Eric demands loyalty or else. That’s just the job; his personal life is even more screwed up with family curses and cursed females.
The latest Void City fantasy (see Crossed, Revamped and Staked) is a fabulous satirical noir starring an antihero whose attitude switches from bad ass leave me alone to bad ass I’m in charge. Fans will enjoy his “transformation” while he deals with myriad of paranormal species with demons always lurking in the gut. Harriet Klausner
The Dread
Gail Z. Martin
Orbit, $7.99
ISBN: 9780316093613
Weary of war but knowing hostilities are heating up; tired King Donelan of Isencroft goes to lie down in his bed. However, an assassin rigged a bow contraption underneath, which is activated when the monarch’s weight hit the bed. The ruler is dead and the kingdom is on the verge of civil war. Donelan’s daughter Queen Kiara Sharsequin Drayke leaves her husband and child behind in Margolan to go home as the monarch and prevent the civil war at a time when external crisis threatens the country.
Elsewhere in the Winter Kingdoms, trouble has returned with the bellicose rise of normally isolated Temnotta. At the same time, Kiara’s mate Summoner-King Martris Drayke (see Chronicles of the Necromancer) struggles with sorcery and steel combat coming to his nation at a time Tris fears for the soul of his infant child while he must use forbidden magic to deal the rise of the Dread.
The latest Fallen King’s Cycle political-military fantasy (see The Sworn) starts off with the shocking assassination, but slows down immediately afterward while the numerous subplots are established. Once done, the storyline accelerates into a rousing thriller as war has returned to the Winter Kingdoms. Filled with minute details, fans will believe they traverse the dangerous realms of the Martin mythos. Harriet Klausner
The Galahad Legacy
Dom Testa
Tor Teen, $17.99
ISBN: 9780765321121
On earth, mankind is dying out. Only 250 chosen teens were sent into space on board the Galahad to find a new home for what is left of the species (see The Cassini Code). One year away from their home, the survivors have faced a difficult journey, but so far prove that the adults who selected them picked those with the right stuff. However, the latest problem seems insurmountable as the vessel is falling apart having gone through the normal rigor of outer space, but amplified by alien attacks, internal sabotage and worm hole devastation (see The Comet’s Curse and The Web of Titan). Days remain with no exit strategy as a virus loaded to the computer has speed up the doomsday countdown.
That is until Council leader Triana Martell returns from her journey through a wormhole (see Cosmic Storm). Accompanying her back to the Galahad is the ambassador of the Dollovit who offers them a chance to survive but at what price.
This is a strong finish to a great teenage science fiction thriller. The storyline is fast-paced as the leader returns with an option that may save the crew but can they trust this alien race after meeting a bellicose species early in their journey. Readers will enjoy the adventures of the space crew Galahad as Dom Testa provides a fabulous space odyssey in which he sums up in his afterward note to his audience that like those on board, the cool person is the smart person. Harriet Klausner
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Veterans News
VA Adding Family Therapists and Mental Health Counselors to Workforce
Follows Announcement of Additional 1900 Mental Health Staff Nationwide
The Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded its mental health services to include professionals from two additional health care fields: marriage and family therapists (MFT) and licensed professional mental health counselors (LPMHC).
“The addition of these two mental health professions is an important part of VA’s mission to expand access to mental health services,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Veterans and their families can face unique challenges. By providing a complete range of services, we can help them address those challenges and help keep more families together.”
The two fields will be included in the hiring of an additional 1,900 mental health staff nationwide that VA announced last week. Recruitment and hiring will be done at the local level. The new professionals will provide mental health diagnostic and psychosocial treatment services for Veterans and their families in coordination with existing mental health professionals at VA’s medical centers, community-based outpatient clinics, and Vet Centers.
VA has developed qualification standards for employment as LPMHCs and MFTs and has announced the appointments of mental health and health science professionals to serve on professional standards boards. The boards will review applicants for LPMHC and MFT positions in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to determine eligibility for employment and the government grade level appropriate for the individual in the selected position. The boards will also review promotions in these positions.
For more information about mental health care that VA provides, visit: http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/
Follows Announcement of Additional 1900 Mental Health Staff Nationwide
The Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded its mental health services to include professionals from two additional health care fields: marriage and family therapists (MFT) and licensed professional mental health counselors (LPMHC).
“The addition of these two mental health professions is an important part of VA’s mission to expand access to mental health services,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Veterans and their families can face unique challenges. By providing a complete range of services, we can help them address those challenges and help keep more families together.”
The two fields will be included in the hiring of an additional 1,900 mental health staff nationwide that VA announced last week. Recruitment and hiring will be done at the local level. The new professionals will provide mental health diagnostic and psychosocial treatment services for Veterans and their families in coordination with existing mental health professionals at VA’s medical centers, community-based outpatient clinics, and Vet Centers.
VA has developed qualification standards for employment as LPMHCs and MFTs and has announced the appointments of mental health and health science professionals to serve on professional standards boards. The boards will review applicants for LPMHC and MFT positions in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to determine eligibility for employment and the government grade level appropriate for the individual in the selected position. The boards will also review promotions in these positions.
For more information about mental health care that VA provides, visit: http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Harmony/alt.human Press Release
Harmony
May 29th (US & Canada)
$8.99/$10.99 ISBN 978-1-78108-001-6
alt.human
7th June (UK)
£7.99 ISBN 978-1-78108-002-3
by Keith Brooke
Available as an ebook
The aliens are here. They always have been. And now, one by one, they’re destroying our cities.
Dodge Mercer deals in identities - until the day he deals the wrong identity and clan war breaks out. Hope Burren has no identity, and no past, struggling with a relentless choir of voices filling her head.
In a world where nothing is as it seems, where humans are segregated and aliens can sing realities and tear worlds apart, Dodge and Hope lead a ragged band of survivors in a search for the rumoured sanctuary of Harmony, and what may be the only hope for humankind.
Keith Brooke forces us to look again at the idea of alien invasion, abandoning tired cliché and instead creating an all-too-real world where mankind faces extinction. With his crystal clear prose and vivid imaginative storytelling, Harmony/alt.human promises to reinvigorate one of the oldest themes in SF.
“a startlingly new take on the theme of an Earth under alien occupation. Keith Brooke's vivid, high-definition prose makes us see it all with magnificent clarity, as if we were there, sharing the ruins and rubble with his strange but all too human characters.” – Alastair Reynolds
May 29th (US & Canada)
$8.99/$10.99 ISBN 978-1-78108-001-6
alt.human
7th June (UK)
£7.99 ISBN 978-1-78108-002-3
by Keith Brooke
Available as an ebook
The aliens are here. They always have been. And now, one by one, they’re destroying our cities.
Dodge Mercer deals in identities - until the day he deals the wrong identity and clan war breaks out. Hope Burren has no identity, and no past, struggling with a relentless choir of voices filling her head.
In a world where nothing is as it seems, where humans are segregated and aliens can sing realities and tear worlds apart, Dodge and Hope lead a ragged band of survivors in a search for the rumoured sanctuary of Harmony, and what may be the only hope for humankind.
Keith Brooke forces us to look again at the idea of alien invasion, abandoning tired cliché and instead creating an all-too-real world where mankind faces extinction. With his crystal clear prose and vivid imaginative storytelling, Harmony/alt.human promises to reinvigorate one of the oldest themes in SF.
“a startlingly new take on the theme of an Earth under alien occupation. Keith Brooke's vivid, high-definition prose makes us see it all with magnificent clarity, as if we were there, sharing the ruins and rubble with his strange but all too human characters.” – Alastair Reynolds
Monday, April 23, 2012
Fantasy Reviews from Harriet
Bloodrose
Andrea Cremer
Philomel, Jan 3 2012, $18.99
ISBN: 9780399256127
Bellicose Calla knows if she is to be the Alpha of her pack, she must prove her leadership skills in combat and choose a mate. Ren and Shay vie to be that male. However, Calla makes it clear to both competitors and her pack she will not select anyone until the Keepers and their magic are defeated.
Calla also shows her loyalty when she protects her brother Ansrel, stripped of his essence, from those who want to kill him for being a traitor. However, it is what she prays is the final battle that she focuses on; a war Calla does not expect to survive and if she does she knows she will live with regret of having led brave warriors to their deaths; though she feels she had no choice.
The final Nightshade fantasy (see Nightshade and Wolfsbane) is an exciting thriller starring a heroine who was forced to detach her feelings for others in order to lead her side in war as she knows she will leave brothers and sisters in arms dead and maimed. A stunning twist adds to the realism that people die in war. Andrea Cremer provides a shocking but strong finish to an intriguing trilogy. Harriet Klausner
Eternity’s Mark
Maeve Greyson
Kensington Brava, Mar 1 2012, $14.00
ISBN: 9780758273390
On Jasper Mills, veterinarian Hannah MacPherson grieves the death of her husband though he died in Iraq four years ago. Frustrated by her lack of response to the missives he sent to the stubborn Hannah that she inherited a Scottish castle, dragon-human Taggart de Gaelson arrives in Jasper Mills to bring her to Taroc Na Mor. Though wary, she goes to Scotland with Taggart.
He and his race need her to save his breed as she is the last sacred guardian of the Draecna magical dragons who guard the portal between worlds. Hannah is a whisperer who talks with animals. Taggart believes her uncanny skill will bring out the hatchlings from their eggs. However, she soon finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the bitter war between brothers.
This is an award winning entertaining romantic urban fantasy starring a stubborn American and a desperate hybrid. The romance seems too stereotypical as a woman in mourning for several years attracted to an outsider wanting to disrupt her life is a sub-genre staple. However, the dragons waging an inbreeding dark good and evil civil war with the Yank tilting the edge to one side makes for an exciting thriller. Harriet Klausner
Nightborn
Lynn Viehl
Signet, Mar 6 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451413215
The High Lord of the Immortal Darkyn wants the alleged scrolls that contain the secrets to immortal life and the maps that lead to Templar treasure buried in the early fourteenth century. He sends his best warrior Korvel to France to obtain the scrolls.
As he drives the worst road in France, Korvel is warned others are making an attempt too. Soon he is attacked and hurt, but defeats his enemy, but is aware more await him. His quest leads Korvel to Simone, the daughter of the scroll’s guardian. She seeks them too in order to return them to safety. As they team up with killers pursuing them, they begin to fall in love, but Simone fails to inform her new partner that once she obtains the scrolls, she is to kill Korvel.
The first Lords of the Darkyn romantic urban fantasy is a great entry inside the magnificent mythological world of Lynn Viehl. The storyline is fast-paced from the first assassination attempt until the final confrontation as readers will wonder whether Simone will complete the mission as ordered. Fast-paced, fans will appreciate the opening act in the new trilogy due to the strong protagonists who make the Viehl realm exciting to visit. Harriet Klausner
Eye of the Sword
Karyn Henley
WaterBrook, Mar 13 2012, $9.99
ISBN: 9780307730145
In Camrithia, King Laetham completes the ceremony that makes Trevin a comain military leader. At the same time, Dregmoorian Prince Varic arrives at the castle with a peace proposal that Laetham considers as a means to end the raids from his neighbor to the east. Varic offers to marry Princess Melaia, who Trevin loves. Daughter of a late angel, Melaia tells her father that she will wed Trevin only, but after she obtains the three missing harps that will restore The Wisdom Tree.
Laetham sends Trevin on a mission to find the missing comain; while Melaia asks him to bring back the harps; one of which is possessed by the Dregmoorian Secondborn Benasin. Trevin loathes leaving her with Varic, the sly treacherous heir to the Dregmoorian throne. Still he leaves on his missions to prove his worthiness to his beloved Princess and himself. On his horse Alamarin who once had wings, Trevin’s journey begins when his steed leads him to Eldarra Prince Resarian and the Golden. As Varic tries to kill him, Trevin’s horrible deeds while working for the Dregmoorian FirstBorn Lord Rejius, haunts him.
The second Angelaeon Circle thriller (see Breath of Angel) is an exhilarating quest fantasy starring an honorable champion who’s driven by his love for the princess and his obsession to for redemption. The storyline is action-packed from the moment the vile Varic and the tense Trevin meet and never slows down until the readers learn why the Dregmoorian heir wants the newest Camrithia comain dead. Though it behooves the audience to read the first tale to better understand the complex Henley mythos, fans will enjoy walking and riding in a realm where the Angelaeon interact with people and often rule. Harriet Klausner
Andrea Cremer
Philomel, Jan 3 2012, $18.99
ISBN: 9780399256127
Bellicose Calla knows if she is to be the Alpha of her pack, she must prove her leadership skills in combat and choose a mate. Ren and Shay vie to be that male. However, Calla makes it clear to both competitors and her pack she will not select anyone until the Keepers and their magic are defeated.
Calla also shows her loyalty when she protects her brother Ansrel, stripped of his essence, from those who want to kill him for being a traitor. However, it is what she prays is the final battle that she focuses on; a war Calla does not expect to survive and if she does she knows she will live with regret of having led brave warriors to their deaths; though she feels she had no choice.
The final Nightshade fantasy (see Nightshade and Wolfsbane) is an exciting thriller starring a heroine who was forced to detach her feelings for others in order to lead her side in war as she knows she will leave brothers and sisters in arms dead and maimed. A stunning twist adds to the realism that people die in war. Andrea Cremer provides a shocking but strong finish to an intriguing trilogy. Harriet Klausner
Eternity’s Mark
Maeve Greyson
Kensington Brava, Mar 1 2012, $14.00
ISBN: 9780758273390
On Jasper Mills, veterinarian Hannah MacPherson grieves the death of her husband though he died in Iraq four years ago. Frustrated by her lack of response to the missives he sent to the stubborn Hannah that she inherited a Scottish castle, dragon-human Taggart de Gaelson arrives in Jasper Mills to bring her to Taroc Na Mor. Though wary, she goes to Scotland with Taggart.
He and his race need her to save his breed as she is the last sacred guardian of the Draecna magical dragons who guard the portal between worlds. Hannah is a whisperer who talks with animals. Taggart believes her uncanny skill will bring out the hatchlings from their eggs. However, she soon finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the bitter war between brothers.
This is an award winning entertaining romantic urban fantasy starring a stubborn American and a desperate hybrid. The romance seems too stereotypical as a woman in mourning for several years attracted to an outsider wanting to disrupt her life is a sub-genre staple. However, the dragons waging an inbreeding dark good and evil civil war with the Yank tilting the edge to one side makes for an exciting thriller. Harriet Klausner
Nightborn
Lynn Viehl
Signet, Mar 6 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451413215
The High Lord of the Immortal Darkyn wants the alleged scrolls that contain the secrets to immortal life and the maps that lead to Templar treasure buried in the early fourteenth century. He sends his best warrior Korvel to France to obtain the scrolls.
As he drives the worst road in France, Korvel is warned others are making an attempt too. Soon he is attacked and hurt, but defeats his enemy, but is aware more await him. His quest leads Korvel to Simone, the daughter of the scroll’s guardian. She seeks them too in order to return them to safety. As they team up with killers pursuing them, they begin to fall in love, but Simone fails to inform her new partner that once she obtains the scrolls, she is to kill Korvel.
The first Lords of the Darkyn romantic urban fantasy is a great entry inside the magnificent mythological world of Lynn Viehl. The storyline is fast-paced from the first assassination attempt until the final confrontation as readers will wonder whether Simone will complete the mission as ordered. Fast-paced, fans will appreciate the opening act in the new trilogy due to the strong protagonists who make the Viehl realm exciting to visit. Harriet Klausner
Eye of the Sword
Karyn Henley
WaterBrook, Mar 13 2012, $9.99
ISBN: 9780307730145
In Camrithia, King Laetham completes the ceremony that makes Trevin a comain military leader. At the same time, Dregmoorian Prince Varic arrives at the castle with a peace proposal that Laetham considers as a means to end the raids from his neighbor to the east. Varic offers to marry Princess Melaia, who Trevin loves. Daughter of a late angel, Melaia tells her father that she will wed Trevin only, but after she obtains the three missing harps that will restore The Wisdom Tree.
Laetham sends Trevin on a mission to find the missing comain; while Melaia asks him to bring back the harps; one of which is possessed by the Dregmoorian Secondborn Benasin. Trevin loathes leaving her with Varic, the sly treacherous heir to the Dregmoorian throne. Still he leaves on his missions to prove his worthiness to his beloved Princess and himself. On his horse Alamarin who once had wings, Trevin’s journey begins when his steed leads him to Eldarra Prince Resarian and the Golden. As Varic tries to kill him, Trevin’s horrible deeds while working for the Dregmoorian FirstBorn Lord Rejius, haunts him.
The second Angelaeon Circle thriller (see Breath of Angel) is an exhilarating quest fantasy starring an honorable champion who’s driven by his love for the princess and his obsession to for redemption. The storyline is action-packed from the moment the vile Varic and the tense Trevin meet and never slows down until the readers learn why the Dregmoorian heir wants the newest Camrithia comain dead. Though it behooves the audience to read the first tale to better understand the complex Henley mythos, fans will enjoy walking and riding in a realm where the Angelaeon interact with people and often rule. Harriet Klausner
Sunday, April 22, 2012
The Unseen, The Kingdom, Spellcaster, and Fair Coin Reviewed
The Unseen
Heather Graham’
Mira, Mar 27 2012, $24.95
ISBN: 9780778313298
In 1835 in San Antonio, someone brutally murders a woman in room 207 of the Longhorn Saloon. One year ago in the same location as the nineteenth century homicide, another woman was apparently killed, but her body vanished. One month ago, battered dead young female bodies begin to appear all over city; some disappeared a long time ago.
Texas Ranger Logan Raintree leads a task force of paranormal law enforcement operatives investigating the murders. While he communicates with the dead, on his team is U.S. Marshal Kelsey O’Brien who sees the past. She is staying at the Longhorn where the 1835 and last year homicides occurred. The pair combines their extrasensory perception skills to obtain clues from the deceased in order to end a serial killer’s reign of terror.
The Unseen is an exciting paranormal police procedural starring two dedicated individuals with special talent and San Antonio. The city comes alive during The Texas War of Independence and in the present; especially vivid is the Alamo. Although the gory killings somewhat diminish the frightening level, fans will enjoy Heather Graham’s entertaining ghost story. Harriet Klausner
The Kingdom
Amanda Stevens
Mira, Mar 27 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780778312772
Amelia “Graveyard Queen” Gray is renowned for her talent to restore lost respect to neglected cemeteries. Luna Kemper hires her to repair Thorngate Cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina at the foothills of the Blue Ridge. She soon learns there are two Thorngate cemeteries. The original one is below locally named Bell Lake, found on maps as the Asher Reservoir; the other was once called Asher Cemetery.
Amelia also feels drawn to a remote concealed but reverently kept grave in woods near a cave. She senses evil throughout the dying rural town that lost everything when prominent Pell Asher sold his soul for the reservoir. However, Amelia is uncertain whether what she feels is caused by the irreverence towards the dead or by her growing consciousness of her past. One thing she decides is to help the dead rest easy and mend the broken souls of the town; but first the Restorer needs to know what has caused the slow death of Asher Falls.
The second chilling Graveyard Queen thriller (see The Restorer) is a great urban fantasy that makes ghosts feel real alongside of predatory breathers. The story line is fast-paced and loaded with action that grips the reader from the moment she meets the grandson of still living Pell, Thane Asher, who says the dead want to not be forgotten. Sub-genre fans will appreciate this dark yet somehow hopeful tale. Harriet Klausner
Spellcaster
Cara Lynn Shultz
Harlequin Teen, Mar 27 2012, $9.99
ISBN: 9780373210503
Four months ago in Manhattan, Vincent Academy students Emma Connor and Brendan Salinger broke a centuries-old curse that haunted them when he risked his life to save her from an evil student (see Spellbound). They have become a happy couple.
However, their little Upper east Side Eden has serpents. Emma’s witch mentor Angelique seems upset whenever she hears Brendan’s name. His mother pressures him to end his relationship with the Jersey orphan. Finally Angelique senses an unknown adversary stalks Emma while somehow revealing inner secrets of the couple in order to force a wedge in her relationship with Brendan. This foe plans to dine on her blood to gain her untapped power unless Brendan and Angelique can put aside their differences to keep her safe.
Spellcaster is an exciting teen romantic urban fantasy with a strong cast who makes the paranormal seemingly normal. Initially breezy with cute (don’t say that world to Brendan) young love, the storyline turns dark as a nasty powerful malevolence begins preying on the lead couple. Readers will enjoy Cara Lynn Shultz’s sensational Spellbound story. Harriet Klausner
Fair Coin
E.C. Myers
PYR, Mar 27 2012, $16.95
ISBN: 9781616146092
Summerside High student sixteen-year-old Ephraim “Eph” Scott stayed a little later than usual at the school hoping to talk to Jena Kim. He came home to find his mom unconscious after taking pills and alcohol. He wakes her but she says he is dead as she saw his body. Eph dials 911. Hospital employee Mrs. Morales, whose twin daughters are in Eph’s English class, informs him that a boy who resembled him carrying his library card was hit by a bus. His mother was shown the body.
Eph looks at the belonging given to his mom of the dead person. He finds his library card and a commemorative quarter stamped Puerto Rico 1998. He soon learns flipping the coin while making a wish will grant whatever you ask. Coping, Eph wants two things: his mom to be a better parent stating with going cold turkey and Jena the geeky brain to reciprocate his attraction. Excited, he tells his best friend Nathan who obsessively wants to use the coin and will do anything including kill to possess it as Eph’s simple wishes have a monstrous butterfly effect on him and several degrees beyond his social circle.
Using hyperbolic teen stereotypes and chaos theory, E.C. Myers provides a terrific young adult science fiction tale. The coin’s impacts are not always positive as Eph learns you get what you wish for. Readers will enjoy this teenage twentieth-first century version of the early twentieth century horror thriller The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs. Harriet Klausner
Friday, April 20, 2012
Harriet's Reviews
Jack of Ravens
Mark Chadbourn
PYR, Mar 27 2012, $17.95
ISBN: 9781616146078
London based archeologist Jack “Church” Churchill walks out of the fog with one objective: to get back to his beloved Ruth. He is confused as he has no idea where he is, why he carries an ancient sword, and where all this blood came from as if he murdered someone with his weapon. His instincts tell him to keep moving, but he ignores this inner warning to focus on his situation when a giant at least twenty-five feet grabs Church. Six men speaking Gaulish Celtic attack the giant. Church kills him with his sword. Even more bewildering is the language his rescuers speak is only used in a university. They take the “giantkiller” to Etain the healer even as he notices no roads or planes.
Church realizes somehow he is in Celtic Britain. He wants to go home. Soon Church reaches the Otherworld home of the gods where he plans to relax over the centuries until he is back with Ruth. However, Church is unaware why he was exiled back in time; a malevolence needs him to never to return in order to complete the End-Times plan.
The first Kingdom of the Serpent is an action-packed epic thriller that races through time at rapid speed with chapters dedicated to different eras like the Romans, Elizabethan, and the Nazis air Blitz (and even Civil Rights movement twentieth century America). Spinning his own Brother and Sister of Dragons epic sword and sorcery saga, Mark Chadbourn provides a great thriller as evil does not want the return of Church to his biological era, but will soon learn they don’t know Jack. Harriet Klausner
A Clash of Kings
George R. R. Martin
Bantam, Mar 6 2012, $8.99
ISBN: 9780345535429
The comet streaks across the sky of the fractured Seven Kingdoms. A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. The six prime rivals for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms interpret the bloody fiery trail to fit their needs.
Once the heir apparent, Stannis believes the comet means the time to attack Westros with sorcery and an army is now. In King's Landing, teenage King Joffery proves a poor abusive monatch leaving his uncle Tyrion the King’s Hand to protect their subjects. In the north Tyrion’s father Tywin battles against Stark and her militia while another son Jaime is a prisoner of war. From the South, Renly needs to eliminate his brother Stannis before he begins his assault on King's Landing. Finally in the distant east, resolute Daenerys leads her Khalhaser dragon horde towards Westros. The various hostilities by rulers against each other turn the Seven Kingdoms into a chaotic lawless land
The second A Game of Thrones fantasy (see A Song of Ice and Fire) is a superb entry in which political and military alliances mean little as ambition to sit on the Iron Throne remains everything for most of the competitors. The innocent are collateral damage as their plight from marauding soldiers and vicious outlaws are meaningless to most of the pretenders. Loaded with action while rotating effortlessly perspectives, the aptly titled A Clash of Kings is a powerful tale.
Harriet Klausner
Soul Bound
Mari Mancusi
Berkley, Mar 6 2012, $9.99
ISBN: 9780425245477
Identical twins Sunny and Rayne McDonald have totally opposite desires as one is all sun and the other is all rain. Rayne desperately wants to become a vampire; while Sunny wants to live a normal life. Due to Magnus the vampire biting Sunny instead of Rayne, the “wrong’ twin is changed. Drinking from the Holy Grail returns Sunny to normal. Sunny and Magnus are on the run because they disobeyed a direct order from Pyrus, who plots to control the Vampire Consortium and then the world.
Pyrus hires Slayer Inc. to bring him the treasonous duet. Slayer Inc. assigns Rayne and her boyfriend Jareth to capture Sunny and Magnus to deliver them to the Vampire Consortium. Rayne is distraught as she would do just anything for her sister, but failure to complete the mission means the deaths of all the Blood Coven vampires as well as herself and her boyfriend. Complicating matters for Rayne is when she learns another slayer with a grudge is on the hunt too. Her life turns even more hellish when a god orders her to choose between Sunny and Jareth.
The latest A Blood Coven Vampire urban fantasy (see Blood Ties) continues the bloody darker spin that started when the twins attended Night School in Switzerland. Rayne tells the tale as she faces increasingly impossible dilemmas that shake her inner soul. Her growing maturity (she has come a long way since Boys That Bite and Stake That) shines through the darkness as she struggles with choosing the lesser of two evils. This is a character driven, fast-paced exciting teen urban fantasy. Harriet Klausner
Chrysanthe
Yves Meynard
Tor, Mar 13 2012, $15.99
ISBN: 9780765330260
Her Uncle told Christine when she was little that her Father was gone. Because of her violent tendencies she began seeing Dr. Almand. He persuaded her into believing her Father was abusive. At seventeen, Christine sees a young man hitting his brakes abruptly seemingly upon noticing her. Quentin of Lydia sends her note to meet him at Telzer Park. She knows who the author is and decides to confront him. Quentin says he searched for her for nine years as the lost Princess and heir to the throne of Chrysanthe. He explains she was kidnapped.
Quentin escorts Christine home. However, she loathes her sire King Edisthen, as she has the thoughts planted in her brain by Almand of her father sexually abusing and abandoning her. Christine also has an enemy lurking nearby; as Evered, who abducted her years ago, plots to take the throne that he believes is rightfully his. He refuses to accept the Law that deposed his father from the throne.
This is a complicated fantasy that philosophically questions what reality is. The fascinating storyline leisurely (and too poetical with so much darkness) peels away the false from the truth. Though none of the cast comes across fully developed as even the protagonist is limited to her flawed “memories”, fans who appreciate a metaphysical psychological thriller will ponder whether the truth is Christine’s implanted recollection since she believes them as being her own. Harriet Klausner
Mark Chadbourn
PYR, Mar 27 2012, $17.95
ISBN: 9781616146078
London based archeologist Jack “Church” Churchill walks out of the fog with one objective: to get back to his beloved Ruth. He is confused as he has no idea where he is, why he carries an ancient sword, and where all this blood came from as if he murdered someone with his weapon. His instincts tell him to keep moving, but he ignores this inner warning to focus on his situation when a giant at least twenty-five feet grabs Church. Six men speaking Gaulish Celtic attack the giant. Church kills him with his sword. Even more bewildering is the language his rescuers speak is only used in a university. They take the “giantkiller” to Etain the healer even as he notices no roads or planes.
Church realizes somehow he is in Celtic Britain. He wants to go home. Soon Church reaches the Otherworld home of the gods where he plans to relax over the centuries until he is back with Ruth. However, Church is unaware why he was exiled back in time; a malevolence needs him to never to return in order to complete the End-Times plan.
The first Kingdom of the Serpent is an action-packed epic thriller that races through time at rapid speed with chapters dedicated to different eras like the Romans, Elizabethan, and the Nazis air Blitz (and even Civil Rights movement twentieth century America). Spinning his own Brother and Sister of Dragons epic sword and sorcery saga, Mark Chadbourn provides a great thriller as evil does not want the return of Church to his biological era, but will soon learn they don’t know Jack. Harriet Klausner
A Clash of Kings
George R. R. Martin
Bantam, Mar 6 2012, $8.99
ISBN: 9780345535429
The comet streaks across the sky of the fractured Seven Kingdoms. A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. The six prime rivals for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms interpret the bloody fiery trail to fit their needs.
Once the heir apparent, Stannis believes the comet means the time to attack Westros with sorcery and an army is now. In King's Landing, teenage King Joffery proves a poor abusive monatch leaving his uncle Tyrion the King’s Hand to protect their subjects. In the north Tyrion’s father Tywin battles against Stark and her militia while another son Jaime is a prisoner of war. From the South, Renly needs to eliminate his brother Stannis before he begins his assault on King's Landing. Finally in the distant east, resolute Daenerys leads her Khalhaser dragon horde towards Westros. The various hostilities by rulers against each other turn the Seven Kingdoms into a chaotic lawless land
The second A Game of Thrones fantasy (see A Song of Ice and Fire) is a superb entry in which political and military alliances mean little as ambition to sit on the Iron Throne remains everything for most of the competitors. The innocent are collateral damage as their plight from marauding soldiers and vicious outlaws are meaningless to most of the pretenders. Loaded with action while rotating effortlessly perspectives, the aptly titled A Clash of Kings is a powerful tale.
Harriet Klausner
Soul Bound
Mari Mancusi
Berkley, Mar 6 2012, $9.99
ISBN: 9780425245477
Identical twins Sunny and Rayne McDonald have totally opposite desires as one is all sun and the other is all rain. Rayne desperately wants to become a vampire; while Sunny wants to live a normal life. Due to Magnus the vampire biting Sunny instead of Rayne, the “wrong’ twin is changed. Drinking from the Holy Grail returns Sunny to normal. Sunny and Magnus are on the run because they disobeyed a direct order from Pyrus, who plots to control the Vampire Consortium and then the world.
Pyrus hires Slayer Inc. to bring him the treasonous duet. Slayer Inc. assigns Rayne and her boyfriend Jareth to capture Sunny and Magnus to deliver them to the Vampire Consortium. Rayne is distraught as she would do just anything for her sister, but failure to complete the mission means the deaths of all the Blood Coven vampires as well as herself and her boyfriend. Complicating matters for Rayne is when she learns another slayer with a grudge is on the hunt too. Her life turns even more hellish when a god orders her to choose between Sunny and Jareth.
The latest A Blood Coven Vampire urban fantasy (see Blood Ties) continues the bloody darker spin that started when the twins attended Night School in Switzerland. Rayne tells the tale as she faces increasingly impossible dilemmas that shake her inner soul. Her growing maturity (she has come a long way since Boys That Bite and Stake That) shines through the darkness as she struggles with choosing the lesser of two evils. This is a character driven, fast-paced exciting teen urban fantasy. Harriet Klausner
Chrysanthe
Yves Meynard
Tor, Mar 13 2012, $15.99
ISBN: 9780765330260
Her Uncle told Christine when she was little that her Father was gone. Because of her violent tendencies she began seeing Dr. Almand. He persuaded her into believing her Father was abusive. At seventeen, Christine sees a young man hitting his brakes abruptly seemingly upon noticing her. Quentin of Lydia sends her note to meet him at Telzer Park. She knows who the author is and decides to confront him. Quentin says he searched for her for nine years as the lost Princess and heir to the throne of Chrysanthe. He explains she was kidnapped.
Quentin escorts Christine home. However, she loathes her sire King Edisthen, as she has the thoughts planted in her brain by Almand of her father sexually abusing and abandoning her. Christine also has an enemy lurking nearby; as Evered, who abducted her years ago, plots to take the throne that he believes is rightfully his. He refuses to accept the Law that deposed his father from the throne.
This is a complicated fantasy that philosophically questions what reality is. The fascinating storyline leisurely (and too poetical with so much darkness) peels away the false from the truth. Though none of the cast comes across fully developed as even the protagonist is limited to her flawed “memories”, fans who appreciate a metaphysical psychological thriller will ponder whether the truth is Christine’s implanted recollection since she believes them as being her own. Harriet Klausner
Thursday, April 19, 2012
K D Wentworth
K D Wentworth has passed away due to complications of cancer and pneumonia. She was a terrific writer and a sweetheart of a person.
Most recently she had been involved as Judge of the Writers of the Future contest and had been editing the annual anthology since Algis Budrys died.
Godspeed.
Most recently she had been involved as Judge of the Writers of the Future contest and had been editing the annual anthology since Algis Budrys died.
Godspeed.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Press Release
Weirdspace: The Devil’s Nebula
by Eric Brown
Launches 29th May (US and Canada) and 21st June (UK)
£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-78108-022-1
$7.99/$10.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-78108-023-8
Also available as an ebook
Starship Captain Ed Carew and his small ragtag crew are smugglers and ne’er-do-wells who regularly thumb their noses at the Expansion, the vast human hegemony encompassing thousands of worlds.
Well, until they’re caught. They face a simple choice – work for the Expansion or face death.
So they must travel through the territory of the inscrutably alien Vetch in pursuit of a human vessel that set off for the strange worlds of the Devil’s Nebula one hundred years ago. Why are the Expansion authorities so eager to track down the ship and can Carew’s crew survive the journey through Vetch territory into the weird space beyond?
Renowned SF author Eric Brown creates a brand new shared universe for Abaddon, a cosmos-spanning theatre full of looming threat, intergalactic politics, intriguing characters, sinister worlds, and taught action.
“Eric Brown spins a terrific yarn.” – SFX on Guardians of the Phoenix
by Eric Brown
Launches 29th May (US and Canada) and 21st June (UK)
£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-78108-022-1
$7.99/$10.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-78108-023-8
Also available as an ebook
Starship Captain Ed Carew and his small ragtag crew are smugglers and ne’er-do-wells who regularly thumb their noses at the Expansion, the vast human hegemony encompassing thousands of worlds.
Well, until they’re caught. They face a simple choice – work for the Expansion or face death.
So they must travel through the territory of the inscrutably alien Vetch in pursuit of a human vessel that set off for the strange worlds of the Devil’s Nebula one hundred years ago. Why are the Expansion authorities so eager to track down the ship and can Carew’s crew survive the journey through Vetch territory into the weird space beyond?
Renowned SF author Eric Brown creates a brand new shared universe for Abaddon, a cosmos-spanning theatre full of looming threat, intergalactic politics, intriguing characters, sinister worlds, and taught action.
“Eric Brown spins a terrific yarn.” – SFX on Guardians of the Phoenix
Monday, April 16, 2012
Werewolves and Magic
Werewolf In Seattle
Vicki Lewis Thompson
Signet, Apr 3 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451237323
In Scotland, Trevelyan Alpha pack leader Colin McDowell is disheartened to learn his Aunt Geraldine died in the States as he was fond of her. However, he also learns he inherited her estate in the San Juan Islands off Washington State. He prefers to stay home, but will travel to the American Pacific Northwest to take care of legal matters.
Colin meets Geraldine’s secretary Luna Reynaud, who the late woman hired as a secretary shortly before she died. Luna explains her proposed plan to convert the estate into a resort, which Colin thinks has merit. Additionally he is attracted to her as she is to him; but she is a half-breed tainted with some human DNA and he knows Alpha pack leaders don’t mate with hybrids.
The third Wild About You werewolf romance (see A Werewolf in Manhattan and Werewolf In The North Woods) is a fun frolic starring two likable protagonists. The witty storyline mostly focuses on the lead couple’s relationship as Colin must overcome his species prejudice that human blood taints his soul mate. Harriet Klausner
Savage Awakening
J.D. Tyler
Signet, Apr 3 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451236449
Following an attack in Afghanistan changed them and after leaving the Navy, these shape-shifting former SEALs formed the Alpha Pack; their mission to battle the most dangerous deviants in the world (see Primal law). During their current assignment, the enemy captures member Aric Savage.
More dead than alive, he learns his pack mate Micah Chase is also a prisoner. Their Alpha Team never leaves anyone behind so they begin a rescue mission that Micah’s LAPD Psy Dreamwalker Rowan plans to join. She wants her brother home safe, but while on the quest, she and Aric realize that they are mates. However, Rowan is not ready for this relationship so Aric goes slow while his wolf goes crazy. All changes when she finds out his life is threatened.
Savage Awakening is a totally enthralling Alpha Pack romantic suspense urban fantasy in which the wolf knows who he wants to bite as the means to make her his mate, but she is not ready for such a biting commitment. Sub-genre fans will enjoy the action-packed storyline while appreciating the bonding between the cop and the savage soldier. Harriet Klausner
Magic Unchained
Jessica Andersen
Signet, Apr 3 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451236425
Once a party animal adrenaline junkie, Sven the coyote mage Nightkeeper tracker has only one “friend” his coyote familiar Mac. As a teenager, her father bound Cara Liu to Sven as his winikin. She ended that unwanted relationship though she fell in love with Sven, who she knows always walks alone.
Under four months to go, Cara returns to lead the winikin as the Doomsday Clock is counting down. She knows how difficult her assignment is as the group is divided between the old and new. Additionally the fears and unpredictability of the end of days has devastated the bond between the winikin and Nightkeepers. Cara and Sven begin a tryst that could end the alliance between their respective groups. Worse they fail to realize the current threat comes from a betrayal within the ranks.
Magic Unchained is a great Nightkeepers urban fantasy (see Storm Kissed, Demonkeepers and Blood Spells) as time has nearly run out, yet the power struggle continues. The fast-paced storyline grips readers from the moment Cara comes to New Mexico and never slows down as the loner and the leader know they belong together while on the underground side of the barrier demons prepare for the inevitable. This series remains one of the sub-genre’s best. Harriet Klausner
Angelmaker
Nick Harkaway
Knopf, Mar 20 2012, $26.95
ISBN: 9780307595959
His father was infamous felon Mathew “Tommy Gun” Spork; his grandfather repaired clocks. Joe Spork admires his dad but fixes antique clocks. His current client, Edie Banister is a gentle elderly woman. When he repairs her clock, Joe inadvertently activates a Post WWII early Cold War era doomsday clock as Edie is a retired secret agent.
Joe becomes the target of the British government, John Ruskin’s warrior-monks and a psychopath Asian dictator with robotic bees. On his side he has geriatric Edie, Frankie and most important his receptionist Polly. Though he prefers flight, he knows there is no place to hide. Thus he must fight in order to survive. Joe assists Edie complete her 1950s mission.
This is an engaging steampunk thriller in three parts as Joe becomes embroiled in the doomsday clock countdown, followed by a side trip (by the audience) into Edie’s past (that never fully meshes with the rest), and brought back together by the fight or flight finish. Fast-paced but over the top of Big Ben, fans who appreciate something different will want to read Angelmaker. Harriet Klausner
Vicki Lewis Thompson
Signet, Apr 3 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451237323
In Scotland, Trevelyan Alpha pack leader Colin McDowell is disheartened to learn his Aunt Geraldine died in the States as he was fond of her. However, he also learns he inherited her estate in the San Juan Islands off Washington State. He prefers to stay home, but will travel to the American Pacific Northwest to take care of legal matters.
Colin meets Geraldine’s secretary Luna Reynaud, who the late woman hired as a secretary shortly before she died. Luna explains her proposed plan to convert the estate into a resort, which Colin thinks has merit. Additionally he is attracted to her as she is to him; but she is a half-breed tainted with some human DNA and he knows Alpha pack leaders don’t mate with hybrids.
The third Wild About You werewolf romance (see A Werewolf in Manhattan and Werewolf In The North Woods) is a fun frolic starring two likable protagonists. The witty storyline mostly focuses on the lead couple’s relationship as Colin must overcome his species prejudice that human blood taints his soul mate. Harriet Klausner
Savage Awakening
J.D. Tyler
Signet, Apr 3 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451236449
Following an attack in Afghanistan changed them and after leaving the Navy, these shape-shifting former SEALs formed the Alpha Pack; their mission to battle the most dangerous deviants in the world (see Primal law). During their current assignment, the enemy captures member Aric Savage.
More dead than alive, he learns his pack mate Micah Chase is also a prisoner. Their Alpha Team never leaves anyone behind so they begin a rescue mission that Micah’s LAPD Psy Dreamwalker Rowan plans to join. She wants her brother home safe, but while on the quest, she and Aric realize that they are mates. However, Rowan is not ready for this relationship so Aric goes slow while his wolf goes crazy. All changes when she finds out his life is threatened.
Savage Awakening is a totally enthralling Alpha Pack romantic suspense urban fantasy in which the wolf knows who he wants to bite as the means to make her his mate, but she is not ready for such a biting commitment. Sub-genre fans will enjoy the action-packed storyline while appreciating the bonding between the cop and the savage soldier. Harriet Klausner
Magic Unchained
Jessica Andersen
Signet, Apr 3 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451236425
Once a party animal adrenaline junkie, Sven the coyote mage Nightkeeper tracker has only one “friend” his coyote familiar Mac. As a teenager, her father bound Cara Liu to Sven as his winikin. She ended that unwanted relationship though she fell in love with Sven, who she knows always walks alone.
Under four months to go, Cara returns to lead the winikin as the Doomsday Clock is counting down. She knows how difficult her assignment is as the group is divided between the old and new. Additionally the fears and unpredictability of the end of days has devastated the bond between the winikin and Nightkeepers. Cara and Sven begin a tryst that could end the alliance between their respective groups. Worse they fail to realize the current threat comes from a betrayal within the ranks.
Magic Unchained is a great Nightkeepers urban fantasy (see Storm Kissed, Demonkeepers and Blood Spells) as time has nearly run out, yet the power struggle continues. The fast-paced storyline grips readers from the moment Cara comes to New Mexico and never slows down as the loner and the leader know they belong together while on the underground side of the barrier demons prepare for the inevitable. This series remains one of the sub-genre’s best. Harriet Klausner
Angelmaker
Nick Harkaway
Knopf, Mar 20 2012, $26.95
ISBN: 9780307595959
His father was infamous felon Mathew “Tommy Gun” Spork; his grandfather repaired clocks. Joe Spork admires his dad but fixes antique clocks. His current client, Edie Banister is a gentle elderly woman. When he repairs her clock, Joe inadvertently activates a Post WWII early Cold War era doomsday clock as Edie is a retired secret agent.
Joe becomes the target of the British government, John Ruskin’s warrior-monks and a psychopath Asian dictator with robotic bees. On his side he has geriatric Edie, Frankie and most important his receptionist Polly. Though he prefers flight, he knows there is no place to hide. Thus he must fight in order to survive. Joe assists Edie complete her 1950s mission.
This is an engaging steampunk thriller in three parts as Joe becomes embroiled in the doomsday clock countdown, followed by a side trip (by the audience) into Edie’s past (that never fully meshes with the rest), and brought back together by the fight or flight finish. Fast-paced but over the top of Big Ben, fans who appreciate something different will want to read Angelmaker. Harriet Klausner
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Baryon 123
The latest issue of Baryon has been emailed. If you did not receive one and would like to do so, send me an email at baryon@bellsouth.net.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Vampires and Urban Fantasies
Black Dawn
Rachel Caine
NAL, May 1 2012, $17.99
ISBN: 9780451236715
Like much of Texas, Morganville suffers from a severe drought. The town is run by vampires with Amalie the final authority at the top of the food chain. However the arid conditions have led to the draug water vampires searching for water and other vampires to snack on. Morganville due to a deluge of storms is a place for the draug to stay and take over.
A Draug bit Amalie who is turning into a land-Draug. Her second in command, loyal Oliver refuses to let her go while his side also is losing the inter-species war. Most of the residents of Glass House (Michael, Eve, Shane and Claire) and a few allies take a last stand against the draug. Claire uniquely is the only one who can see the head Draug, which is why he needs her dead. Her friends (human and vampire) guard her while trying to figure out how to take the battle to the seemingly invisible enemy. Their only hope is to dangle Claire as bait to draw out the powerful leader of the foe.
The latest Morganville Vampires (see Last Breath) is a great entry in which a common enemy forces the humans and vampires to unite; failure to team up will mean death for all. The storyline provides a bit of vampire background as we learn how the draug came to be, insight into their hive-like culture and why they became cannibals. Saving Morganville appears unlikely but the Glass House quartet feels they must make the Son Quixote effort. Harriet Klausner
Hunter’s Rise
Shiloh Walker
Berkley, Apr 3 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780425248379
A century ago, Sylvia James was forcibly changed into a vampire. That predatory violence has become a rallying cry for her as she travels as a mostly hired assassin taking down evil. However, she has a code of ethics when accepting a client; including no lying; as Faith Dwyer learns when she tried to employ Sylvia to kill her husband. She also does personal not for profit jobs to kill the psychopaths hunting others.
Hired by the parents of a victim Toby, Sylvia travels to Memphis to kill Alan Pulaski, pedophile. A local enclave of Hunters is also after the same thug. The difference is in the outcome as Sylvia will assassinate the predator while the Hunters will turn him over to the cops; with one exception enigmatic two century at least old Toronto the renegade werewolf Hunter who will first beat the crap out of Pulaski. When Sylvia and Toronto meet, each is shocked by their attraction as both thought their respective hearts died over a century ago. After getting in each other’s way, they team up to hunt a predator.
The latest Hunter romantic urban fantasy (see Hunter's Salvation, and Hunters: Heart and Soul) is a superb entry due to the lead characters, who share in common desire, outcast status and a disgust with falling in love. As they fall in love, they struggle to keep their eye on the mission but remain diligent to end a reign of terror. Sub-genre fans will enjoy this exciting fast-paced thriller with a fabulous late twist. Harriet Klausner
Silence
Michelle Sagara
DAW, May 1 2012, $17.99
ISBN: 9780756407421
Anyone in Toronto seeing Emma in daylight would believe she is contented with her life; however at night she, accompanied by her dog, goes to the cemetery to visit her late boyfriend Nathan who died in a car accident. On one particular evening while visiting his grave, Emma notices two other people on the bench; an elderly woman seemingly made up of rags and Eric from school. They turn towards her and the woman touches her which leaves Emma scared and cold.
Eric receives a call asking if he found the necromancer. He says yes, but has not kill her yet as he has a week to complete the mission. However, Eric knows if he falters, Chase is nearby to complete the assassination assignment. The pair quickly like and admire kind Emma and realize she is not a necromancer, but something else. Instead of taking power from the dead for dark spells, she helps ghosts who for whatever reason walk the city streets. She tries to rescue the lost little boy who is enflamed in fire for eternity unless they get his mother to rescue him. Aware of Emma and her power, the Necromancer wants her power to use for his dark deeds.
Michelle Sagara writes an enthralling Canadian urban fantasy tale filled with action inside of an allegorical good and evil storyline while readers anticipate the confrontation. The first book of the Queen of the Dead contains a dark eerie atmosphere, which should surprise no one who ever visited a cemetery at night. However, it is Emma who holds the storyline together as Eric and Chase know first-hand she makes loyal friends (including the deceased) wherever she goes, which is fortunate for her as she will need them to survive the ordeal. Harriet Klausner
Darkest Knight
Karen Duvall
Luna, Mar 20 2012, $14.95
ISBN: 9780373803446
One month ago, Aydin the warrior, bonded to a gargoyle, sacrificed his humanity to free his beloved Chalice from her master Shui the homicidal gargoyle before the psychopath dined on Chalice tartare. To fight Shui, he had to accept the curse. Now Aydin is a gargoyle and Chalice plans to bring her lover back to human form by facing her nightmares in the Vyantara Fatherhouse on the other side of the Veil.
Chalice has become a knight in The Order of the Hatchet. When something murders her sister knights while they sleep, Chalice investigates alone. At the same time, Aydin visits Chalice in her dreams. Soon she will be caught in a choice of competing loyalties no person should have to make.
The latest Chalice urban fantasy is an entertaining thriller as the heroine, filled with guilt and plenty of heart, struggles to adjust to her changed circumstances and what her beloved mentor did for her. Although newcomers will struggle with comprehending the Duvall realm (it behooves fans to have read A Knight’s Curse in which the mythos is established), the beleaguered protagonist remains a confused adult who is unsure what to do now that her teacher is no longer there for her and her guardian angel Rafe refuses to coddle her. Filled with sorcerers, angels and the fallen, fans will enjoy this complex thriller as the heroine continues to learn good and evil tend to somewhat overlap. Harriet Klausner
Rachel Caine
NAL, May 1 2012, $17.99
ISBN: 9780451236715
Like much of Texas, Morganville suffers from a severe drought. The town is run by vampires with Amalie the final authority at the top of the food chain. However the arid conditions have led to the draug water vampires searching for water and other vampires to snack on. Morganville due to a deluge of storms is a place for the draug to stay and take over.
A Draug bit Amalie who is turning into a land-Draug. Her second in command, loyal Oliver refuses to let her go while his side also is losing the inter-species war. Most of the residents of Glass House (Michael, Eve, Shane and Claire) and a few allies take a last stand against the draug. Claire uniquely is the only one who can see the head Draug, which is why he needs her dead. Her friends (human and vampire) guard her while trying to figure out how to take the battle to the seemingly invisible enemy. Their only hope is to dangle Claire as bait to draw out the powerful leader of the foe.
The latest Morganville Vampires (see Last Breath) is a great entry in which a common enemy forces the humans and vampires to unite; failure to team up will mean death for all. The storyline provides a bit of vampire background as we learn how the draug came to be, insight into their hive-like culture and why they became cannibals. Saving Morganville appears unlikely but the Glass House quartet feels they must make the Son Quixote effort. Harriet Klausner
Hunter’s Rise
Shiloh Walker
Berkley, Apr 3 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780425248379
A century ago, Sylvia James was forcibly changed into a vampire. That predatory violence has become a rallying cry for her as she travels as a mostly hired assassin taking down evil. However, she has a code of ethics when accepting a client; including no lying; as Faith Dwyer learns when she tried to employ Sylvia to kill her husband. She also does personal not for profit jobs to kill the psychopaths hunting others.
Hired by the parents of a victim Toby, Sylvia travels to Memphis to kill Alan Pulaski, pedophile. A local enclave of Hunters is also after the same thug. The difference is in the outcome as Sylvia will assassinate the predator while the Hunters will turn him over to the cops; with one exception enigmatic two century at least old Toronto the renegade werewolf Hunter who will first beat the crap out of Pulaski. When Sylvia and Toronto meet, each is shocked by their attraction as both thought their respective hearts died over a century ago. After getting in each other’s way, they team up to hunt a predator.
The latest Hunter romantic urban fantasy (see Hunter's Salvation, and Hunters: Heart and Soul) is a superb entry due to the lead characters, who share in common desire, outcast status and a disgust with falling in love. As they fall in love, they struggle to keep their eye on the mission but remain diligent to end a reign of terror. Sub-genre fans will enjoy this exciting fast-paced thriller with a fabulous late twist. Harriet Klausner
Silence
Michelle Sagara
DAW, May 1 2012, $17.99
ISBN: 9780756407421
Anyone in Toronto seeing Emma in daylight would believe she is contented with her life; however at night she, accompanied by her dog, goes to the cemetery to visit her late boyfriend Nathan who died in a car accident. On one particular evening while visiting his grave, Emma notices two other people on the bench; an elderly woman seemingly made up of rags and Eric from school. They turn towards her and the woman touches her which leaves Emma scared and cold.
Eric receives a call asking if he found the necromancer. He says yes, but has not kill her yet as he has a week to complete the mission. However, Eric knows if he falters, Chase is nearby to complete the assassination assignment. The pair quickly like and admire kind Emma and realize she is not a necromancer, but something else. Instead of taking power from the dead for dark spells, she helps ghosts who for whatever reason walk the city streets. She tries to rescue the lost little boy who is enflamed in fire for eternity unless they get his mother to rescue him. Aware of Emma and her power, the Necromancer wants her power to use for his dark deeds.
Michelle Sagara writes an enthralling Canadian urban fantasy tale filled with action inside of an allegorical good and evil storyline while readers anticipate the confrontation. The first book of the Queen of the Dead contains a dark eerie atmosphere, which should surprise no one who ever visited a cemetery at night. However, it is Emma who holds the storyline together as Eric and Chase know first-hand she makes loyal friends (including the deceased) wherever she goes, which is fortunate for her as she will need them to survive the ordeal. Harriet Klausner
Darkest Knight
Karen Duvall
Luna, Mar 20 2012, $14.95
ISBN: 9780373803446
One month ago, Aydin the warrior, bonded to a gargoyle, sacrificed his humanity to free his beloved Chalice from her master Shui the homicidal gargoyle before the psychopath dined on Chalice tartare. To fight Shui, he had to accept the curse. Now Aydin is a gargoyle and Chalice plans to bring her lover back to human form by facing her nightmares in the Vyantara Fatherhouse on the other side of the Veil.
Chalice has become a knight in The Order of the Hatchet. When something murders her sister knights while they sleep, Chalice investigates alone. At the same time, Aydin visits Chalice in her dreams. Soon she will be caught in a choice of competing loyalties no person should have to make.
The latest Chalice urban fantasy is an entertaining thriller as the heroine, filled with guilt and plenty of heart, struggles to adjust to her changed circumstances and what her beloved mentor did for her. Although newcomers will struggle with comprehending the Duvall realm (it behooves fans to have read A Knight’s Curse in which the mythos is established), the beleaguered protagonist remains a confused adult who is unsure what to do now that her teacher is no longer there for her and her guardian angel Rafe refuses to coddle her. Filled with sorcerers, angels and the fallen, fans will enjoy this complex thriller as the heroine continues to learn good and evil tend to somewhat overlap. Harriet Klausner
Friday, April 13, 2012
News Release
Airship 27 Productions dons its tough-guy mantle, as it premiers its newest
pulp star in THE RUBY FILES.
It was the 1930s and America was locked in the grip of the Great Depression.
Gangsters controlled the major cities while outlaws roamed the rural back
country. It was a time of Speak Easy gin-joints, Tommy-guns, fast cars and
even faster dames. This is the world of New York based Private Investigator
Rick Ruby, a world he is all too familiar with. From the back alleys of
Gotham to the gold laden boulevards of Hollywood, Ruby is the shamus with a
nose for trouble and an insatiable appetite for justice. So if you've got a
taste for hot lead and knuckle sandwiches, tug your cuffs, adjust your
fedora and light up a Lucky, a brand new pulp detective is coming your way.
Created by pulp masters, Bobby Nash & Sean Taylor, Rick Ruby echoes the
tales of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe while offering up his own brand of
two-fisted action. Joined by fellow pulp smiths Andrew Salmon & William
Patrick Maynard, these modern scribes of purple prose present a quartet of
tales to delight any true lover of private eye fiction. This instant classic
features a gorgeous Mark Wheatley cover and eight evocative black and white
illustrations by Rob Moran.
This is a book that harkens back to the classic black and white Warner
Brothers gangster movies that featured James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and
Edward G. Robinson to name a few. The atmosphere is gritty with a
no-nonsense hero pulp fans are going to applaud from the first story to the
last. And when that last tale comes to a close, you can bet we haven't seen
the last of Rick Ruby, Private.
The publisher of the Weird Horror Tales trilogy by Michael Vance, Airship 27
publishes anthologies and novels in the pulp magazine tradition. In the
past, Airship 27 has released "Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective", a
"Deathwalker", and more pulp fiction in "The Green Lama" and "Secret Agent
X". For more information on Airship 27, go to www.airship27.com
pulp star in THE RUBY FILES.
It was the 1930s and America was locked in the grip of the Great Depression.
Gangsters controlled the major cities while outlaws roamed the rural back
country. It was a time of Speak Easy gin-joints, Tommy-guns, fast cars and
even faster dames. This is the world of New York based Private Investigator
Rick Ruby, a world he is all too familiar with. From the back alleys of
Gotham to the gold laden boulevards of Hollywood, Ruby is the shamus with a
nose for trouble and an insatiable appetite for justice. So if you've got a
taste for hot lead and knuckle sandwiches, tug your cuffs, adjust your
fedora and light up a Lucky, a brand new pulp detective is coming your way.
Created by pulp masters, Bobby Nash & Sean Taylor, Rick Ruby echoes the
tales of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe while offering up his own brand of
two-fisted action. Joined by fellow pulp smiths Andrew Salmon & William
Patrick Maynard, these modern scribes of purple prose present a quartet of
tales to delight any true lover of private eye fiction. This instant classic
features a gorgeous Mark Wheatley cover and eight evocative black and white
illustrations by Rob Moran.
This is a book that harkens back to the classic black and white Warner
Brothers gangster movies that featured James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and
Edward G. Robinson to name a few. The atmosphere is gritty with a
no-nonsense hero pulp fans are going to applaud from the first story to the
last. And when that last tale comes to a close, you can bet we haven't seen
the last of Rick Ruby, Private.
The publisher of the Weird Horror Tales trilogy by Michael Vance, Airship 27
publishes anthologies and novels in the pulp magazine tradition. In the
past, Airship 27 has released "Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective", a
"Deathwalker", and more pulp fiction in "The Green Lama" and "Secret Agent
X". For more information on Airship 27, go to www.airship27.com
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Press Release
Pax Omega
by Al Ewing
OUT NOW in the UK
and on April 17th in North America!
£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-907992-90-2
$9.99/$12.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-907992-91-9
Doc Thunder – the gold-bearded, bronze-muscled Hero of New York – in his last stand against a deadly foe whose true identity will shock you to your core!
El Sombra – the masked avenger, the laughing killer they call the Saint of ghosts – in his final battle against the forces of the ultimate Reich!
The Scion of tomorrow, the steel-clad Locomotive Man, in a showdown with cosmic science on the prairies of the Old West!
Jacob Steele, the time-lost gunfighter, defends the 25th Century against the massed armies of the Space Satan!
And a deadly duel of minds and might between the Red King and Red Queen in the mystery palaces of One Million AD!
Pax Omega is the third book in the Pax Britannia series from Al Ewing and is another tour de force from a writer of incredible energy and wit. A name to watch, Ewing has a unique voice which has already garnered him accolades for his work with seminal British comic book, 2000 AD.
“Ewing has written one of the best superhero pastiches I've ever read. Gods of Manhattan is a terrific, inescapable book – in which absolutely anything can happen and, quite often, does..” – Pornokitsch on Gods of Manhattan
by Al Ewing
OUT NOW in the UK
and on April 17th in North America!
£7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-907992-90-2
$9.99/$12.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-907992-91-9
Doc Thunder – the gold-bearded, bronze-muscled Hero of New York – in his last stand against a deadly foe whose true identity will shock you to your core!
El Sombra – the masked avenger, the laughing killer they call the Saint of ghosts – in his final battle against the forces of the ultimate Reich!
The Scion of tomorrow, the steel-clad Locomotive Man, in a showdown with cosmic science on the prairies of the Old West!
Jacob Steele, the time-lost gunfighter, defends the 25th Century against the massed armies of the Space Satan!
And a deadly duel of minds and might between the Red King and Red Queen in the mystery palaces of One Million AD!
Pax Omega is the third book in the Pax Britannia series from Al Ewing and is another tour de force from a writer of incredible energy and wit. A name to watch, Ewing has a unique voice which has already garnered him accolades for his work with seminal British comic book, 2000 AD.
“Ewing has written one of the best superhero pastiches I've ever read. Gods of Manhattan is a terrific, inescapable book – in which absolutely anything can happen and, quite often, does..” – Pornokitsch on Gods of Manhattan
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Magical Reviews
Night Games
Crystal Jordan
Kensington Aphrodisia, Feb 28 2012, $14.00
ISBN: 9780758261564
Dedicated Seattle Police Department’s Magickal Task Force officer Selina Grayson is a centuries old elf who remains haunted with the death of her cousin by a still out there serial killing bloodsucker. Her superior assigns Selina the investigation into a serial killer drinking blood from the Magickal and from the Normal aware of the Magickal. The FBI Magickal Crimes Unit assigns human agent Jack Laramie to work with Selina.
The elf and the human are attracted to one another immediately. They begin a heated tryst while working the case. As they fall in love, he wants more, but she chooses less. However, both agree that ending the blood-draining reign of terror comes first, but Selina and Jack fail to realize they fit the profile of a diabolical malevolence.
The second Night urban fantasy police procedural (see Embrace The Night) is an exciting serial killer thriller that deftly blends a tense investigation with heated multispecies sex. The storyline starts slow as Crystal Jordon goes over the ground rules of her mythos, but that also enables fans to believe in witches, vampires, werewolves and Normals (who mostly unaware of the paranormal). Once completed, the plot accelerates into a fast-paced arousing whodunit. Harriet Klausner
Wanted: Undead Or Alive
Kerrelyn Sparks
Avon, Mar 27 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780061958069
Celebrity Vampire Phineas “Love Doctor” McKinney has become famous for his TV commercial on the Digital Vampire Network selling Blardonnay, a blood and Chardonnay concoction. Since good vampires saved his life, Phin has adjusted well to being a blood diner after the initial shock of being converted by having his throat ripped open by an evil Malcontent. While his stunned human brother Freemont takes him to the Brooklyn studio of DVN, MacKay S and I works on capturing Corky Courrant, the de facto new leader of the Malcontents following the death of Casimir whose head was cut off.
Not long afterward, Phin goes undercover in Wyoming to help catch Corky. The city slicker feels out of place in the mountainous state except that he shares a cabin with his obsession Brynley Jones the werewolf who to his chagrin loathes all vampires. She is his day bodyguard while her father Caddoc demands she marry one of their kind.
The latest Love At Stake romantic urban fantasy continues the post Casmir Malcontent era (see Vampire Mine and Sexiest Vampire Alive) with Phin’s tale. The plot focuses mostly on the dysfunctional love story between the only known female alpha and Dr. Phang the Love Doctor though a second subplot involves the Malcontents. Although the Love Doctor is persona is somewhat muted and a late twist abates some of the tension, fans will appreciate this entertaining entry.
Harriet Klausner
Soul Bound
Mari Mancusi
Berkley, Mar 6 2012, $9.99
ISBN: 9780425245477
Identical twins Sunny and Rayne McDonald have totally opposite desires as one is all sun and the other is all rain. Rayne desperately wants to become a vampire; while Sunny wants to live a normal life. Due to Magnus the vampire biting Sunny instead of Rayne, the “wrong’ twin is changed. Drinking from the Holy Grail returns Sunny to normal. Sunny and Magnus are on the run because they disobeyed a direct order from Pyrus, who plots to control the Vampire Consortium and then the world.
Pyrus hires Slayer Inc. to bring him the treasonous duet. Slayer Inc. assigns Rayne and her boyfriend Jareth to capture Sunny and Magnus to deliver them to the Vampire Consortium. Rayne is distraught as she would do just anything for her sister, but failure to complete the mission means the deaths of all the Blood Coven vampires as well as herself and her boyfriend. Complicating matters for Rayne is when she learns another slayer with a grudge is on the hunt too. Her life turns even more hellish when a god orders her to choose between Sunny and Jareth.
The latest A Blood Coven Vampire urban fantasy (see Blood Ties) continues the bloody darker spin that started when the twins attended Night School in Switzerland. Rayne tells the tale as she faces increasingly impossible dilemmas that shake her inner soul. Her growing maturity (she has come a long way since Boys That Bite and Stake That) shines through the darkness as she struggles with choosing the lesser of two evils. This is a character driven, fast-paced exciting teen urban fantasy. Harriet Klausner
Chrysanthe
Yves Meynard
Tor, Mar 13 2012, $15.99
ISBN: 9780765330260
Her Uncle told Christine when she was little that her Father was gone. Because of her violent tendencies she began seeing Dr. Almand. He persuaded her into believing her Father was abusive. At seventeen, Christine sees a young man hitting his brakes abruptly seemingly upon noticing her. Quentin of Lydia sends her note to meet him at Telzer Park. She knows who the author is and decides to confront him. Quentin says he searched for her for nine years as the lost Princess and heir to the throne of Chrysanthe. He explains she was kidnapped.
Quentin escorts Christine home. However, she loathes her sire King Edisthen, as she has the thoughts planted in her brain by Almand of her father sexually abusing and abandoning her. Christine also has an enemy lurking nearby; as Evered, who abducted her years ago, plots to take the throne that he believes is rightfully his. He refuses to accept the Law that deposed his father from the throne.
This is a complicated fantasy that philosophically questions what reality is. The fascinating storyline leisurely (and too poetical with so much darkness) peels away the false from the truth. Though none of the cast comes across fully developed as even the protagonist is limited to her flawed “memories”, fans who appreciate a metaphysical psychological thriller will ponder whether the truth is Christine’s implanted recollection since she believes them as being her own. Harriet Klausner
Crystal Jordan
Kensington Aphrodisia, Feb 28 2012, $14.00
ISBN: 9780758261564
Dedicated Seattle Police Department’s Magickal Task Force officer Selina Grayson is a centuries old elf who remains haunted with the death of her cousin by a still out there serial killing bloodsucker. Her superior assigns Selina the investigation into a serial killer drinking blood from the Magickal and from the Normal aware of the Magickal. The FBI Magickal Crimes Unit assigns human agent Jack Laramie to work with Selina.
The elf and the human are attracted to one another immediately. They begin a heated tryst while working the case. As they fall in love, he wants more, but she chooses less. However, both agree that ending the blood-draining reign of terror comes first, but Selina and Jack fail to realize they fit the profile of a diabolical malevolence.
The second Night urban fantasy police procedural (see Embrace The Night) is an exciting serial killer thriller that deftly blends a tense investigation with heated multispecies sex. The storyline starts slow as Crystal Jordon goes over the ground rules of her mythos, but that also enables fans to believe in witches, vampires, werewolves and Normals (who mostly unaware of the paranormal). Once completed, the plot accelerates into a fast-paced arousing whodunit. Harriet Klausner
Wanted: Undead Or Alive
Kerrelyn Sparks
Avon, Mar 27 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780061958069
Celebrity Vampire Phineas “Love Doctor” McKinney has become famous for his TV commercial on the Digital Vampire Network selling Blardonnay, a blood and Chardonnay concoction. Since good vampires saved his life, Phin has adjusted well to being a blood diner after the initial shock of being converted by having his throat ripped open by an evil Malcontent. While his stunned human brother Freemont takes him to the Brooklyn studio of DVN, MacKay S and I works on capturing Corky Courrant, the de facto new leader of the Malcontents following the death of Casimir whose head was cut off.
Not long afterward, Phin goes undercover in Wyoming to help catch Corky. The city slicker feels out of place in the mountainous state except that he shares a cabin with his obsession Brynley Jones the werewolf who to his chagrin loathes all vampires. She is his day bodyguard while her father Caddoc demands she marry one of their kind.
The latest Love At Stake romantic urban fantasy continues the post Casmir Malcontent era (see Vampire Mine and Sexiest Vampire Alive) with Phin’s tale. The plot focuses mostly on the dysfunctional love story between the only known female alpha and Dr. Phang the Love Doctor though a second subplot involves the Malcontents. Although the Love Doctor is persona is somewhat muted and a late twist abates some of the tension, fans will appreciate this entertaining entry.
Harriet Klausner
Soul Bound
Mari Mancusi
Berkley, Mar 6 2012, $9.99
ISBN: 9780425245477
Identical twins Sunny and Rayne McDonald have totally opposite desires as one is all sun and the other is all rain. Rayne desperately wants to become a vampire; while Sunny wants to live a normal life. Due to Magnus the vampire biting Sunny instead of Rayne, the “wrong’ twin is changed. Drinking from the Holy Grail returns Sunny to normal. Sunny and Magnus are on the run because they disobeyed a direct order from Pyrus, who plots to control the Vampire Consortium and then the world.
Pyrus hires Slayer Inc. to bring him the treasonous duet. Slayer Inc. assigns Rayne and her boyfriend Jareth to capture Sunny and Magnus to deliver them to the Vampire Consortium. Rayne is distraught as she would do just anything for her sister, but failure to complete the mission means the deaths of all the Blood Coven vampires as well as herself and her boyfriend. Complicating matters for Rayne is when she learns another slayer with a grudge is on the hunt too. Her life turns even more hellish when a god orders her to choose between Sunny and Jareth.
The latest A Blood Coven Vampire urban fantasy (see Blood Ties) continues the bloody darker spin that started when the twins attended Night School in Switzerland. Rayne tells the tale as she faces increasingly impossible dilemmas that shake her inner soul. Her growing maturity (she has come a long way since Boys That Bite and Stake That) shines through the darkness as she struggles with choosing the lesser of two evils. This is a character driven, fast-paced exciting teen urban fantasy. Harriet Klausner
Chrysanthe
Yves Meynard
Tor, Mar 13 2012, $15.99
ISBN: 9780765330260
Her Uncle told Christine when she was little that her Father was gone. Because of her violent tendencies she began seeing Dr. Almand. He persuaded her into believing her Father was abusive. At seventeen, Christine sees a young man hitting his brakes abruptly seemingly upon noticing her. Quentin of Lydia sends her note to meet him at Telzer Park. She knows who the author is and decides to confront him. Quentin says he searched for her for nine years as the lost Princess and heir to the throne of Chrysanthe. He explains she was kidnapped.
Quentin escorts Christine home. However, she loathes her sire King Edisthen, as she has the thoughts planted in her brain by Almand of her father sexually abusing and abandoning her. Christine also has an enemy lurking nearby; as Evered, who abducted her years ago, plots to take the throne that he believes is rightfully his. He refuses to accept the Law that deposed his father from the throne.
This is a complicated fantasy that philosophically questions what reality is. The fascinating storyline leisurely (and too poetical with so much darkness) peels away the false from the truth. Though none of the cast comes across fully developed as even the protagonist is limited to her flawed “memories”, fans who appreciate a metaphysical psychological thriller will ponder whether the truth is Christine’s implanted recollection since she believes them as being her own. Harriet Klausner
Monday, April 9, 2012
Paranormals
The Iron Daughter
Julie Kagawa
Harlequin Teen, $9.99
ISBN: 9780373210138
Sixteen-year-old hybrid Meghan Chase is the daughter of the Summer Fairy King Oberon. She recently proved her mettle when she defeated the Iron Fey (see The Iron King). However, as an honored “guest” of the Winter Fairies Unseelie Court, Meghan is stunned when the Iron Fey steals the Scepter of the Seasons, but leaves incriminating evidence that point to Meghan as the thief.
Deciding to leave though her hosts will try to prevent her escape, Meghan follows the trail to recover the Scepter in order to lessen the tension between the Summer and Winter clans. As war seems imminent, Winter Prince Ash, who ignored her while at court, accompanies Meghan on her quest that leads to her maternal realm as well as their travels in the land of Fairy.
Although the second Iron Fey fantasy (see The Iron King) starts slow at court, once the theft is done, the storyline accelerates into an action-packed fast-paced thriller. The half-breed princess, who has feet in two worlds but belongs in neither, shows her fortitude. Ash provides fascinating support as he is attentive once again now that they’re away from his family. The Iron Daughter is a terrific tale. Harriet Klausner
Tempted by Blood
Laurie London
Harlequin HQN, $7.99
ISBN: 9780373776450
In the Seattle area, the Guardians feel good after defeating the Darkblood Alliance when they rescued humans containing the Sweetblood during their enemies’ Night of the Wilding gala on a San Juan Island. While his side is festive following the bust but they also remain wary as they expect another attack by their deadly foes, Guardian Jackson Foss fears his craving for blood is becoming out of control, which he bitterly knows will turn him into what he loathes, a Darkblood abomination.
Software expert Arianna Wells writes as Icy Shadows the blog, Paranormalish. Her mission is to find the truth about the strange and inexplicable. She meets Jackson in his shadow form when he rescues her Sweetblood cousin Krystal from the Darkblood. However, Jackson is stunned when his attempt to delete certain inconvenient truths from Arianna’s brain fails; while the Darkblood stalk the cousins and his cravings stalk him.
The third Sweetblood romantic urban fantasy (see Bonded by Blood and Embraced by Blood) is a superb vampire tale. The hostilities between the two vampire groups remains heated as the paranormal war in the Pacific Northwest makes the London mythos seem real. However, it is the hero’s struggles to remain faithful as increasingly he and no one else trusts him to do the right thing; with one exception the incredible Arianna who believes in her beloved personal Guardian to protect her and Krystal. Harriet Klausner
On A Dark Wing
Jordan Dane
Harlequin Teen, $9.99
ISBN: 9780373210411
Five years ago, Abbey Chandler missed the school bus that takes her home. Her mom picked her up, but died in a car crash in which her daughter escaped death thanks to an ephemeral boy of the clouds taking her hand. She remains haunted by survivor guilt compounding her belief she caused her mother’s demise.
Unable to move on pass the tragedy, Abbey has only one friend, Tanner Lange, paralyzed from the waist down since a childhood accident. Abbey is attracted to Nate Holden, who does not know she exists though she knows everything about him. He is joining his father and others on a climb of Denali. However, when Abbey begins seeing the Angel of Death’s ravens, she knows the grim reaper is back in her life; her fear is Nate is the target. She wants to go to her crush but her dad insists they go on their annual pilgrimage to her mom.
This is an exciting teen paranormal thriller that rotates perspective between Abbey and on Denali. The storyline focuses on death, guilt and redemption. Abbey is a wonderful protagonist who keeps the stirring tale focused though her actions with Nate seem off kilter; first as a stalker and later when he arrives at the remote cabin where she and her dad retreated to pay homage to their late loved one. In some ways Tanner steals the show with his freshness while the heroine’s first kiss is a stunner. Fans will enjoy Abbey’s efforts to come to grips with death. Harriet Klausner
Soul Screamers
Rachel Vincent
Harlequin Teen, $8.99
ISBN: 9780373210602
My Soul To Lose. Dallas high school students Kaylee and Emma are at the mall shopping Suddenly Kaylee suffers a panic attack. Emma helps her calm down until Kaylee sees the shadows engulf a wheelchair bound boy. Hours later Kaylee awakens in a psychiatric ward where she cringes at the shadows surrounding another patient. Kaylee begins to recover until the scream surfaces; however Lydia of the green eyes calms her down.
My Soul To Take. Underage Kaylee sneaks into the Taboo Club where she dances with Eastlake High School hottie Nash. She senses someone is about to die and when that happens she has a deep need to scream. Nash calms her and explains that banshees like her must scream when someone is about to die. They begin dating but the pair has to stop a serial killer focused on Eastlake High School.
My Soul To Save. Teen pop star Eden dies on stage, but Kaylee, who was at the concert with Nash, fails to wail at death, she knows the idol traded her soul for fame. In spite of the fact her dad will kill her for cutting class and violating curfew, Kaylee risks her life and soul to prevent other teens from bartering theirs for a short life span of fame in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld.
This entertaining reprint of the prequel novella and the first two novels in the Soul Screamer teenage fantasy is a fine collection. The opening act introduces Kaylee with her instinctively need to wail; the other entries follow her struggling adjustment to control the urge with mentoring help by Nash’s mom while history and trig wait for no student even a banshee. Harriet Klausner
Julie Kagawa
Harlequin Teen, $9.99
ISBN: 9780373210138
Sixteen-year-old hybrid Meghan Chase is the daughter of the Summer Fairy King Oberon. She recently proved her mettle when she defeated the Iron Fey (see The Iron King). However, as an honored “guest” of the Winter Fairies Unseelie Court, Meghan is stunned when the Iron Fey steals the Scepter of the Seasons, but leaves incriminating evidence that point to Meghan as the thief.
Deciding to leave though her hosts will try to prevent her escape, Meghan follows the trail to recover the Scepter in order to lessen the tension between the Summer and Winter clans. As war seems imminent, Winter Prince Ash, who ignored her while at court, accompanies Meghan on her quest that leads to her maternal realm as well as their travels in the land of Fairy.
Although the second Iron Fey fantasy (see The Iron King) starts slow at court, once the theft is done, the storyline accelerates into an action-packed fast-paced thriller. The half-breed princess, who has feet in two worlds but belongs in neither, shows her fortitude. Ash provides fascinating support as he is attentive once again now that they’re away from his family. The Iron Daughter is a terrific tale. Harriet Klausner
Tempted by Blood
Laurie London
Harlequin HQN, $7.99
ISBN: 9780373776450
In the Seattle area, the Guardians feel good after defeating the Darkblood Alliance when they rescued humans containing the Sweetblood during their enemies’ Night of the Wilding gala on a San Juan Island. While his side is festive following the bust but they also remain wary as they expect another attack by their deadly foes, Guardian Jackson Foss fears his craving for blood is becoming out of control, which he bitterly knows will turn him into what he loathes, a Darkblood abomination.
Software expert Arianna Wells writes as Icy Shadows the blog, Paranormalish. Her mission is to find the truth about the strange and inexplicable. She meets Jackson in his shadow form when he rescues her Sweetblood cousin Krystal from the Darkblood. However, Jackson is stunned when his attempt to delete certain inconvenient truths from Arianna’s brain fails; while the Darkblood stalk the cousins and his cravings stalk him.
The third Sweetblood romantic urban fantasy (see Bonded by Blood and Embraced by Blood) is a superb vampire tale. The hostilities between the two vampire groups remains heated as the paranormal war in the Pacific Northwest makes the London mythos seem real. However, it is the hero’s struggles to remain faithful as increasingly he and no one else trusts him to do the right thing; with one exception the incredible Arianna who believes in her beloved personal Guardian to protect her and Krystal. Harriet Klausner
On A Dark Wing
Jordan Dane
Harlequin Teen, $9.99
ISBN: 9780373210411
Five years ago, Abbey Chandler missed the school bus that takes her home. Her mom picked her up, but died in a car crash in which her daughter escaped death thanks to an ephemeral boy of the clouds taking her hand. She remains haunted by survivor guilt compounding her belief she caused her mother’s demise.
Unable to move on pass the tragedy, Abbey has only one friend, Tanner Lange, paralyzed from the waist down since a childhood accident. Abbey is attracted to Nate Holden, who does not know she exists though she knows everything about him. He is joining his father and others on a climb of Denali. However, when Abbey begins seeing the Angel of Death’s ravens, she knows the grim reaper is back in her life; her fear is Nate is the target. She wants to go to her crush but her dad insists they go on their annual pilgrimage to her mom.
This is an exciting teen paranormal thriller that rotates perspective between Abbey and on Denali. The storyline focuses on death, guilt and redemption. Abbey is a wonderful protagonist who keeps the stirring tale focused though her actions with Nate seem off kilter; first as a stalker and later when he arrives at the remote cabin where she and her dad retreated to pay homage to their late loved one. In some ways Tanner steals the show with his freshness while the heroine’s first kiss is a stunner. Fans will enjoy Abbey’s efforts to come to grips with death. Harriet Klausner
Soul Screamers
Rachel Vincent
Harlequin Teen, $8.99
ISBN: 9780373210602
My Soul To Lose. Dallas high school students Kaylee and Emma are at the mall shopping Suddenly Kaylee suffers a panic attack. Emma helps her calm down until Kaylee sees the shadows engulf a wheelchair bound boy. Hours later Kaylee awakens in a psychiatric ward where she cringes at the shadows surrounding another patient. Kaylee begins to recover until the scream surfaces; however Lydia of the green eyes calms her down.
My Soul To Take. Underage Kaylee sneaks into the Taboo Club where she dances with Eastlake High School hottie Nash. She senses someone is about to die and when that happens she has a deep need to scream. Nash calms her and explains that banshees like her must scream when someone is about to die. They begin dating but the pair has to stop a serial killer focused on Eastlake High School.
My Soul To Save. Teen pop star Eden dies on stage, but Kaylee, who was at the concert with Nash, fails to wail at death, she knows the idol traded her soul for fame. In spite of the fact her dad will kill her for cutting class and violating curfew, Kaylee risks her life and soul to prevent other teens from bartering theirs for a short life span of fame in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld.
This entertaining reprint of the prequel novella and the first two novels in the Soul Screamer teenage fantasy is a fine collection. The opening act introduces Kaylee with her instinctively need to wail; the other entries follow her struggling adjustment to control the urge with mentoring help by Nash’s mom while history and trig wait for no student even a banshee. Harriet Klausner
Saturday, April 7, 2012
The Return of Saint Germain
COMMEDIA DELLA MORTE, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Tor, $29.99, reviewed by Jim Brock.
France in 1792 – the French Revolution has reached a state of wholesale slaughter of the nobility, the intellectuals, merchants and tradespeople to the point where the thirst for blood is by necessity reaching lower levels of society. It is reaching a state where mere accusation is enough to warrant conviction and execution.
It is ironic that in Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s latest offering of the chronicles of the vampiric Saint Germain, the two least bloodthirsty characters are the vampires St. Germain and Madelaine de Montalia. Madelaine is in France despite St. Gemain’s warnings of the dangers that revolution can bring. After her arrest, he must journey to France with his man, Roger, to affect her escape.
In order to facilitate his plans, St. Germain becomes patron and musician for a traveling troupe of entertainers. Once again, the inherent nobility of his character causes him to overlook obvious complications and growing dangers with his traveling companions that will place him in the path of the True Death that Madelaine already faces.
The depth of historical research and the richness of language Yarbro has always used have made the St. Germain series the vampire series of greatest substance in print.
France in 1792 – the French Revolution has reached a state of wholesale slaughter of the nobility, the intellectuals, merchants and tradespeople to the point where the thirst for blood is by necessity reaching lower levels of society. It is reaching a state where mere accusation is enough to warrant conviction and execution.
It is ironic that in Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s latest offering of the chronicles of the vampiric Saint Germain, the two least bloodthirsty characters are the vampires St. Germain and Madelaine de Montalia. Madelaine is in France despite St. Gemain’s warnings of the dangers that revolution can bring. After her arrest, he must journey to France with his man, Roger, to affect her escape.
In order to facilitate his plans, St. Germain becomes patron and musician for a traveling troupe of entertainers. Once again, the inherent nobility of his character causes him to overlook obvious complications and growing dangers with his traveling companions that will place him in the path of the True Death that Madelaine already faces.
The depth of historical research and the richness of language Yarbro has always used have made the St. Germain series the vampire series of greatest substance in print.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Vampires, Ghosts and Venusians
Let Them Eat Stake
Sarah Zettel
Obsidian, Apr 3 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451236456
When the vampires came out in public, humans reacted overall with equanimity. They granted all rights to vampires and the other paranormal species (weres, witches and warlocks) who followed except they must register. Just like humans have restrictions the paranormal do too. For instance, vampires can drink human blood that is given freely but cannot be sold as a commodity. The paranormal species are not a monolithic block as vampires and witches have been enemies for centuries. Clubs and restaurants cater to the paranormal. For instance, Nightlife, owned by Chef Charlotte Caine and her vampire brother Chet, serve "Noir Cuisine" to Nightbloods and Daybloods.
When celeb chef Oscar Simmons quits working a marriage gala, event planner Felicity Garnett begs Charlotte to cater the multispecies wedding of the decade between witch Deanna Alden and Gabriel Renault the Nightblood allegedly from Paris (not Hoboken). Charlotte accepts the job that could make the restaurant a success. Soon afterward, Oscar is dead from what appears to be a heart attack and the groom’s side has begun to disappear. Charlotte realizes her boyfriend Brendan Maddox is related to the Alden family and everything turns sour when someone steals the anti- vampire weapon the Arall. Charlotte seeks the purloined object before she serves rations to the combatants.
The second "Vampire Chef" mystery is a delightful amateur sleuth fantasy that is much darker than its predecessor (A Taste of the Nightlife). The paranormal comes across as normal; especially enhancing that sense of “reality” is the heroine’s egalitarian attitude as she believes all species are equal with each having the good, the bad and the ugly. Readers who want something different will enjoy stopping for something red served up by Sarah Zettel at Nightlife. Harriet Klausner
Back From The Undead
D D Barant
St. Martin’s, Mar 27 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780312545062
Human FBI profiler Jace Valchek and her vampire boss National Security Agency chief David Cassius share one “lousy” night together when work intrudes on their office romance. David disappears on a top secret mission while NSA Intel Analysis Unit head Gretchen Petra the Pire mom with a teething fanged baby informs Jace that Aristotle “Impaler” Stoker wants to meet with her. The Impaler who has spent a lifetime avenging the slaughter of humans by the paranormal, is in crime ridden Vancouver where he swears to her he has found a Pire child trafficking ring.
Jace needs to capture the Impaler to fulfill the terms of her legal evil agreement and return to her earth. Accompanied by her golem field partner Charlie and Damon Eisfanger, Jace heads to Vancouver to meet Aristotle. In British Columbia, the evidence points to the Yakuza running the illegal child black market. Jace, with her former lover Tanaka the samurai and Charlie prepare to invade heaven for the heavenly cause of saving the children at the risk of losing her soul.
The latest Bloodhound Files investigative fantasy (see Death Blows) is a great entry as friends and foes do not know how to deal with the heroine’s amusing alien shtick while facing danger. Fast-paced, fans will relish D D Barant’s entertaining thriller as Jace’s graveyard humorous asides enhance an exciting quest. Harriet Klausner
Sacrificial Magic
Stacia Kane
Del Rey, Mar 27 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780345527509
Mob boss Sloberg arranged the fire in a locale that he should not have known about unless someone told him. Chess Putnam the Church of Real Truth is a ghost hunting witch who knows by just one look her boyfriend Terrible that he believes she is the stoolie as she and Sloberg’s son Lex were recent bed mates even after she fell in love with Terrible; though now she is a one man woman.
The Church assigns Chess to look into a reported ghost haunting at a Downside school where she meets Lex’s sister Beulah. Chess realizes an unknown adversary is using dark magic at the school. Meanwhile Lex sees this as an opportunity as he wants to help solve the case and offers the addicted Chess free drugs like he did before. Terrible’s boss Bump who is Chess’ dealer directs her to investigate a nasty homicide in which dark magic was the murder weapon.
The latest Downside Ghosts fantasy (see City of Ghosts and Unholy Magic) is a fresh exciting thriller as the heroine struggles to uncover the identity of a rogue practitioner while her relationship with Terrible turns terrible sending her back to drug dependency. Sacrificial Magic is a great entry in a special one of a kind saga as the ghost hunter becomes the haunted hunted. Harriet Klausner
Emperor Mollusk Vs. The Sinister Brain
A. Lee Martinez
Orbit, Mar 5 2012, $19.99
ISBN: 9780316093521
Throughout the solar system and beyond, Emperor Mollusk is perhaps the most hated creature ever with one exception; that inane third planet’s so called sentient species worship the retired former Warlord of Terra. However, the evil genius cannot relax in his retirement due boredom that rivaled his ennui when he ruled Earth.
Meanwhile assassins want to kill him and Venusian Intelligence sends Commander Zala and his guard to arrest Mollusk for crimes against Venusians when he invaded their planet. Realizing the Venusians provide a fascinating scenario, Mollusk cooperates with the arrest, but soon leads his captorrs on a bloody romp as he, his pet Snarg, and his new “allies” follow a trail set up by a brainy sinister enemy who takes no prisoners.
This is an amusing satirical spin on the save the universe science fiction thrillers. The storyline has a 1950s pulp fiction feel, but done so with a humorous wink. Fast-paced and entertaining even with knowing the twisted ending relatively early, fans will enjoy touring the solar system with the obnoxiously superior evil Neptunian emperor and the dedicated Venusian Commander. Harriet Klausner
Sarah Zettel
Obsidian, Apr 3 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451236456
When the vampires came out in public, humans reacted overall with equanimity. They granted all rights to vampires and the other paranormal species (weres, witches and warlocks) who followed except they must register. Just like humans have restrictions the paranormal do too. For instance, vampires can drink human blood that is given freely but cannot be sold as a commodity. The paranormal species are not a monolithic block as vampires and witches have been enemies for centuries. Clubs and restaurants cater to the paranormal. For instance, Nightlife, owned by Chef Charlotte Caine and her vampire brother Chet, serve "Noir Cuisine" to Nightbloods and Daybloods.
When celeb chef Oscar Simmons quits working a marriage gala, event planner Felicity Garnett begs Charlotte to cater the multispecies wedding of the decade between witch Deanna Alden and Gabriel Renault the Nightblood allegedly from Paris (not Hoboken). Charlotte accepts the job that could make the restaurant a success. Soon afterward, Oscar is dead from what appears to be a heart attack and the groom’s side has begun to disappear. Charlotte realizes her boyfriend Brendan Maddox is related to the Alden family and everything turns sour when someone steals the anti- vampire weapon the Arall. Charlotte seeks the purloined object before she serves rations to the combatants.
The second "Vampire Chef" mystery is a delightful amateur sleuth fantasy that is much darker than its predecessor (A Taste of the Nightlife). The paranormal comes across as normal; especially enhancing that sense of “reality” is the heroine’s egalitarian attitude as she believes all species are equal with each having the good, the bad and the ugly. Readers who want something different will enjoy stopping for something red served up by Sarah Zettel at Nightlife. Harriet Klausner
Back From The Undead
D D Barant
St. Martin’s, Mar 27 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780312545062
Human FBI profiler Jace Valchek and her vampire boss National Security Agency chief David Cassius share one “lousy” night together when work intrudes on their office romance. David disappears on a top secret mission while NSA Intel Analysis Unit head Gretchen Petra the Pire mom with a teething fanged baby informs Jace that Aristotle “Impaler” Stoker wants to meet with her. The Impaler who has spent a lifetime avenging the slaughter of humans by the paranormal, is in crime ridden Vancouver where he swears to her he has found a Pire child trafficking ring.
Jace needs to capture the Impaler to fulfill the terms of her legal evil agreement and return to her earth. Accompanied by her golem field partner Charlie and Damon Eisfanger, Jace heads to Vancouver to meet Aristotle. In British Columbia, the evidence points to the Yakuza running the illegal child black market. Jace, with her former lover Tanaka the samurai and Charlie prepare to invade heaven for the heavenly cause of saving the children at the risk of losing her soul.
The latest Bloodhound Files investigative fantasy (see Death Blows) is a great entry as friends and foes do not know how to deal with the heroine’s amusing alien shtick while facing danger. Fast-paced, fans will relish D D Barant’s entertaining thriller as Jace’s graveyard humorous asides enhance an exciting quest. Harriet Klausner
Sacrificial Magic
Stacia Kane
Del Rey, Mar 27 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780345527509
Mob boss Sloberg arranged the fire in a locale that he should not have known about unless someone told him. Chess Putnam the Church of Real Truth is a ghost hunting witch who knows by just one look her boyfriend Terrible that he believes she is the stoolie as she and Sloberg’s son Lex were recent bed mates even after she fell in love with Terrible; though now she is a one man woman.
The Church assigns Chess to look into a reported ghost haunting at a Downside school where she meets Lex’s sister Beulah. Chess realizes an unknown adversary is using dark magic at the school. Meanwhile Lex sees this as an opportunity as he wants to help solve the case and offers the addicted Chess free drugs like he did before. Terrible’s boss Bump who is Chess’ dealer directs her to investigate a nasty homicide in which dark magic was the murder weapon.
The latest Downside Ghosts fantasy (see City of Ghosts and Unholy Magic) is a fresh exciting thriller as the heroine struggles to uncover the identity of a rogue practitioner while her relationship with Terrible turns terrible sending her back to drug dependency. Sacrificial Magic is a great entry in a special one of a kind saga as the ghost hunter becomes the haunted hunted. Harriet Klausner
Emperor Mollusk Vs. The Sinister Brain
A. Lee Martinez
Orbit, Mar 5 2012, $19.99
ISBN: 9780316093521
Throughout the solar system and beyond, Emperor Mollusk is perhaps the most hated creature ever with one exception; that inane third planet’s so called sentient species worship the retired former Warlord of Terra. However, the evil genius cannot relax in his retirement due boredom that rivaled his ennui when he ruled Earth.
Meanwhile assassins want to kill him and Venusian Intelligence sends Commander Zala and his guard to arrest Mollusk for crimes against Venusians when he invaded their planet. Realizing the Venusians provide a fascinating scenario, Mollusk cooperates with the arrest, but soon leads his captorrs on a bloody romp as he, his pet Snarg, and his new “allies” follow a trail set up by a brainy sinister enemy who takes no prisoners.
This is an amusing satirical spin on the save the universe science fiction thrillers. The storyline has a 1950s pulp fiction feel, but done so with a humorous wink. Fast-paced and entertaining even with knowing the twisted ending relatively early, fans will enjoy touring the solar system with the obnoxiously superior evil Neptunian emperor and the dedicated Venusian Commander. Harriet Klausner
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Unusual tales
Emperor Mollusk Vs. The Sinister Brain
A. Lee Martinez
Orbit, Mar 5 2012, $19.99
ISBN: 9780316093521
Throughout the solar system and beyond, Emperor Mollusk is perhaps the most hated creature ever with one exception; that inane third planet’s so called sentient species worship the retired former Warlord of Terra. However, the evil genius cannot relax in his retirement due boredom that rivaled his ennui when he ruled Earth.
Meanwhile assassins want to kill him and Venusian Intelligence sends Commander Zala and his guard to arrest Mollusk for crimes against Venusians when he invaded their planet. Realizing the Venusians provide a fascinating scenario, Mollusk cooperates with the arrest, but soon leads his captorrs on a bloody romp as he, his pet Snarg, and his new “allies” follow a trail set up by a brainy sinister enemy who takes no prisoners.
This is an amusing satirical spin on the save the universe science fiction thrillers. The storyline has a 1950s pulp fiction feel, but done so with a humorous wink. Fast-paced and entertaining even with knowing the twisted ending relatively early, fans will enjoy touring the solar system with the obnoxiously superior evil Neptunian emperor and the dedicated Venusian Commander. Harriet Klausner
Night Games
Crystal Jordan
Kensington Aphrodisia, Feb 28 2012, $14.00
ISBN: 9780758261564
Dedicated Seattle Police Department’s Magickal Task Force officer Selina Grayson is a centuries old elf who remains haunted with the death of her cousin by a still out there serial killing bloodsucker. Her superior assigns Selina the investigation into a serial killer drinking blood from the Magickal and from the Normal aware of the Magickal. The FBI Magickal Crimes Unit assigns human agent Jack Laramie to work with Selina.
The elf and the human are attracted to one another immediately. They begin a heated tryst while working the case. As they fall in love, he wants more, but she chooses less. However, both agree that ending the blood-draining reign of terror comes first, but Selina and Jack fail to realize they fit the profile of a diabolical malevolence.
The second Night urban fantasy police procedural (see Embrace The Night) is an exciting serial killer thriller that deftly blends a tense investigation with heated multispecies sex. The storyline starts slow as Crystal Jordon goes over the ground rules of her mythos, but that also enables fans to believe in witches, vampires, werewolves and Normals (who mostly unaware of the paranormal). Once completed, the plot accelerates into a fast-paced arousing whodunit. Harriet Klausner
Wanted: Undead Or Alive
Kerrelyn Sparks
Avon, Mar 27 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780061958069
Celebrity Vampire Phineas “Love Doctor” McKinney has become famous for his TV commercial on the Digital Vampire Network selling Blardonnay, a blood and Chardonnay concoction. Since good vampires saved his life, Phin has adjusted well to being a blood diner after the initial shock of being converted by having his throat ripped open by an evil Malcontent. While his stunned human brother Freemont takes him to the Brooklyn studio of DVN, MacKay S and I works on capturing Corky Courrant, the de facto new leader of the Malcontents following the death of Casimir whose head was cut off.
Not long afterward, Phin goes undercover in Wyoming to help catch Corky. The city slicker feels out of place in the mountainous state except that he shares a cabin with his obsession Brynley Jones the werewolf who to his chagrin loathes all vampires. She is his day bodyguard while her father Caddoc demands she marry one of their kind.
The latest Love At Stake romantic urban fantasy continues the post Casmir Malcontent era (see Vampire Mine and Sexiest Vampire Alive) with Phin’s tale. The plot focuses mostly on the dysfunctional love story between the only known female alpha and Dr. Phang the Love Doctor though a second subplot involves the Malcontents. Although the Love Doctor is persona is somewhat muted and a late twist abates some of the tension, fans will appreciate this entertaining entry.
Harriet Klausner
A. Lee Martinez
Orbit, Mar 5 2012, $19.99
ISBN: 9780316093521
Throughout the solar system and beyond, Emperor Mollusk is perhaps the most hated creature ever with one exception; that inane third planet’s so called sentient species worship the retired former Warlord of Terra. However, the evil genius cannot relax in his retirement due boredom that rivaled his ennui when he ruled Earth.
Meanwhile assassins want to kill him and Venusian Intelligence sends Commander Zala and his guard to arrest Mollusk for crimes against Venusians when he invaded their planet. Realizing the Venusians provide a fascinating scenario, Mollusk cooperates with the arrest, but soon leads his captorrs on a bloody romp as he, his pet Snarg, and his new “allies” follow a trail set up by a brainy sinister enemy who takes no prisoners.
This is an amusing satirical spin on the save the universe science fiction thrillers. The storyline has a 1950s pulp fiction feel, but done so with a humorous wink. Fast-paced and entertaining even with knowing the twisted ending relatively early, fans will enjoy touring the solar system with the obnoxiously superior evil Neptunian emperor and the dedicated Venusian Commander. Harriet Klausner
Night Games
Crystal Jordan
Kensington Aphrodisia, Feb 28 2012, $14.00
ISBN: 9780758261564
Dedicated Seattle Police Department’s Magickal Task Force officer Selina Grayson is a centuries old elf who remains haunted with the death of her cousin by a still out there serial killing bloodsucker. Her superior assigns Selina the investigation into a serial killer drinking blood from the Magickal and from the Normal aware of the Magickal. The FBI Magickal Crimes Unit assigns human agent Jack Laramie to work with Selina.
The elf and the human are attracted to one another immediately. They begin a heated tryst while working the case. As they fall in love, he wants more, but she chooses less. However, both agree that ending the blood-draining reign of terror comes first, but Selina and Jack fail to realize they fit the profile of a diabolical malevolence.
The second Night urban fantasy police procedural (see Embrace The Night) is an exciting serial killer thriller that deftly blends a tense investigation with heated multispecies sex. The storyline starts slow as Crystal Jordon goes over the ground rules of her mythos, but that also enables fans to believe in witches, vampires, werewolves and Normals (who mostly unaware of the paranormal). Once completed, the plot accelerates into a fast-paced arousing whodunit. Harriet Klausner
Wanted: Undead Or Alive
Kerrelyn Sparks
Avon, Mar 27 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780061958069
Celebrity Vampire Phineas “Love Doctor” McKinney has become famous for his TV commercial on the Digital Vampire Network selling Blardonnay, a blood and Chardonnay concoction. Since good vampires saved his life, Phin has adjusted well to being a blood diner after the initial shock of being converted by having his throat ripped open by an evil Malcontent. While his stunned human brother Freemont takes him to the Brooklyn studio of DVN, MacKay S and I works on capturing Corky Courrant, the de facto new leader of the Malcontents following the death of Casimir whose head was cut off.
Not long afterward, Phin goes undercover in Wyoming to help catch Corky. The city slicker feels out of place in the mountainous state except that he shares a cabin with his obsession Brynley Jones the werewolf who to his chagrin loathes all vampires. She is his day bodyguard while her father Caddoc demands she marry one of their kind.
The latest Love At Stake romantic urban fantasy continues the post Casmir Malcontent era (see Vampire Mine and Sexiest Vampire Alive) with Phin’s tale. The plot focuses mostly on the dysfunctional love story between the only known female alpha and Dr. Phang the Love Doctor though a second subplot involves the Malcontents. Although the Love Doctor is persona is somewhat muted and a late twist abates some of the tension, fans will appreciate this entertaining entry.
Harriet Klausner
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Reviews
Born Wicked
Jessica Spotswood
Putnam, Feb 7 2012, $17.99
ISBN: 9780399257452
By 1896, The Brotherhood established a harsh Christian theocracy in which the prosecution of witches is a major endeavor. Practitioners are condemned to death or worse: the prisons ships and the asylums. Additionally when a female turns seventeen, they must marry or join the Sisterhood.
Cate Cahill’s mom died trying to produce a male offspring. Her mother made her make a death bed pledge to care for her two younger sisters, but Cate is running out of time as in six months she must choose. Adding to her dilemma is the three Cahill siblings are closet witches, which makes her courtship by Paul McLeod a going nowhere relationship and her dalliance with Finn Belastra possessing even less staying power. As Cate reads her mother’s missing diary, she realizes her time problem worsened with a terrible fate that dooms the trio; forcing her to peruse banned books in an attempt to keep her and her sisters safe while townsfolk suspect them of wickedness. Then Sister Elena arrives to help them.
Born Wicked is an exhilarating alternative New England historical fantasy starring a courageous but increasingly desperate heroine. Her sisters and Elena are top notch characters while their late mom comes across as full blooded also through her diaries and her daughters’ observations. Although the males seem thin, fans will enjoy Jessica Spotwood’s engaging witch hunt. Harriet Klausner
Chasing Midnight
Randy Wayne White
Putnam, Mar 6 2012, $25.95
ISBN: 9780399158315
Marine biologist Doc Ford seems like a mild amiable person who enjoys studying sea life and providing fresh or preserved specimens to schools and labs nationwide from his Sanibel Island base. In his other life, Doc is a brutal agent working for the American government by cleaning up dire ugly situations.
He and his friend Tomlinson attend an eastern waters caviar productivity improvement conference hosted by vicious Russian black marketer Victor Kaslov on Vanderbilt Island. Attendees come from China, Iran and Turkmenia etc., but Doc diligently focuses on Kaslov in order to obtain some Intel. While Ford goes underwater to inspect the Russian’s yacht, six eco-terrorists crash the conference. Just after their assault, an explosion knocks out the electricity and jamming electronic communication on the island. The party crashers demands must be met or one hostage every hour will die until at the stroke of midnight, everyone still breathing will die in an explosion. Doc realizes how precarious the situation is; his goal is simple to get his friends and himself off island, but the execution is impossible as this group acts more like the Russian’s deadliest “capitalist” rivals than environmental extremists.
This is an exhilarating Doc Ford thriller as the meek marine biologist and the ruthless agent makes him seem like a sea version of Clark Kent-Superman. Tomlinson is his usual Zen-self driving Doc crazy, but who though not brave turns competently hyper with ideas when facing danger. He actually is the one who provides the twists to another fabulous Doc Ford tale as he battles to keep alive his friends from cut throat competitors with no business ethics. Harriet Klausner
Force of Nature
C.J. Box
Putnam, Mar 20 2012, $25.95
ISBN: 9780399158261
In the Saddlestring, Wyoming area Joe Pickett and Nate Romanowski are friends though the former knows the latter has concealed something from him. In 1991, Nate was assigned to a Special Forces unit when the “Five” led by Lieutenant John Nemecek did something terrible. He walked away, but knew one day they would come for him. That day of reckoning arrives when a gutted Large Merle tells Nate in his last breath: “The Five. They’ve deployed.”
Nate understands no one stands in the way of Nemecek’s rising political career especially those who witnessed the atrocity. He knows the tactic Nemecek uses to kills those on that infamous patrol. His goons will get at him but won’t go directly; instead they terrorize friends and family. The Five will assault the Pickett family. Upset for what has come to his friends and concluding there is Nowhere to Run, Nate believes that the only way to defeat the enemy is outside the law, but doubts his game warden friend can walk the crooked path. Joe has his friend’s back though he prefers not going “rogue” but a High Noon confrontation with Nemecek’s minion is imminent and he must choose between life and the law.
With a nod to the movie Red, bestselling author C.J. Box has written a fresh fantastic Pickett thriller (see Cold Wind) as fans of the series finally learn what recurring support character Nate has hidden though numerous books. The villain has a powerful network in Wyoming and Idaho that informs him who is where and identifying their loved ones so he can arrange their deaths. It is Nate’s turn through the Pickett clan is a Force of Nature that is not to be trifled with. Each book in the series is better than the one before. Harriet Klausner
Fall from Grace
Richard North Patterson
Scribner, Mar 20 2012, $26.00
ISBN 9781451617054
On Martha’s Vineyard, internationally famous writer Benjamin Blaine is found dead at the bottom of a cliff overlooking the sea. Ben’s estranged son Adam returns home for the first time in a decade to attend his dad’s funeral. Others expected at the burial are the deceased’s widow Clarice, their other son gay Teddy, his mistress movie star Carla Pacelli and Ben former girlfriend Jenny Leigh.
Ben thinks someone pushed his larger than life father off the edge. He knows the revised will is a powerful motive for those who gained wealth and for those who lost wealth. Carla receives $10 million; Jenny gets $1 million; Adam inherits $100,000; and Clarice and Teddy were left out of the new will with each obtaining nothing. Using what he learned as an agricultural envoy in Afghanistan, Ben investigates.
This is a great thriller filled with stunning but plausible twists as Ben’s training and experience in duplicity comes in handy when dealing with the extended Blaine clan. As the protagonist uncovers secrets he wished he never knew, readers will relish his exhilarating investigation. Fall from Grace will be on most short lists for mystery of the year. Harriet Klausner
Jessica Spotswood
Putnam, Feb 7 2012, $17.99
ISBN: 9780399257452
By 1896, The Brotherhood established a harsh Christian theocracy in which the prosecution of witches is a major endeavor. Practitioners are condemned to death or worse: the prisons ships and the asylums. Additionally when a female turns seventeen, they must marry or join the Sisterhood.
Cate Cahill’s mom died trying to produce a male offspring. Her mother made her make a death bed pledge to care for her two younger sisters, but Cate is running out of time as in six months she must choose. Adding to her dilemma is the three Cahill siblings are closet witches, which makes her courtship by Paul McLeod a going nowhere relationship and her dalliance with Finn Belastra possessing even less staying power. As Cate reads her mother’s missing diary, she realizes her time problem worsened with a terrible fate that dooms the trio; forcing her to peruse banned books in an attempt to keep her and her sisters safe while townsfolk suspect them of wickedness. Then Sister Elena arrives to help them.
Born Wicked is an exhilarating alternative New England historical fantasy starring a courageous but increasingly desperate heroine. Her sisters and Elena are top notch characters while their late mom comes across as full blooded also through her diaries and her daughters’ observations. Although the males seem thin, fans will enjoy Jessica Spotwood’s engaging witch hunt. Harriet Klausner
Chasing Midnight
Randy Wayne White
Putnam, Mar 6 2012, $25.95
ISBN: 9780399158315
Marine biologist Doc Ford seems like a mild amiable person who enjoys studying sea life and providing fresh or preserved specimens to schools and labs nationwide from his Sanibel Island base. In his other life, Doc is a brutal agent working for the American government by cleaning up dire ugly situations.
He and his friend Tomlinson attend an eastern waters caviar productivity improvement conference hosted by vicious Russian black marketer Victor Kaslov on Vanderbilt Island. Attendees come from China, Iran and Turkmenia etc., but Doc diligently focuses on Kaslov in order to obtain some Intel. While Ford goes underwater to inspect the Russian’s yacht, six eco-terrorists crash the conference. Just after their assault, an explosion knocks out the electricity and jamming electronic communication on the island. The party crashers demands must be met or one hostage every hour will die until at the stroke of midnight, everyone still breathing will die in an explosion. Doc realizes how precarious the situation is; his goal is simple to get his friends and himself off island, but the execution is impossible as this group acts more like the Russian’s deadliest “capitalist” rivals than environmental extremists.
This is an exhilarating Doc Ford thriller as the meek marine biologist and the ruthless agent makes him seem like a sea version of Clark Kent-Superman. Tomlinson is his usual Zen-self driving Doc crazy, but who though not brave turns competently hyper with ideas when facing danger. He actually is the one who provides the twists to another fabulous Doc Ford tale as he battles to keep alive his friends from cut throat competitors with no business ethics. Harriet Klausner
Force of Nature
C.J. Box
Putnam, Mar 20 2012, $25.95
ISBN: 9780399158261
In the Saddlestring, Wyoming area Joe Pickett and Nate Romanowski are friends though the former knows the latter has concealed something from him. In 1991, Nate was assigned to a Special Forces unit when the “Five” led by Lieutenant John Nemecek did something terrible. He walked away, but knew one day they would come for him. That day of reckoning arrives when a gutted Large Merle tells Nate in his last breath: “The Five. They’ve deployed.”
Nate understands no one stands in the way of Nemecek’s rising political career especially those who witnessed the atrocity. He knows the tactic Nemecek uses to kills those on that infamous patrol. His goons will get at him but won’t go directly; instead they terrorize friends and family. The Five will assault the Pickett family. Upset for what has come to his friends and concluding there is Nowhere to Run, Nate believes that the only way to defeat the enemy is outside the law, but doubts his game warden friend can walk the crooked path. Joe has his friend’s back though he prefers not going “rogue” but a High Noon confrontation with Nemecek’s minion is imminent and he must choose between life and the law.
With a nod to the movie Red, bestselling author C.J. Box has written a fresh fantastic Pickett thriller (see Cold Wind) as fans of the series finally learn what recurring support character Nate has hidden though numerous books. The villain has a powerful network in Wyoming and Idaho that informs him who is where and identifying their loved ones so he can arrange their deaths. It is Nate’s turn through the Pickett clan is a Force of Nature that is not to be trifled with. Each book in the series is better than the one before. Harriet Klausner
Fall from Grace
Richard North Patterson
Scribner, Mar 20 2012, $26.00
ISBN 9781451617054
On Martha’s Vineyard, internationally famous writer Benjamin Blaine is found dead at the bottom of a cliff overlooking the sea. Ben’s estranged son Adam returns home for the first time in a decade to attend his dad’s funeral. Others expected at the burial are the deceased’s widow Clarice, their other son gay Teddy, his mistress movie star Carla Pacelli and Ben former girlfriend Jenny Leigh.
Ben thinks someone pushed his larger than life father off the edge. He knows the revised will is a powerful motive for those who gained wealth and for those who lost wealth. Carla receives $10 million; Jenny gets $1 million; Adam inherits $100,000; and Clarice and Teddy were left out of the new will with each obtaining nothing. Using what he learned as an agricultural envoy in Afghanistan, Ben investigates.
This is a great thriller filled with stunning but plausible twists as Ben’s training and experience in duplicity comes in handy when dealing with the extended Blaine clan. As the protagonist uncovers secrets he wished he never knew, readers will relish his exhilarating investigation. Fall from Grace will be on most short lists for mystery of the year. Harriet Klausner
Monday, April 2, 2012
Forgiven - a demon trappers novel
FORGIVEN, Jana Oliver, St Martin’s Griffin, $9.99, 354 pages, ISBN: 9780312614805, reviewed by Jim Brock.
How ironic is it that on the occasion of my 64th birthday the two highlights of my weekend were attending a concert by The Moody Blues and getting a copy of the third entry in Jana Oliver’s young adult “Demon Trapper” series – FORGIVEN? Barry and I were in Atlanta for the Moodys – a group we have loved since our distant youth. Jana’s young heroine, Riley Blackthorne, is in Atlanta battling angels and demons, Heaven and Hell, fellow demon trappers and the Vatican’s demon hunters while being expected to prevent Armageddon.
Riley must keep up her school attendance, homework and passing tests while sortingout her relationship with Beck, with her re-animated father and the above mentioned entities. FORGIVEN is a strong addition to this series with lots of answers and lots of action. I am decisively on record as to my appreciation of Jana Oliver’s talent. She is simply one of the best and is ripe for superstar status once she gets the audience she so richly deserves. The world of The Demon Trappers is genuinely unique and fertile ground for the intense and personally engaging stories Jana Oliver always delivers.
I do ask one indulgence of the author – Riley’s snake of an ex-boyfriend, Simon, should not be FORGIVEN after a simple “My bad” moment. He deserves some terror and torment for being such a hypocritical, treacherous, useless sniveler. Not everything deserves to be FORGIVEN but everyone deserves to read FORGIVEN.
How ironic is it that on the occasion of my 64th birthday the two highlights of my weekend were attending a concert by The Moody Blues and getting a copy of the third entry in Jana Oliver’s young adult “Demon Trapper” series – FORGIVEN? Barry and I were in Atlanta for the Moodys – a group we have loved since our distant youth. Jana’s young heroine, Riley Blackthorne, is in Atlanta battling angels and demons, Heaven and Hell, fellow demon trappers and the Vatican’s demon hunters while being expected to prevent Armageddon.
Riley must keep up her school attendance, homework and passing tests while sortingout her relationship with Beck, with her re-animated father and the above mentioned entities. FORGIVEN is a strong addition to this series with lots of answers and lots of action. I am decisively on record as to my appreciation of Jana Oliver’s talent. She is simply one of the best and is ripe for superstar status once she gets the audience she so richly deserves. The world of The Demon Trappers is genuinely unique and fertile ground for the intense and personally engaging stories Jana Oliver always delivers.
I do ask one indulgence of the author – Riley’s snake of an ex-boyfriend, Simon, should not be FORGIVEN after a simple “My bad” moment. He deserves some terror and torment for being such a hypocritical, treacherous, useless sniveler. Not everything deserves to be FORGIVEN but everyone deserves to read FORGIVEN.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Eulogy
EULOGY, D.T. Conklin, Evolved Publishing, $19.95, 432 pages, ISBN: 9780615608853, reviewed by Barry Hunter.
It’s not often I read other reviewers opinions of a book before I set mine down on paper. Conklin has been compared to Robert Jordan, Patrick Rothfuss, and Terry Brooks. I seem to differ in my opinion – I see more of Peter Straub and George R.R. Martin. You may have a different opinion after you finish EULOGY.
I went into EULOGY expecting an unsettling horror novel but found a high fantasy containing horror and magic and imagination as we follow the path of Villeen from the caves beneath the Kurin Mountains to the castle of the Mad King of Rippon and on to the battlefields that lead to the final EULOGY.
I was often reminded of the works of James Branch Cabell and Lord Dunsany with the characterization and mode of storytelling. This is an unusual novel that leaves you thinking about the adventure you have just read and the characters you have met.
It’s not often I read other reviewers opinions of a book before I set mine down on paper. Conklin has been compared to Robert Jordan, Patrick Rothfuss, and Terry Brooks. I seem to differ in my opinion – I see more of Peter Straub and George R.R. Martin. You may have a different opinion after you finish EULOGY.
I went into EULOGY expecting an unsettling horror novel but found a high fantasy containing horror and magic and imagination as we follow the path of Villeen from the caves beneath the Kurin Mountains to the castle of the Mad King of Rippon and on to the battlefields that lead to the final EULOGY.
I was often reminded of the works of James Branch Cabell and Lord Dunsany with the characterization and mode of storytelling. This is an unusual novel that leaves you thinking about the adventure you have just read and the characters you have met.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)