Category Five
T.J. MacGregor
Pinnacle, Oct 2005, $6.99, 384 pp.
ISBN 0786016809

Billy Joe Franklin and his girlfriend Crystal DeVries robbed a bank and he absconded with the money, leaving Crystal to take the fall. While waiting to go to trial, she, along with her friend Tia, transferred from the Dade County jail to the one on Tango Key. Billy successfully breaks her and Tia in a daring jailbreak. It looks like his planning will allow them to make a clean getaway until Hurricane Danielle turns into a Category Five storm, worse than even Hurricane Andrew.

Bookstore owner and psychic Mira Morales, her daughter Annie and her grandmother are preparing to survive one of the worst hurricanes on record when the escaped convicts and Billy take over the house and make sure the hostages are subdued. Mira’s live-n-lover, Shep, an FBI agent, knows about the danger the women face but he is trapped in a cellar and is unable to get out. Mira has to take charge and see that her family is safe until someone can rescue them but when their situation looks hopeless, help comes from a most unexpected source.

It is a toss up to Mira which is worse the Category Five hurricane or dealing with the unstable Billy Joe. Both could get her killed and even her psychic powers are not strong enough for her foresee what kind of trauma and tragedy will result from the criminals and the storm. T.J. MacGregor has written a fantastic crime thriller, filled with action and suspense but the true antagonist in CATEGORY FIVE is Hurricane Danielle.

Harriet Klausner

Pale Death
David and Aimee Thurlo
Forge, Oct 2005, $23.95, 264 pp.
ISBN 0765313855

State police officer Leo Hawk, once known as Lee Nez, is a Navaho half vampire who frequently works with FBI agent Diane Lopez who knows what he is and cares about him anyway. They are called to a crime scene where three people are staked and bite marks are on their neck. They trace the works to a nearby top secret federal facility where vampire Stewart Tanner, a full fledged vampire was being held against his will.

Experiments were conducted on him that were painful and could be considered torture. Eventually he went insane and when he was able to escape he killed his captors and is now going after federal employees. Dianne and Lee are assigned to the case and Lee has the best chance of catching him even though he is only a half vampire and Tanner is stronger and faster than him. As the body count mounts, Lee knows he has to work faster to take Tanner down but it is difficult when he has to hold back his true nature because he is working with mortals that will use him to experiment on if they discover he is a half vampire.

Navaho culture is woven into the vampire legend and what results is a fantastic storyline that is creatively different than most vampire stories. Lee is a good man who protects mortals from the evil vampires that want to kill or turn humans. His sense of justice is strong and as a result he recognizes that there are good vampires in the world and he has no reason to go after them. PALE DEATH will appeal to horror and mystery fans as well as those who love to read tales that are refreshingly original.

Harriet Klausner

King’s Blood
Judith Tarr
Roc, Oct 2005, $16.00, 384 pp.
ISBN 0451460456

When the Saxons converted to Christianity, the Old Magic of Britain that kept it alive started dying. When the Norman conquerors came, Britain for a time began to heal because William and his wife followed the Old Ways. When Mathilda died, William turned his back on magic and with his death, a king sits on the throne who can see but wants nothing to do with magic.

The darkness is spreading again and the magic is dying out. The guardians are short one number because a priest denies the Old Ways and follows Christianity. The princess of Scotland, Edith, and Prince Henry, the English king’s brother, are filled with and accept the magic that is a part of them. With England under siege from all sides the time is coming for a great sacrifice that if not made will cause Britain to suffer the same fate as Atlantis.

Judith Tarr weaves a web of historical facts and imbues them with a touch of enchantment so that a pivotal event in history is made possible by sorcery. This glimpse into a past that once existed comes about because many minor magical rites and especially one major one cause the essential moment that magic made history. This romantic fantasy is full of action, otherworldly creatures and the need for the champions to prove brave and victorious otherwise Britain will be destroyed.

Harriet Klausner

Dragon Blade
Andre Norton & Sasha Miller
Tor, Aug 2005, $24.95
ISBN: 0765307472

The Nordon monarchs Ashen NordornQueen and Gaurin NordornKing are looking forward to peace, spending quality time together and with their infant son having recently defeated the Great Foulness ice dragon. However, their tranqulty ends when Ashen finds a letter inside the false bottom of a box containing a gift; the note explains that only the legendary DRAGON BLADE can kill the Mother Ice Dragon.

Corageous though wary, Gaurin leaves to find the blade made from the scales of the enemy’s deceased mate that will finally end this nightmare. After her sposue left, Ashen disocvers a map that shows where the DRAGON BLADE and the Mother Ice Dragon lair are located. She sets off to catch up to her husband while their land has a new foe, a rogue troll destroying anything in its path.

The fourth tale in the Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan saga is a fabulous fantasy especially when the exciting story line follows the escapades of the Nordorn rulers. The action is fast-paced and never slows down even when the Troll threat takes fans down a sidebar that is fun to follow by bringing in other favorites from previous books, but also weaves a thread that takes away from the grand adventure. Still fantasy fans will gain immense delight from this fine tale.

Harriet Klausner

Spell of the Highlander
Karen Marie Moning
Delacorte, Sep 2005, $18.00, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0385339143

In the ninth century, women have always loved Celtic Druid Lord Cian MacKeltar, who as the only male in his family (his sire died just before his birth) has always been spoiled by the females. Still he enjoys studying Druid tomes as much as bedding the lasses until Samhain “buried” him alive in an underground library sealed for eternity. Over the centuries Cian became a myth although he still lives in a hellish dark mirror prison.

While Chicago based archaeology graduate student Jessi St. James plans a post PhD life filled with boyfriends, Lucan Trevayne panics over a break and entry. Someone stole the Dark Mirror amongst other “Unseelie” Hallows artifacts at a time when his tithe is due.

Professor Keene asks Jessi to accept a delivery for him. She does and looks at the ancient mirror, but sees a hunk looking back from the glass at her. Cian is freed but knows his powerful and most likely affluent enemy still lives and is coming for him and the mirror. With Jessi at his side to keep the woman he is falling in love with safe, Cian knows he must stop Lucan from regaining what he lost and regain the final fourth Unseelie Hallows object.

This exciting romantic fantasy never slows down from the moment that Cian is trapped inside the Dark Mirror until the final confrontation. The story line is action packed (the first paragraph above is only a few pages) as the ninth century warriors battle in the twenty-first century with Lucan having all the advantages expect the love of a good woman. Karen Marie Moning provides a terrific saga.

Harriet Klausner

Spell of the Highlander
Karen Marie Moning
Delacorte, Sep 2005, $18.00, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0385339143

In the ninth century, women have always loved Celtic Druid Lord Cian MacKeltar, who as the only male in his family (his sire died just before his birth) has always been spoiled by the females. Still he enjoys studying Druid tomes as much as bedding the lasses until Samhain “buried” him alive in an underground library sealed for eternity. Over the centuries Cian became a myth although he still lives in a hellish dark mirror prison.

While Chicago based archaeology graduate student Jessi St. James plans a post PhD life filled with boyfriends, Lucan Trevayne panics over a break and entry. Someone stole the Dark Mirror amongst other “Unseelie” Hallows artifacts at a time when his tithe is due.

Professor Keene asks Jessi to accept a delivery for him. She does and looks at the ancient mirror, but sees a hunk looking back from the glass at her. Cian is freed but knows his powerful and most likely affluent enemy still lives and is coming for him and the mirror. With Jessi at his side to keep the woman he is falling in love with safe, Cian knows he must stop Lucan from regaining what he lost and regain the final fourth Unseelie Hallows object.

This exciting romantic fantasy never slows down from the moment that Cian is trapped inside the Dark Mirror until the final confrontation. The story line is action packed (the first paragraph above is only a few pages) as the ninth century warriors battle in the twenty-first century with Lucan having all the advantages expect the love of a good woman. Karen Marie Moning provides a terrific saga.

Harriet Klausner

Spell of the Highlander
Karen Marie Moning
Delacorte, Sep 2005, $18.00, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0385339143

In the ninth century, women have always loved Celtic Druid Lord Cian MacKeltar, who as the only male in his family (his sire died just before his birth) has always been spoiled by the females. Still he enjoys studying Druid tomes as much as bedding the lasses until Samhain “buried” him alive in an underground library sealed for eternity. Over the centuries Cian became a myth although he still lives in a hellish dark mirror prison.

While Chicago based archaeology graduate student Jessi St. James plans a post PhD life filled with boyfriends, Lucan Trevayne panics over a break and entry. Someone stole the Dark Mirror amongst other “Unseelie” Hallows artifacts at a time when his tithe is due.

Professor Keene asks Jessi to accept a delivery for him. She does and looks at the ancient mirror, but sees a hunk looking back from the glass at her. Cian is freed but knows his powerful and most likely affluent enemy still lives and is coming for him and the mirror. With Jessi at his side to keep the woman he is falling in love with safe, Cian knows he must stop Lucan from regaining what he lost and regain the final fourth Unseelie Hallows object.

This exciting romantic fantasy never slows down from the moment that Cian is trapped inside the Dark Mirror until the final confrontation. The story line is action packed (the first paragraph above is only a few pages) as the ninth century warriors battle in the twenty-first century with Lucan having all the advantages expect the love of a good woman. Karen Marie Moning provides a terrific saga.

Harriet Klausner

Heretic
Joseph Nassise
Pocket, Oct 2005, $6.99, 304 pp.
ISBN 0743470958

When their organization was outlawed, the Knights Templar went underground until the Vatican recognized them again and they became an arm of the church fighting the supernatural enemies of humanity. One Knight Commander Cade Williams, in charge of Echo Command, joined the order when as a policeman he encountered a supernatural entity he calls the Adversary that killed his wife. He fully intends to avenge his wife’s death but for now he fights the cases of the order whenever he is called to do so.

Someone or something is attacking commanderies (various headquarters of the Knights Templar), killing the Templars and raising them from the dead as revenants. The group of nine led by Simon Hamilton Logan, the head Necromancer is looking for the Spear of Destiny for it is believed whoever possesses it could rule the world. The battle becomes personal for Cade when he realizes the Necromancer is in league with his enemy the Adversary. Before he can ever think of taking vengeance on his foe, he must keep the spear out of the enemy’s hands, a difficult thing to accomplish when there is a traitor within his organization.

Horror fans will be delighted to discover the works of Joseph Nassise a relatively new writer who can hold his own with such masters as Douglas Clegg, Bentley Little, and Stephen King. Heretic is a dark work, gothic in tone with scary scenes that will frighten even those who don’t get scared by reading a horror novel. The protagonist fights on the side of the light even though he has his own agenda. Like this reviewer, fans will look forward to more adventures starring Cade and the Knights Templar.

Harriet Klausner

Foreigner
Robert J. Sawyer
Tor, Jul 2005, $13.95
ISBN 0765309726

Afsan’s Saurian punishment for declaring that the Face of God is a planet that the Qintaglio home sphere orbits as its inner most moon was being blinded. His related theory that their “orb” will be destroyed in about a century is met with mixed results. Those who believe the astronomer ponder how to go off planet when ocean voyages are difficult enough while Afsan negotiates a fee with therapist Mokleb to help him mentally “see” how to overcome his natural irrational behavior and adapting to using his new grown eyes.

Meanwhile Afsan’s spouse Novato studies an alien spacecraft found in the southwestern Frahtoolah Province. At about the same time that Novato nervously evaluated the craft, her son Toroca, while on geological survey aboard the ocean going Dasheter, meets a second sentient saurian race on a small archipelago. This shakes the Qintaglios more than Afsan’s “taking God out of our skies” with a biological blow to the belief they are the superior race of God. These scientific advances, instead of saving the race from the breaking up of their moon, lead to war.

This reprint of the final tale of the Qintaglio Ascension is a fabulous science fiction story that makes the saurian races seem real as the audience will obtain a historical, anthropological, and psychological perspective especially of the Qintaglio culture. The three prime well written subplots tie together in a delightful climax. Fans of the series will appreciate the dual first contacts by Novato and Toroca, but especially enjoy Mokleb getting Afsan on the couch to psychoanalyze him so that he can understand the irrationality of the species (move over Freud). It is best read this novel after the first two books in the series to fully savor the saurian culture but FOREIGNER can definitely stand alone.

Harriet Klausner

Grave Sight
Charlaine Harris
Berkley, Oct 2005, $23.95, 272 pp.
ISBN 0425205681

After being struck by lightening, Harper Connelly can locate dead people and know if they died of natural causes, committed suicide, or were murdered. Relatives of missing people hire Harper to find their missing loved ones. Harper knows how they died because she senses the last minutes of the individual’s life. Right now she and her step-brother Tolliver are in the Ozark town of Sarne, hired to find Teenie, a missing teenage girl.

Harper finds the burial place and knows that the girl was murdered. She also discovers that Teenie’s boyfriend didn’t kill her and in remorse committed suicide but was murdered as well. Hollis, one of the police officers working the homicides, is interested in Harper who tells him that his wife Sally, the sister of Teenie was murdered and not an accident victim. Someone wants Harper and Tollivar gone and that person will not hesitate to use violence if it results in getting rid of them permanently.

Considering that the heroine can find a dead body and learn how they died, she is amazingly normal and treats her skill like any of her other five senses. She even make a living out of it, not to exploit people but to give closure and sometimes even helping her client figure out who killed them if it was a homicide. Fast pacing, excellent character development and a strong storyline make GRAVE SIGHT an excellent reading experience. This fabulous opening gambit affirms that every series Charlaine Harris creates is utterly fantastic.

Harriet Klausner