The Restorer’s Journey
Sharon Hinck
NAV Press, Mar 2008, $14.99
ISBN: 9781600061332

Before Susan, Mark and their eighteen years old son Jake use the portal to return from the dimension of Lyric to their home on earth (see THE RESTORER’S SON), Councilman Cameron and the Rhus Media (who can twist and poison the minds of her victims) they escape through the portal into our earth too. They disappear for several weeks before they return with packages and force Susan to get through the dimension corridor with them.

Mark is unable to use the portal, but Jake travels to the other world to rescue his mother. Jake has changed since the last time he was on the other side. Cameron claims to have records that say when Restorer appeared twice in a generation, the line ends. This is a lie because Jake is the new Restorer, a person sent to the One to fight for the people and help the guardians. While Jake seeks his mother and a plan to defeat Cameron and throw the Kahlarea out of Render, Susan is trapped in the land of Rhus where Medea’s protégé tries his best to beak her by crawling through her mind.

Anyone who has felt the darkness close in on them while also feeling rage and despair should read THE RESTORER’S JOURNEY. Susan and Jake feel all that and more, but they draw on the strength from the One and in their hearts and refuse to allow evil to win. Sharon Hinck writes fantasy that takes the audience to a special magical place where faith is the cornerstone of life. Those who fail to adhere to that philosophy end up destroying themselves from inside their souls to their physical presence.

Harriet Klausner

Dawn’s Light
Terri Blackstock
Zondervan, May 2008, $14.99
ISBN: 9780310257707

It has been a year since the Pulses from the dying supernova knocked out all the fiber optics sending civilization back into a pre-electrical age (see TRUE LIGHT, LAST LIGHT and NIGHT LIGHT). Beth Branning has seen her father shot; her sister Deni in the hands of a serial killer; and Deni’s boyfriend Mark beaten severely by vigilantes. She is waiting for the “Next Terrible Thing” to happen; which of course occurs.

She witnesses a man kill a person and comes after her next; however a homeless man intercedes and Beth escapes even as her good Samaritan rescuer is murdered. The killer warns Beth not to tell anyone or he will go after her family. He knows her name because it is on the back of the shirt she is wearing. Mark plans to propose to Deni, but on the night he intends to give her an engagement ring, her former boyfriend Craig visits her. Since the Pulses occurred, he has been working diligently trying to get the electricity running. Beth sees a notice of a missing man on a bulleting board; he was the first victim she saw killed leaving behind a wife and their toddler. She worries about the killer coming for her loved ones until he arrives and almost kills her. Her parents find Beth hurt and rush her to the hospital where she undergoes brain surgery. Mark and a deputy search for her attacker while Craig uses his connections to get Beth medicine. The Branning clan knows that Beth’s fate is in the hands of God, but a few prayers by them might influence the outcome.

The final Restoration thriller will lift the spirits of readers while simultaneously leave readers weeping. Fans care about the Branning family and friends so feel deeply they feel their trials and tribulations. Mark is heroic as his love for Deni is so unselfish he is willing to give up what he most wants in life, her, if she loves Craig instead of him. Craig likewise is a good person but he tries to put strings on Deni while helping Beth. Terri Blackstock reaches the hearts of her audience with her belief that God remains in charge especially when things are darkest.

Harriet Klausner

Before They Are Hanged
Joe Abercrombie
PYR, Mar 2008, $15.00
ISBN: 9781591026419

In the South Inquisitor torturer Glokta serves as the Superior of the city of Dagoska. He has two missions to accomplish if he is to survive his new position unlike his recently assassinated predecessor. He must root out the traitors before they murder him; and he must keep the city safe while it is under siege from superior enemy forces with no hope for outside supplies..

In the North the powerful well trained and equipped Northmen military have invaded neighboring Angland. Crown Prince Ladisla demands leadership of his Union army as he plans gloriously to repel the enemy back beyond his frozen border. However, as Major West escorts the bodacious royal fool he knows his side lacks proper arms, training, leadership and courage while the other side will swamp the battlefield with its superiority.

In the center the First of the Magi Bayaz leads a party of pariahs (incompetent apprentice Malacus Quai, warrior Logen, Ferro the Navigator, Brother Longfoot and Jezal) seeking the Seed. Each person distrusts the rest of the participants, but it is this band that must defeat the Eaters that threaten humanity. Bayaz understands this so he tells the tale of creation to encourage them

As with the First Law Book One: THE BLADE ITSELF, the second tale contains three well written major plots; there is also somewhat of a fourth segue re the Named Men remaining undecided. The best of the trio is Glotka’s saga as the audience sees deep into his unsympathetic “soul” while he tortures (graphically) anyone using the rationale he seeks to save the people by rooting out enemy plotters; his detachment from his victims is classic. The West subplot is fun to follow too as he knows what his Prince is leading them into, but can do little to prevent their charge into the valley of death (think of The Charge of the Light Brigade). Finally, the Bayaz clip tells a lot about the history of the world in vivid descriptions, but his teammates fail to listen. This is a complex well written quest fantasy that will have the audience clamoring for the next law book.

Harriet Klausner

Fires Rising
Michael Laimo
Leisure, Mar 2008, $7.99,
ISBN 9780843960648

Father Pilazzo oversees the renovation of the once abandoned church. He dreams of the flock returning and the ancient church regaining the respect it once had. As the workers tear up the floor, they find a pit underneath; inside this man-made excavation is a long forgotten buried wooden crate. The workers excited by their find open the box.

None knew what they have unleashed on humanity. The demon interred is free causing havoc as it leaves a trail of death with every person the monster touches. Father Pilazzo blames himself for liberating the demonic killer as his sin of pride led to his ignoring his nightmares that warned him to stop the repairs. He knows he must end the abomination even if it means he spends eternity in hell for releasing this evil on the innocent.

Although the releasing of an incarcerated buried demon has been done many times in movies and books, Michael Laimo provides an entertaining horror thriller. The demon never rests once liberated while Father Pilazzo is filled with guilt that he knows he will take to the afterlife with him, but also feels accountable as he plans to take the evil one with him even if it means being stuck in hell with this malevolence for eternity. Readers will enjoy this good and evil confrontation as the innocent become casualties.

Harriet Klausner

99 Coffins
David Wellington
Three Rivers (Crown), Jan 2008, $13.95
ISBN: 9780307381712

After the horrors she faced (see 13 BULLETS), vampire hunter Laura Caxton vows never again as field work is too gory for her. However, at an archeological dig at the Gettysburg Battle Site, Civil War era coffins are dug up. Detective Jameson Arkeley realizes what the team found is the remains of a Union vampire corps. He knows the only person to handle this gruesome finding is Caxton; so he sends for her.

Caxton reluctantly arrives at the tomb and finds 100 coffins with 99 occupied by vampires without hearts; one is empty and the coffin smashed as if a vandal attacked it. Worse someone manages to return one of the vampires from the dead to the undead; soon the rest of corps begins to reawaken to finish the mission they started in 1863. Caxton knows she must stop them before the Civil War is reenacted with real blood flowing from the victims of a night-stalking militia obsessed with completing its mission.

99 COFFINS is a unique vampire military thriller that rotates between the present, and Civil War Era journals and other writings. Thus the action-packed present stars a heroic Caxton who wants to retire from paranormal hunting while the 1860s correspondence provide insight into the vampire regiment especially their mission that they feel strongly must be achieved over a century and a half since they got their orders. With Gettysburg at stake (pun intended) the battle lines are drawn in this bloody superb tale.

Harriet Klausner

A World Too Near
Kay Kenyon
Pyr, Mar 2008, $25.00
ISBN 9781591026426

The Tarig constructed the concentric circles Fortress Ahnenhoon to protect the engine that uses the Rose universe as its prime power source to provide energy to sustain the Entire universe. In the Rose universe, sentient beings on planet earth realize the power draining caused by the Ahnenhoon will suck life out of this universe.

Pilot Titus Quinn knows the only way to save earth’s universe is to destroy the Ahnenhoon engine although that could result in destroying the rival universe where his wife and daughter reside. However, scientist Helice Maki insists humanity cannot trust Quinn to do his job as he has a motive to keep the Entire functioning. Maki believes Quinn will try to skip the Rose for the Entire to find his wife Johanna abducted by the Tarig over a decade ago and probably incarcerated inside Fortress Ahnenhoon; and once he rescues her they will search for their missing daughter, Sydney. Maki is sent to accompany Quinn on his mission, but the scientist has a scheme to use the nano-technological weapon to take control of the Ahnenhoon engine and from there usurp the Tarig as the power of two universes fight for survival.

The sequel to BRIGHT OF THE SKY is much more complex than described above as the two “dueling” universes contain convoluted relationships; thus plenty of twists and spins await readers who accompany Titus on his quest. The story line is action-packed, but also further describes the two universes especially the Entire while key characters like beleaguered Quinn and ambitious Maki are fully developed. With two universes on the brink of mass destruction, science fiction fans will want to join Quinn on mission.

Harriet Klausner

House of Whispers
Margaret Lucke
Juno, Apr 2008, $6.99
ISBN: 9780809571581

After she catches her husband in bed with another woman, Claire Scanlon starts divorce proceedings and returns to her California hometown where she quickly shares a home with her best friend Lindsay. She obtains a realtor position with Golden Gate properties. Because she is late on her first day on the job, her boss makes her compete with another newbie Avery for the LeGrande listing. The seller Ben Grant will select the realtor of record after he meets the rivals and gets their opinions on how to show the house.

The house has a dark past because the last tenants were murdered there by their son who turned his gun on himself and committed suicide. Claire smells blood when she enters the abode and hears a voice whispering. She next sees something out of the corner of her eye. Claire is shook to her bone marrow, but Ben picks her to show the house because she will know how the other potential buyers will feel. Claire and Ben become romantically involved. She goes to the house and picks up vibes that a fifth person was there during the murder-suicide. In spite of her sudden paranormal skills, Claire understands she has no mundane proof that the real killer got away with mass murder.

HOUSE OF WHISPERS is a fascinating blending of romance, mystery and the paranormal. Every few chapters, the ghost talks to herself wishing she could communicate more directly with Claire so that the truth becomes known about her parents, her brother and her. Claire’s reactions to what her senses find seem right as she goes from doubter to questioner to believer. Margaret Lucke provides an entertaining haunted house whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

13 BULLETS
David Wellington
Crown Three Rivers, May 2007, $13.95
ISBN: 0307381439

In 1983 US Marshall Special Deputy Jameson Arkeley ended the vampire feeding frenzy killing all but one and almost dying in the war; most people feel safe as officially all of the once thought of as supernatural beasts are reported dead. However, because of laws intended to provide justice to mortals, the sole surviving blood sucker Justinia Malvern resides on life support as a guinea pig for scientific investigation in a remote Pennsylvania asylum.
Now two decades later, Pennsylvania state trooper Laura Caxton reports some weird homicides that bring Arkeley back on the scene. He knows vampires killed the victims and assumes somehow Justinia has “offspring” planning to free their queen once they are powerful enough to do so. He takes over the investigation with Laura assigned to assist him. They must follow the blood trail to the lair of Justinia’s minion to exterminate them before they can bring blood to resuscitate their leader.
This ultra-gory vampire police procedural is pure action on action as David Wellington never slows down even to bite a victim. The story line is filled with twists that at times seem too jarring especially a final spin that sets up the next encounter, but also keeps the audience alert. However, the key to this refreshing thriller is the relationship between the vampire hunter and the state trooper as no romance, no best pals, nor any Gandalf-Frodo affinity occur; instead he is an abusive arrogant ahole and she hates having to take orders from this know it all bully. With a nod to his zombie Monster Island trilogy, Mr. Wellington returns the vampire lgend to its bloodiest veins.
Harriet Klausner

Staked
J.F. Lewis
Pocket, Mar 2008, $14.00
ISBN 9781416547808

In Void City Eric the vampire cannot remember the last time had so much trouble as he has had over the past few days. It is not that his blood sustenance has turned sour, but he has had some bouts of mini amnesia and suffers apparent blackouts. Roger his business partner at the Demon Heart Strip Club acts strangely as if he wants more; and Eric fears he may owe Police Captain Stacey an exorbitant “Fang Fee” to cover his recent unknown crimes. His human girlfriend Tabitha has begged him to turn her; something he has been hesitant to perform, but mental erosion sets in as the insistent nagging persuades him to change her; only to have her dump him once her new teeth are set; besides her sister seems cuter.

However, Eric has even bigger problems as he had an incident with a werewolf pack that kill his Mustang and capture him, but immediately afterward turn up dead in Orchard Park with the evidence affirming that a vampire killed them. He knows he is being framed but does not know why or who. The dead lycans’ pack led by the father of one of the deceased, is outraged by the affront. Evangelical William the Alpha sends his minion after Eric.

STAKED is a thrilling action-packed urban fantasy starring a predatory fall guy who finds everyone in his circle seemingly using him for personal gain. The story line is filled with action as Eric does what vampires do to stay alive while battling vicious werewolves, magical assaults; clever blood suckers, bribing cops, and the most dangerous species of all: human females; all in a night’s bite. Fans will appreciate J.F. Lewis’ fine opening tour of Void City where even the undead wonder if you are better off dead.

Harriet Klausner

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana
Anne Rice
Knopf, Mar 2008, $25.95
ISBN: 9781400043521

Rumors have always abounded that Yeshua bar Joseph was miraculously a virgin birth child. However, he never gave that a second thought as he faithfully attends synagogue every Sabbath just like his brother James and everyone else in the village of Nazareth. However, recently Yeshua has had emotional issues between his religious calling and his love for a kinswoman. He knows what he must do, but is reluctant to embrace it as he sadly realizes he is about to lose his youth though he accepts the cause is worth the cost. On the “Road to Cana” he changes water to wine at the family wedding of Reuben and Avigail. Three years later Yeshua starts preaching the people must return to God. He performs miracles as he walks the path that the Lord has assigned to him.

The first Christ the Lord tale (see OUT OF EGYPT) was a strong opening story, but added little poetic license to the gaps of what is already known of Jesus. THE ROAD TO CANA is much deeper and better as Anne Rice provides an insightful look at Yeshua that miraculously makes him human as he covets love and feels loneliness with his increasing understanding of the heavenly mission bestowed on him. He displays human feelings yet Godly responsibilities that converge at the wedding where a family dispute has led to unhappiness at a moment that all should be rejoicing.

Harriet Klausner