Wanton
Noelle Mack
Kensington Brava, Aug 2008, $14.00
ISBN: 0758222769

In 1816 London, the members of the Pack of St. James are concerned with the recent murders of two women who were seen with the Pack’s men. The Pack also received a heinous message warning them more fallen women who are seen with them will die. Since leader Kyril Taruskin and his be loved Vivienne are in the WILD of the Russian port of Archangel, his brother Marko investigates.

His inquiries lead Marko to Severin, whose half-sister was a victim. She seems to know too much intricate details to satisfy Marko of her innocence. However he knows immediately she is clever and brilliant, and her allure is overpowering. Still he is not a Pack leader, who succumbs easily to a siren. When he tries to use his sensual skills to gain the upper hand and learn the truth, she turns up the heat. Soon he realizes to keep her safe he must not be seen with this scandalous woman whom he loves

This WANTON tale starts off WILD, hot and sexy as Marko and Severin are in instant heat for one another. However, the whodunit takes over the story line rather quickly; as it should with lives at stake including that of Severin. Thus fans will appreciate this fine historical mystery with the right amount of romance enhancing Marko’s desperate inquiry to catch a serial killer so that he and his soulmate can love one another for a long lifetime.

Harriet Klausner

The Bride of Time
Dawn Thompson
Love Spell, Aug 2008, $6.99
ISBN: 0505527286

In 1903, London scullery maid Tessa La Prelle lives a hard life as her job is not an easy one. However, adding to her drudgery is the shock that everyone recognizes her as the model who posed in Giles Longworth’s portrait, THE BRIDE OF TIME. The only problem with the assumption that she sat for the artist is that the painting is a century old.

While walking in a pea soup thick fog in London, Tessa suddenly finds herself at the Longworth’s home in Cornwall with no idea how she got there and quickly hired as governess to his nephew; as no one except desperate people accept employment there. Almost everyone fears Longworth, who is rumored to be a shapeshifter who mutilates humans. Tessa knows Giles would never kill anyone; she is not quite as sure about his strange behaving nephew. As Tessa falls in love, she wonders if her heart is coloring her mind from evil.

As she has consistently done over the years, the late great Dawn Thompson provides an entertaining paranormal historical “bridal” romance in which she combines elements she has used before into an exciting tale. The author employs time travel (see THE FALCON’S BRIDE) with a werewolf saga (see THE RAVENCLIFF BRIDE) to provide her fans with a delightful gothic romance in which the suspense and the comparative historical eras enhance a fitting tribute.

Harriet Klausner

The Druid Made Me Do It
Natalie Stenzel
Love Spell, Aug 2008, $6.99
ISBN: 0505527774

Eight years ago Dr. Janelle Corrington met Kane. They had a heated one night stand and she suddenly believed in love at first sight as she thought she finally met her soulmate until he suddenly vanished in the morning.

However, Kane recently committed a bad error in judgment; for that misdeed Faerie King Oberon punishes his once favorite son who he knows as Robin Goodfellow, magical seducer of women. He names Janelle as his guardian while she is also granted special mental healing skills to compensate for her time. Kane’s punishment besides having to bow to a woman is to atone for his sins with all his victims. To his shock, Kane, who has always been a 4F kind of guy falls in love with Janelle; but he sadly knows they have no future together.

The sequel to PANDORA’S BOX is as wacky as that tale was as Robin makes a return engagement, which means Janelle is in for plenty of “Pandemina”. The amusing story line is fun to follow as the lead couple has plenty of tsuris especially with their apparent no future together. Fans of romantic fantasy will appreciate THE DRUID MADE ME DO IT as Robin Goodfellow learns a lesson about the real magic of love.

Harriet Klausner

The Last Centurion
John Ringo
Baen, Aug 2008, $25.00
ISBN: 9781416555537

The Hell Times confirmed what most thought about a Democrat in the White House, especially the “Bitch”, as this time when they got it wrong the cost was the planet. These idiots focused on preventing global warming only it was the Freeze that led to the pandemic environmental disaster and the bird flu global Plague in which the Bitch’s socialized medicine failed everyone. By 2021 worldwide famine has become the acceptable norm.

These leaders failed the military they deployed to the Middle East by abandoning the soldiers in Iraq after widening the mission to Turkey, Iran, and Kuwait. Survival means stealing from the locals who are also struggling for sustenance and looting artifacts to sell on the black market. On our side of the Holy War, few are willing to die for the cause; our adversaries have most of those who sacrifice their lives. Only in America will a TV show surface to showcase THE LAST CENTURION unit as propaganda to patriotically bury the embarrassing defeats behind disinformation fog. While the Fat DC Cats talk of hundred year wars, weary soldiers write blogs so the truth may one day be known before the victors rewrite the history books.

Though well written the difficulty for the audience will be to accept the premises that the Liberal Democrats are at fault for the third decade of the desert war, avian flu and global freezing; as if the Bush years did not exist. However, if the audience accepts the shocking prejudicial strong beliefs of THE LAST CENTURION who tells the story in his blog from his perspective as gospel “historical facts”, the tale provides a compelling austere near future thriller. Those early sections provide the deep understanding of the military officer’s mind through his blog writing. Though the ending is even more implausible, fans of Mr. Ringo and the Neocons busy rewriting the history books (at least their roles) will appreciate this cautionary tale in which the author implores bloggers to expose the lies of the power structure.

Harriet Klausner

Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show
Edmund R. Schubert and Orson Scott Card
Tor, Aug 2008, $16.95
ISBN: 9780765320001

The eighteen stories selected for this anthology were first published in the online magazine Intergalactic Medicine Show in 2006 and were considered the best from the four IGMS issues. Mr. Card provides four fine Enderverse short stories not seen in printed form before. Although some of the contributors are acclaimed talents like David Lubar and David Farland (Camelot never looked so fresh) fans will also appreciate the entries by less famous authors as Mr. Card and Mr. Schubert introduce Enders readers to endless possibility of meeting talented writers. There are no losers as all the tales are entertaining. Especially fascinating are the Rapture tale “To Know All Things That Are in the Earth” by James Maxey, a pair by Eric James Stone, and Tom Barlow’s satirical Pollyanna “Call Me Mr. Positive”. Also adding to the freshness is Aaron Johnston’s comic book style “Fat Farm” based on a story by Mr. Card. This compilation is superb and should send the audience to the OSCIGMS website.

Harriet Klausner

Hotter Than Hell
Jackie Kessler
Zebra, Aug 2008, $15.00
ISBN: 9780821781043

Daun the Incubus is superb at seducing evil women; they cannot help but sleep with him and lose their soul that he brings to the King of Lust in Hell. However, he is stunned by his former Succubus Jezebel leaving Hell and seduction behind her for an appalling wretched human (see HELLS BELLES and THE ROAD TO HELL). Jezebel demands her former Incubus Daun stay away from her and her Paul. Feeling like a dog in heat, Daun obsesses with lust for his Jezebel.

The King of Lust assigns Daun with bringing the soul of Virginia Reed to Hell, if he succeeds, which the literally cocky Daun knows is a foregone conclusion, he will become The First Principal of Lust, second in line to the Lust monarch. However when Daun sees his victim, he is shocked. She is Jezebel’s doppelganger and worse heaven bound as she is a kind hearted innocent who deserves to go on that path. Still Daun tries to charm her though to his consternation for the first time he meets failure. Virginia wants him, but she refuses her need as she knows men leave and she cannot deal with Daun leaving so why start.

With demons exposing him while trying to kill Daun and his victim thwarting him, fans will enjoy this amusing third erotic member from hell’s struggle with love and job security. Daun goes from demon war to demon lust as he has met his match in pure Virginia (right name for this woman). The story line is lighthearted and thin, but so much fun from start to finish as Daun has to choose between earthly mortal love and hellish royal rule.

Harriet Klausner

Dark Vengeance
Ed Greenwood
Tor, Aug 2008, $24.95
ISBN: 9780765317667

In the village of Orlkettle, Orivon Firefist works day and night at the forge because it gave him pleasure to be his own boss at a place where he can see the sky and the grass. When he was six years old, he was stolen from his parents in a Nilfghar (dark elves) raid and brought to the Dark Below where he was a slave for a decade and a half to a wealthy noble family, who tortured him in an attempt to break his spirit; they never did. The daughter helped him escape her parents’ cruelty.

Now the dark elves have raided Orlkettle and kidnapped four children. Orivon knows first hand the fate that awaits these innocents and vows to rescue them or die trying. However, he is entering a world that has radically changed beyond recognition. The realm of Talonnorn that was the rival of Ouvahlor is in rapid decline from without and within; as nobles fight their peers and the Consecrated fight each other. As Orivon makes his way to Talonnorn he fights and kills beasts and dark elves, determined to free the city as he searches for the children.

DARK VENGEANCE is a dark quest fantasy that focuses on a culture that lives below the ground with its own peculiar values and customs (mindful of the Time Machine’s Morlocks) different from humans who live in the Blinding Light. The hero knows torture first hand having lived through the brutal abuse almost daily for years; yet overall he is a well balanced person though he has some issues sleeping and prefers light to night. He loathes killing, but will do so to save the kids from what he faced. Obviously readers know but will not care that Orivon is out of his league as he is not a warrior. That is the beauty of Ed Greenwood’s tale as he makes the blacksmith’s never again obsession the impetus to turn an ordinary person into a superhero “willing to march into hell for that heavenly cause”.

Harriet Klausner

The Sirens
William Meikle
KHP, 2008
ISBN: 9780979988127

In Glasgow, after recovering from the events of the AMULET, on the day the Adams Detective Agency doubled in size with the hiring of computer guru Doug, private investigator Derek Adams receives a visit from an elderly person. Recently widowed Jessie Malcolm, who is using her ain name, says she going outside her “Circle” to hire Derek to bring home her missing son. Derek quickly accepts the case because he figures this one is easy and a 180 degrees away from the still emotionally painful Amulet fiasco since his new client insists her son John Mason is on the Isle of Skye so he can attend the funeral of her husband Tommy, his father.

On Skye, Derek visits the Auld Kelpie Inn, but his questions are met with cold angry silence. He soon learns that John’s relatives work and drink here; they resent strangers asking questions about him. However, his inquiry soon leads Derek to John, who is under the enchantment of a Kelpie; fathering her children. John needs to go home for his father’s funeral, but though he cannot fathom why, John’s cousins will not allow this to happen, but Derek helps him to escape. However, in Glasgow, all hell has broken loose, which sends police officers to question Derek; who now must wonder what he wrought when he brought the cursed John home.

The second Midnight Eyes File case is an enjoyable investigative urban fantasy. The story line is fast-paced although somewhat disrupted with flashbacks including post traumatic stress disorder still suffered by the hero from his first book escapades. The Norse mythos that serves as the key fantasy element is cleverly designed so that the cops and the private detective must look into it; though the former are skeptical and the latter still recovering from his previous paranormal sleuthing. Sub-genre readers will relish the SIRENS and like this reviewer will seek a copy of THE AMULET; as William Meikle provides an entertaining paranormal investigative tale.

Harriet Klausner

The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection
Gardner Dozois (Editor)
St. Martin’s, Jul 2008, $21.95
ISBN: 0312378602

This anthology consistently lives up to its billing as the best with the usual strong Introduction by editor Garner Dozois providing an overview of the year especially in short stories with the emphasis on magazine survivability. In the 25th edition, Mr. Dozois praises the Internet for the rapid growth of on-line magazines that showcase famous and unknown authors; especially those with no previous credentials. He also provides accolades to the big publishing firms for supporting anthologies and small presses who provide opportunities to new writers. Finally he gives credit to the Sci Fi channel as well. The stories as always are top rate coming from the vast sources now available. Incredulous as it seems Mr. Dozois improved the tome by finding remote tales and brings them to the attention of mainstream fans although most of the selected entries are by name authors. Especially poignant is “Last Contact by Stephen Baxter in which a mother and her astrophysicist daughter wait together for the Big Crunch to occur, “Finisterra” by David Moles with its warning to watch out for predators even living on an island in the sky, and “An Ocean is a Snowflake, Four Billion Miles away’ by John Barnes where earthlings terraform Mars. With a wide gamut of selections spanning the genre, Mr. Dozois does 2007 proud; a year that he insists will be remembered for its series of retrospect collections of great authors and the widening of sources beyond the print magazine.

Harriet Klausner

Plague War
Jeff Carlson
Ace, Aug 2008, $7.99
ISBN: 9780441016174

Just over a year has past since the catastrophe began with a rather rapid wipeout of 5,000,000,000 souls in a blink. The nano-plague was released into the human population bring the world to the edge of extinction.. To survive this organic eating plague one must reside above the elevation of 10,000 feet as the machines freeze at that altitude.

In the Colorado Rocky Mountains the United States government plots to take over the world by using the vaccine developed by Ruth Goldman as a tool to choose who lives. The scientist and her friend Cam just want to inoculate everyone. Meanwhile the feds arrange for select Russians to fly to the States, but are betrayed when the plane explodes a nuclear bomb into the area. The Russian both combat and civilian and the Chinese are coming in full fighter force as they want a less ravaged place to live. Ruth believes she can bring the war to a halt and prevent any more fighting if he idea and new creation works

The sequel to the exciting PLAGUE YEAR, PLAGUE WAR is an exhilarating high octane science fiction thriller that hooks the audience from the opening sequence and never stops until the climax. While the story line focuses on non-stop action, the desolate frozen backdrop is in some ways the prime character as even in near extinction some in power will make a grab for more control while others prefer to simply save the world. Whereas Jeff Carlson cautions his audience to keep a close eye on the government-science-technological complex, fans, especially those who read the first book, will enjoy this electrifying over the Rockies dark futuristic tale

Harriet Klausner