Dragon Haven
Robin Hobb
Eos, May 11 2010, $27.99
ISBN: 9780061931413

Expelled from the Cassarik area by the fear of the locals of the new dragon hatchlings, the beasts and their mutated human keepers continue their journey to find the fabled lost city of Kelingra with danger and starvation every step along the deadly Rain Wild River. As the dragons mature, they become powerful fully developed while their keepers remain malformed but are well adjusted for the most part.

However finding the ancient Elderings’ vanished haven proves impossible as the collective memory of the landscape fails to match what the world along the Rain Wild River has become. Instead danger from flash floods and a scarcity of food as supplies dwindle threatens the explorers.

The sequel to the Dragon Keeper is an exciting climax to a well written duology that returns readers to the Hobbs’ realm of the Liveship Traders and the Tawny Man sagas. The story line is a coming of age fantasy especially of the naive female teenager Thymara who grows in confidence as she learns who to trust and more important to distrust. Although the rest of the cast seems somewhat interchangeable as shallowly deceptive or even shallower naive, fans of Robin Hobb will enjoy the trek along the Rain Wild River.

Harriet Klausner

The Lost Fleet: Victorious
Jack Campbell
Ace, Apr 27 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 978-0441018697

In the far distant future, the Alliance and Syndicated worlds have been at war for over a century. Captain John “Black Jack” Geary was in cryogenic sleep for almost that long. Since his fleet successfully evacuated from the system where the Syndicates set a trap, he is regarded as a hero by a war weary public where millions would support him if he chose to be a dictator with the military backing him up. He accepts the post of fleet admiral even though the Ruling Council fears Black Jack.

He asks the authorities that promoted him to give him permission to negotiate with the Syndics, who have lost much of their ships and military; they are in horrific shape. Granted the authority, when he arrives on the home space station of the Syndics, he did not expect the fight of his life. If he wins, they still have a common enemy; an alien race on the other side of the Syndicate space whose strategic plan is to take control of this sector and ultimately the Alliance too. Geary leads a counter insurgence to prevent this Machiavellian scheme from occurring, but he will need Syndic cooperation to succeed.

This is the sixth book in the Black Jack military space opera series and fans of the saga will relish the tale as am entertaining twist occurs. The hero is a terrific leader who understands military and political strategy but also understands he sends soldiers to their death while fat cat council leaders have a different agenda than those on the front line. Readers will enjoy Jack Campbell’s latest Lost Fleet science fiction thriller because like President Eisenhower the hero has a deep regard for life even with his first hand field knowledge that many of his troops will never go home.

Harriet Klausner

A Legacy of Daemons
Camille Bacon-Smith
Daw, May 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780756406035

They are upscale Philadelphia private investigators specializing in all things supernatural, but that is mostly because the three partners are part of the paranormal community. Brad and Lilly are full blooded daemons of the house of Ariton who live in their spirit form in the second celestial sphere; the one closest to the first sphere which contains earth. Evan Davis is a half-breed son of Brad, an abomination who should not exist, but for now Ariton is staying his hand and will not kill him.

Everyone is shocked when Matt Shields ( who is really a daemon) asks Evan to bid for a box at Sotheby’s. He was a daemon who was forcibly bound to the evil Donne family forced to do their biding. Now that the last Donne is dead he is still bound to the box and can’t leave the earth for home. Inside the box is another daemon who has gone mad from centuries of captivity.. Bound by the contract Evan signed and their Princes of the Host s agreed to. The trio must find the box and free the daemon trapped inside. There are many obstacles and enemies to overcome in order to get the box. Evan remains ignorant how much power he possesses to destroy his adversaries, but makes the wrong move when challenged by the Princes of Ariton and Paimon.

This urban fantasy like its predecessors (see Eye of the Demon and Eyes of the Empress) is loaded with action, but is character driven. Brad to his shock has feelings towards his offspring although he refuses to admit they exist even to him. Evan feels upbeat to learn he is not insane as his differences are due to his legacy not his brain failing him. Lilly and Evan are lovers who make a formidable pair and she is incredibly powerful as is Brad who is part of their “family” unit. Camille Bacon-Smith affirms she is a great fantasist who pioneered the urban fantasy genre.

Harriet Klausner

The Killing Room
John Manning
Pinnacle, May 2010, $6.99
ISBN: 9780786017997

For nine years and three hundred and sixty-four days, the Young Mansion in Maine is an ordinary home. The room that remains locked always is quiet except on the first day of a new decade. A sacrifice of a family member must be made so every ten years a lottery is held and the selected one is left inside the room.

This has been going on since 1930 with everyone who spent time in the room dead except for one survivor. Since the room is locked, the other family members assume the people commit suicide except for that one female who lived, but her mind was fried and spent four decades inside a padded cell. The patriarch Howard Young hires former FBI Agent Carolyn Cartwright who has dealt with supernatural cases to find a way to break the curse. Carolyn knows her first step is to learn what happened in 1930 in that room and the second step is to pray she and the Young family survive the truth.

Readers will thoroughly enjoy the locked room mystery inside a haunted house tale reminiscent of early King and Koontz. There is a steady growing tension as the answers to the cause percolates, but the solution seems to never boil to the surface. John Manning provides the audience with a chilling tale as the heroine knows there is only one way to learn the truth.

Harriet Klausner

A Magic of Dawn
S.L. Farrell
Daw, Apr 2010, $24.95
ISBN: 9780756405977

By 563, Nessantico the once proud powerful Empire remains divided, but a renaissance of sorts has blossomed under its female ruler Kraljica Alessandra ca’Vorl, Fifteen years ago The brutal Tehuantin army invaded from Hellins, but were repelled. Alessandra managed to keep the Sun Throne as ordained in the capitol city of Nessantico, but the empire was fractured as the city-states were divided in support of her and in allegiance to her son Jan ca’Ostheim, leader of the rebellious Coalition of Firenzcia.

Mother and daughter have negotiated since the last horde invasion, but so far that has proven futile. The Concenzia Faith has arisen seeking its once glorious position of power; they face strong opposition from within led by Nico ce’Morel, who though defrocked three years ago, leads a powerful following who demand a strict fundamentalist reshaping of the Faith and from the secular ruler and her Garde Kralji, who reject religious influence. As violence between the groups increases, the Tehuantin have regrouped and deployed ready to invade again. If Alessandra and Jan fail to come together, Nessantico will crumble again by the invading horde; if they come together the empire has a chance, but the religious-secular schism may prove too internally divisive and enervating to overcome anyway.

The third Nessantico Cycle political-military fantasy (see A Magic of Twilight and A Magic of Nightfall) is a great finish to a strong saga. Fast-paced and loaded with action, the characters and their divided loyalties make the Farrell mythos seem real. Readers will enjoy the exciting finish in spite of a late spin that some will relish and others question as too simplifying. Newcomers would be better suited reading the previous magical tales first to better appreciate the world S.L. Farrell has constructed as it begins and ends with the city of Nessantico.

Harriet Klausner

Forbidden Passion
Rita Herron
Forever, Apr 1 2010, $6.99
ISBN: 9780446199490

Demons trained Dante Zertlav when he was thirteen years old to kill humans. He used his ability to toss fireballs at people with uncanny skill to the pleasure of his mentor Father Gio; failure in any sense meant torturous punishment. However, his final initiation test was to kill young Marlena Bender as a sacrifice to Helzebar, but he envied her innocent laugher along side her older sister and mom. He failed to complete the assignment helping Marlena to safety and he became ostracized by his demonic community.

Two decades later, he is sheriff of Mysteria where he was trained by Father Gio; while Marlena has become a research scientist studying why people become violent. When she returns to the place where her nightmares began, Marlena knows Dante is the one who saved her life. While a killer is on the loose, they begin to fall in love. However, she a pure good human while he has the DNA of evil; neither considered his father manipulating both behind the scenes.

The latest Demon Born romantic fantasy (see Insatiable Desire and Dark Hunger) is a terrific entry as the intrepid heroine and her demonborn champion fall in love while he realizes the serial killings are planned to culminate with the completion of the interrupted Marlena’s sacrifice. Filled with action perhaps too much as some subplots never develop, Dante investigates a twisted case while also keeping the human he cherishes safe though he denies himself the dream of her at his side forever.

Harriet Klausner

Can’t Teach An Old Demon New Tricks
Cara Lockwood
Pocket, Mar 30 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9781416550976

In Dogwood, Texas five years ago Kevin Farnsworth attended a convention. When he returned home to his wife Rachel, he was not the same person. Rachel is unaware that her Kevin is dead; murdered by a demon who took possession of his body.

When Rachel gives birth to Cassidy, the new mom finds her offspring acting oddly and her spouse missing. She soon learns what is going on when a demon horde arrives demanding she tell them where Kevin is; they believe he knows where Azarel the fallen angel is hiding. Satan sends Sam another fallen angel to find Kevin. When he meets Rachel, he falls in love with the kick butt human. Soon afterward as their attraction grows, Rachel and Sam are caught in the middle of a demonic war.

This is an amusing lighthearted Texas romantic fantasy as angels and demons make Dogwood the focus of the latest frolic. Fast-paced, fans will root for the human caught in the middle as everyone seems to want a piece of her; only Sam literally wants the whole piece of her. Although the romantic relationship between the fallen angel and the mom never quite seems to gel, fans will enjoy this jocular tale of a tough human female battling heaven and hell to protect her hybrid demon offspring; though having a lot of fire extinguishers around should help.

Harriet Klausner

Flight Of Shadows
Sigmund Brouwer
WaterBrook, May 18 2010, $13.99
ISBN: 9781400070336

Her genetic code makes Caitlyn Brown the most wanted person on the planet as her DNA enables her to do almost anything. However, all she wants to do is remain in hiding as her back deformity makes her believe she is the ultimate pariah.

However, the affluent in a world filled with poverty want more and she is the source. They go after her with only Razor the illusionist as her ally although she distrusts him. She hopes he can guide her to friends while the Feds and a twisted bounty hunter, all working for the rich, pursue her. As Caitlyn learns who she is, she is caught in a quandary not just between two men she cherishes and believes love her; but in terms of choosing life for her and extinction for humanity or death for her and life for mankind.

Flight of Shadows is an exciting cautionary tale that extrapolates from current trends to paint a dismal future with the heroine treated as a Typhoid Mary if she fails to do the bidding of the powerful. Caitlyn makes the tale work holding together the exhilarating hunt for her. Although the philosophical ethical issues could have been explored even deeper, readers will appreciate Caitlyn’s dilemma; mindful of Ursula Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven, but perhaps Hell is more descriptive.

Harriet Klausner

Blood Oath
Christopher Farnsworth
Putnam, May 18 2010, $24.95
ISBN: 9780399156359

Twenty-five years old Zach Barrows is already a veteran of senate and presidential campaigns; having delivered three states in the last race. The Washingtonian calls him the next Rove as he is now the youngest ever deputy director for White House affairs.

Caught with the POTUS’ nineteen years old daughter, Zach is being escorted by Secret Service Agent Griffin who takes him to the oldest part of the Smithsonian; a hidden room buried inside the Castle that the Griff calls the Reliquary trophy room where some of the oddities of history are “buried”. Zach has joined a very exclusive club as the White House liaison to Nathaniel Cade vampire; pardoned and pledged by President Andrew Johnson in 1867; he leads the global war on horror. Their first assignment as a team is to uncover a conspiracy from within to use biological weapons against the United States.

The two key elements that make Blood Oath an entertaining espionage paranormal thriller are the clever intermingling of history with the supernatural mostly through Zach but also with artifacts and the plot never takes itself seriously. The wild story line lampoons American mythos like president-journalist relationships via Nixon and the Washington Post, Frankenstein, Roswell, and the GWOH. Fans who relish an over the top of the Washington Monument and under the Smithsonian will relish Christopher Farnsworth’s satirical tale of vampires dining in the White House.

Harriet Klausner

The Last Christian
David Gregory
WaterBrook, May 4 2010, $14.99
ISBN: 9781400074976

In 2088, the unknown disease has devastated the small Inisi village. Desperate, Christian missionary Abigail Caldwell leaves the jungle for the first time in eight years seeking help for those surviving. She is found dehydrated and taken to Meriden Hospital in Lae where she is treated by American Dr. Kate Sampson. The two women fly by helicopter to the village only to find everyone dead.

Grieving as she loved the villagers, Abby goes to America after receiving an odd missive from her neuroscientist grandfather, an inventor of brain transplants. She is stunned to find Christianity is dead in America, but she vows to lead the crusade to bring it back from the grave. However, her grandfather is also dead. His death leads her to History Professor Creighton Daniels, whose father like Abby’s grandfather and villagers suddenly died. The duo join forces to investigate what is going on. They soon discover a plot to evolve mankind into eternal non-believers transhumans with silicon based brains and no one will stop them; not even two people grounded in faith that God created Adam and Eve.

The Last Christian is a terrific futuristic thriller in which the religious elements come across (no pun intended) as powerful and refreshing while the political spin felt mechanical, a rehashing of early twenty-first century DC paralysis. Fast-paced with two strong believers as champions, sub-genre fans will want to join these David’s as they battle Goliaths with plans to make mankind in their image.

Harriet Klausner