A Catch In Time
Dalia Roddy
Minotaur, Apr 1 2010, $7.95
ISBN: 9781605421032

A mysterious force leaves people unconscious for three minutes. When they awaken, they remember nothing about what went on during that time and the global population was decimated. The only person to recall what occurred was Laura who saw an energy dimension and a community of Shadows on the other side of the “barrier”. They are the creators for every life form on the planet and responsible for the evolutionary leaps from amoebas to humans.

A second wave causes massive headaches as a dark energy bombarded the world, which made people evil. They become Shaitan and since the energy well is closed, all newborns are filled with dark eyes marking them as the evil Shairan. Older children and adults that were turned by dark energy are recognizable by their darkened eyes. Years later Laura’s daughter Lily is kidnapped by her Shaitan father. Laura and her family mount a rescue and while they are doing this they want to find a way to open the energy barrier so the souls can come in and the dark will leave so that the balance will be restored.

Readers who enjoyed THE STAND will want to read A Catch in Time. Although bizarre religions emerge after the energy waves strike, this is not a religious thriller as the heroine sees through the false prophets. No one believes what she claims she saw during the unconscious state, but she insists the devolution of humanity is happening with dark energy entering people especially babies. Although not fully explained why the waves started, Dalia Roddy provides an intriguing thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Drift
Sharon Carter Rogers
Howard (Simon & Schuster), Apr 2010, $13.99
ISBN: 9781416566533

He is a Drifter currently trapped in a cemetery because his last human tether Simon whom he was with for five years, is buried there. Boy has met two other essences like him, but assumes there are many more out there. One ripped his head off while the other ignored his existence. However, currently he feels the cold because unlike guardian angels, drifters have bodies; he also has mental issues as he does not understand where his species fits in God’s master plan.

Now twenty years old Baby Doll knows her “father” Charlie Murphy took her from her biological dad when her mom lived with him. When her mom died, Charlie “adopted” Baby Doll as his by simply changing her surname to his; no one would challenge a crime kingpin like him. She grows up not sure why she lives in a gilded cage.

When Boy the Drifter meets Baby Doll the daughter of the mob chief, they become immediately tethered to one another. Neither quite understands the connection that binds them to each other, as he has no earthly idea what God wants him to do for Baby Doll and she is fearful of the reaction of the God who controls her life, and what her adopted father will do to Boy. In one week all hell occurs.

Drift is a superb paranormal thriller that grips readers from the onset when we meet Boy who remains tethered to his dead human while meeting two other entities who are Drifters like himself. The story line is fast-paced throughout as the audience wonders what will happen to Boy and his tethered mate Baby Doll, who will prove to be their enemy and finally who will remain standing above the ground as Sharon Carter Rogers provides a fascinating unique thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Velvet Haven: The Immortals of Annwyn
Sophia Renwick
NAL, Mar 2010, $15.00
ISBN: 9780451229182

Annwyn is the Otherworld and mortals are unaware of its existence. The realm is home to all types of supernaturals with the link between that of the humans and that of the paranormal being Velvet Haven, a night club owned by half-breed Rhys MacDonald, whose father abdicated as king of the Sidhe to marry a mortal. Rhys’ shapeshifting cousin Bran, angrily sits on the throne, while suffering from the Legacy Curse that requires him exclusively to mate with the species he loathes humans.

When the ninth murder of a Sidhe occurs and the first female victim, Bran knows he must delay his search for his missing brother, Carden, who vanished into the Wasteland centuries ago. Instead he must focus on stopping the serial killer at a time when his visions show him dead, a victim of a warrior. Since evil initiated on the other side, Bran goes to Velvet Haven seeking a woman to replenish his energy and clues to the deadly predator; unaware that a connected killer is also on the mortal plane. At his cousin’s club he meets mortal nurse Mairi MacAuley whose essence arouses him as never before. She rejects him as she assumes he is a player, but he persists unaware that their attraction could be the cause of his death

With much more going on than described above especially with her friend Rowan and the fallen Suriel for instance, Book One of the Annwyn Chronicles is a tremendous romantic fantasy with religious overtones that will stun readers. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Mairi and Rowen enter the velvet Haven and never stops for even a heart beat. The cast is strong especially the support cast who make the Otherworld seem genuine. Sophia Renwick provides fans with a twisting tale of salvation from even death.

Harriet Klausner

The Ruling Sea
Robert V. S. Redick
Del Rey, Feb 16 2010, $27.00
ISBN: 9780345508850

Almost everyone believes that the ship Chathrand sunk at sea. However, the vessel did not, but chances are great it will sink as Thasha Isiq and her two companions Pazel and Neeps know they must cross The Ruling Sea; something no ship has ever done and their Captain Nilus Rose refuses to try. They have no choice if a world war is to be avoided as they possess the powerful Nilstone.

Others want to gain the Nilstone in order to use its power for personal gain. In particular the wizard Arunis, irate over his defeat at the hands of vanished peer Ramachni and the sea travelers (see the Red Wolf Conspiracy), chases after the Chathrand because the Nilstone will enable this spell-caster to ignite a war between empires. Others like Felthrup the Rat and emperors and queens with more ambition than sense also wants the Nilstone. However, there remains one even more insidious evil lurking in the bowels of the ship that makes the wizard, the rat, the emperor and the queen look benign at the same time the heroes know their goal may not exist.

This is a super sea quest fantasy sequel that continues the adventures of Thasha and her comrades, but their most powerful ally Ramachni has left to heal. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action, but it is the cast who make The Ruling Sea a great thriller. Thasha and her allies know the risk they take sailing on water in which no one has allegedly crossed to a land that probably does not exist except in mythology. At the same time there are plenty on board and giving chase who want what they possess. Robert V. S. Redick writes a great tale of heroes and villains as the second Chathrand Voyage heads south into the dangerous uncharted sea.

Harriet Klausner

Don’t Kill The Messenger
Eileen Rendahl
Berkley, Mar 2010, $15.00
ISBN: 9780425232569

When Melina Markowitz was three years old she died. However, that was not the end of her life as she returned as a Messenger who made deliveries between the paranormal. She tries to stay away from her clients as her motto is to just pass on whatever.

However, in Sacramento her don’t get involved mantra is devastated when her package given to her by a vampiric physician is stolen from her. Trying to retrieve it to finish her delivery, Melina heads to the Taoist temple where she was to hand over the envelope. There her don’t get involved policy is bloodied when seemingly out of control Chinese vampires kill rival gangbangers while not caring if innocent civilians die. Police Officer Ted Goodnight struggles with the deadly chaos and how Melina somehow is constantly caught in the center.

This is an amusing urban fantasy in which the sardonic cynic wonders why her and to her chagrin her support cast responds with why not. Fans will enjoy this fun tale as the cop is attracted to the messenger who likes him, but fears any mortal involvement as breaking cover. Don’t Kill the Messenger is a fun lighthearted formic even with blood flowing freely on the California streets.

Harriet Klausner

Blood of the Demon
Diana Rowland
Bantam, Feb 23 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780553592368

Beaulac, Louisiana police detective Kara Gillian fears for the life of her beloved Aunt Tessa who remains comatose as the cop’s othersight showed her a part of her “essence” has vanished. Having once before summoned demon Lord Rhyzkahl (see the Mark of the Demon) and survived the mystical calling, she considers doing it again to ask for his help with her aunt. Rhyzkahl has reasons for wanting the mortal to summon him again.

Kara realizes the suicide of police officer Brian Roth who apparently murdered his wife was caused by the arcane as her oversight sees evidence that something dined on his essence. She vows to learn what committed this atrocity, but her inquiry leads to FBI agent Ryan Kristoff who does not want her to ask Rhyzkahl for help.

The second Gillian police procedural Bayou fantasy is a great thriller that grips the audience the moment the heroine stops at Roth’s house to wake him up and never slows down as she works the case of the essence eater. Kara holds the arcane investigation together while her convoluted relationships with the demon and the fed enhance the strong saga in which forensics takes quite a paranormal twist.

Harriet Klausner

Hastur Lord
Deborah J. Ross and Marion Zimmer Bradley
Daw, Jan 2010, $24.95
ISBN: 9780756406226

The Terran Empire was no more having morphed into the Federation. With that change, the philosophy of choice ends so that those worlds like Darkover that fail to join the Federation will receive a special visit from the insidious World Wreckers whose mantra is join or die.

Darkover has had such a visit with the assassinations of the Comyn Council members. Only the Hastur of Hastur, Regent of Darkover, remains in the way of a Terran takeover that would exhaust the planet’s natural resources as a military stop. The ruler however is old and dying. His grandson Regis Hastur is heir, but he prefers not to rule as that would mean giving up his beloved Danilo Syrtiss. However, on his death bed, the current ruler informs his grandson that he has an older half-brother Rinaldo hidden away in shame. Regis always wanted a sibling, but now feels he might have a way to give up being the heir at a critical time when the planet lacks strong leadership.

This is an exhilarating character driven Darkover thriller, which apparently Deborah J. Ross completed from a manuscript written by the late great Marion Zimmer Bradley before she died over a decade ago. The story line is fast-paced as the Terrans use any means to gain control, but it is the two brothers who make the novel work as in spite of their psi powers they seem real. With a super look at power, responsibility, accountability and leadership; fans of the saga will not be able to delineate what are Ms. Ross’ touches and what was Ms. Bradley as we welcome a new Darkover entry.

Harriet Klausner

Altar of Eden
James Rollins
Morrow, Dec 29 2009, $27.99
ISBN: 9780061231421

With the fall of Baghdad, the American political leadership in the White House and the Pentagon howled in euphoria for the military victory insured the reelection next year. In their adrenalin highs, no one was concerned over looting including the zoo of its exotic animals that would make a fortune in the black markets of the west as some Iraqi adjust to capitalism rather quickly. However, when the zoo was invaded by smugglers, a secret underground lab is found.

Seven years later research environmental biologist Dr. Lorna Park finds a wrecked trawler on Lost Eden Cay, a barrier island off the Louisiana coast. No crewman is found alive, but inside the cargo bay is a shocker; mutations of species that should not exist are locked in cages. Besides physical anomalies, these caged beasts are extremely intelligent. Ironically as her work is to save endangered species, Lorna is unsure what to do with this strange cargo. She and U.S. Border Patrol officer Jack Menard unite in an attempt to uncover who genetically modified the animals and perhaps more important the one beast who escaped captivity.

This is a fast-paced thriller that modernizes Dr. Moreau using recent current events including the Iraq War and genetic breakthroughs; but the key is like HG Wells did, James Rollins makes the bad guys and altered animals especially the one that got away three dimensional and intelligent. The lead couple is a solid pairing, as they follow the clues of diabolically clever villains and an even smarter genetically altered beast. With an underlying message to think what we sow before we Alter Eden, fans will relish this terrific thriller.

Harriet Klausner

The Breach
Patrick Lee
Harper, Dec 29 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780061584459

A former Minnesota cop who became a convict due to a crime of passion, Travis Chase served his time and left the Lower Forty-eight to start over in the Yukon though he is unsure what he will do. Hiking along in the remote wilderness, Travis comes across a wrecked jet that for the most part stayed intact. Shockingly, the crew and passengers did not die in the crash, but from assassinations; the dead died from bullet wounds to the head.

He finds a secret compartment containing one passenger who died from the loss of blood, but left a note explaining what happened. Travis cannot fathom why the First Lady was in an unmarked plane flying over the Alaskan wilderness. In her note she gives gruesome instructions to kill all involved even those on our side. However, he disobeys her orders to kill all when he sees the torture of two elderly people even if worldwide destruction may be caused by them. Travis assumes there is another way to save the world from the maniac using a gizmo that grants wishes. If he had the otherworldly artifact he might choose the daughter of a scientist Paige Campbell as his though he admits to himself she can probably take him; but first Tangent top secret department has enlisted Travis to help guard the portal that enables these odd gadgets to come to earth from a technology light-years beyond ours.

Over the top of the North Pole, this is a terrific action-packed thriller with a science fiction time paradox twist. Fans need set aside as the story line is faster than a speeding bullet, light and Indiana Jones. Readers who appreciate action to the nth degree with a body count that is beyond the troposphere will want to go “North to Alaska, north the rush is on”.

Harriet Klausner

Starship: Flagship
Mike Resnick
Pyr, Dec 22 2009, $26.00
ISBN 9781591027881

In the Birthright universe, Wilson Cole leads his Starship: Rebel crew of losers and criminals as they covertly revolt against the Republic. However, in spite of some success, Wilson concludes they are a gnat attacking a woolly mammoth as the enemy has millions of space vessels in the Republic navy to his 800; many of their ships superior to his Starship Theodore Roosevelt.

After a few weeks of hit and run Wilson decides they need a new gamut as they all will die of old age before reducing the enemy from a seven digit navy to six.. Wilson decides on the Trojan Horse solution surrendering of the Teddy R to Lafferty, who previously hijacked several Republic naval ships. Lafferty and crew to include rebels escort the Teddy R to Deluros VIII, the Headquarters of the Republic where Cole holds the Secretary hostage until they are attacked by another force. The Secretary places Cole in charge of the Republic Navy when Admiral Garcia is killed by the first wave assault.

Although the climax feels forced, fans of the Starship saga will relish the Trojan Horse ploy that turns the Republic upside down. Fans will appreciate the fifth book in Mike Resnick’s strong saga filled with twists that will stun readers. Newcomers will appreciate the appendices that probably should be read first although perusing the previous Starhip stories is even better especially as they are super. Mr. Resnick is five for five with this enjoyable entry as in a distant galaxy the Ballard of Wilson Cole tops the Hit Parade.

Harriet Klausner