Soul Screamers
Rachel Vincent
Harlequin Teen, Nov 22 2011, $8.99
ISBN: 9780373210602

My Soul To Lose. Dallas high school students Kaylee and Emma are at the mall shopping Suddenly Kaylee suffers a panic attack. Emma helps her calm down until Kaylee sees the shadows engulf a wheelchair bound boy. Hours later Kaylee awakens in a psychiatric ward where she cringes at the shadows surrounding another patient. Kaylee begins to recover until the scream surfaces; however Lydia of the green eyes calms her down.

My Soul To Take. Underage Kaylee sneaks into the Taboo Club where she dances with Eastlake High School hottie Nash. She senses someone is about to die and when that happens she has a deep need to scream. Nash calms her and explains that banshees like her must scream when someone is about to die. They begin dating but the pair has to stop a serial killer focused on Eastlake High School.

My Soul To Save. Teen pop star Eden dies on stage, but Kaylee, who was at the concert with Nash, fails to wail at death, she knows the idol traded her soul for fame. In spite of the fact her dad will kill her for cutting class and violating curfew, Kaylee risks her life and soul to prevent other teens from bartering theirs for a short life span of fame in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld.

This entertaining reprint of the prequel novella and the first two novels in the Soul Screamer teenage fantasy is a fine collection. The opening act introduces Kaylee with her instinctively need to wail; the other entries follow her struggling adjustment to control the urge with mentoring help by Nash’s mom while history and trig wait for no student even a banshee.

Harriet Klausner

Nightborn
Lynn Viehl
Signet, Mar 6 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451413215

The High Lord of the Immortal Darkyn wants the alleged scrolls that contain the secrets to immortal life and the maps that lead to Templar treasure buried in the early fourteenth century. He sends his best warrior Korvel to France to obtain the scrolls.

As he drives the worst road in France, Korvel is warned others are making an attempt too. Soon he is attacked and hurt, but defeats his enemy, but is aware more await him. His quest leads Korvel to Simone, the daughter of the scroll’s guardian. She seeks them too in order to return them to safety. As they team up with killers pursuing them, they begin to fall in love, but Simone fails to inform her new partner that once she obtains the scrolls, she is to kill Korvel.

The first Lords of the Darkyn romantic urban fantasy is a great entry inside the magnificent mythological world of Lynn Viehl. The storyline is fast-paced from the first assassination attempt until the final confrontation as readers will wonder whether Simone will complete the mission as ordered. Fast-paced, fans will appreciate the opening act in the new trilogy due to the strong protagonists who make the Viehl realm exciting to visit.

Harriet Kalsuner

The Winslow Incident
Elizabeth Voss
Five Star, Dec 16 2011, $25.95
ISBN 9781432825461

In the summer of 2010 in Winslow, Washington, Pard Holloway’s cattle begin acting weird and start dying for no apparent reason; he wonders if mad cow disease has struck the herd. Pard’s seventeen year old niece Hazel Winslow is concerned and announces she will expose her uncle’s tainted beef. Pard warns Hazel that if she should raise the alarm, he will likewise tell what really happened to the town’s late baker Hawkin Rhone five years ago; a truth that would probably lock away her boyfriend Sean Adair.

Soon after their unfriendly confrontation, the crazy symptoms displayed by cattle spread to humans who act increasingly insane. As those humans still behaving normal dwindles rapidly, Hazel wonders what is going on in her hometown as she no longer believes mad cow disease has struck Winslow.

This is an entertaining small town supernatural thriller. The fun in the tale is following stunned Hazel as her family, friends and neighbors go insane leaving her as the last one standing. Although the horror element is not very suspenseful, readers will enjoy Elizabeth Voss’ fun paranormal version of And Then There Was None.

The Children of the Sky
Vernor Vinge
Tor, Oct 11 2011, $25.99
ISBN: 9780312875626

A decade of survival problems have passed since Ravna Bergndot and the cryo Children of the Sky escaped the near extinction Blight of humanity by landing on Tines World (see A Fire Upon the Deep). They build a civilization of sorts with the help of telepathic Tine canines.

However, humans remain scornful of the Blight peril as a sham to obtain and maintain power, and some local Tine inhabitants want the off-worlders to leave as they believe the outsiders are a blight to their world. Although natural enemies, these diverse groups hold in common one thing: the failure of Bergndot and her hundred children at any cost.

The Children of the Sky is a strong science fiction thriller that focuses on how far humanity has fallen in technology since the adventures in A Fire Upon the Deep. The human skeptics will remind readers of climate change deniers while the Tine is divided between friendly and hostile towards the newcomers. Although the climax is disappointing as it ends with another novel to follow, fans will appreciate Vernor Vinge’s follow-up to what happened to those who fled the Blight.

Harriet Klausner

Nightshine
Lynn Viehl
Signet, Nov 1 2011, $7.99
ISBN 9780451413147

GenHance spliced normal human children with vampire DNA. That genetic mix led to the creation of the Kyndred. Now GenHance continues part two of their research. They want the Kyndred for study dead or alive.

Meanwhile someone else has a different methodology when it comes to studying the DNA of the Kyndred; this scientist kidnaps the Kyndred and takes his victims to a remote Mexican barrier island where he forces them to interbreed. San Francisco medic Charlotte Marena and Takyn protector Samuel Taske are snatched to this isle. They are attracted to one another though she distrusts him as he knows too much about her and she (and he) enjoys the sex between them, which frightens her. As they plot to escape, his power has vanished so she is their only hope to identify and safely flee from their sinister host.

The fourth Kyndred romantic urban fantasy (see Shadowlight, Dreamveil and Frostfire) is a terrific suspense thriller enhanced by the Aztec location. The story line is fast-paced whether it is a sexual interlude or a desperate escape attempt. Readers will appreciate this exciting tale as the overarching theme moves forward with death and life.

Harriet Klausner

If I Die
Rachel Vincent
Harlequin Teen, Sep 27 2011, $9.99
ISBN: 9780373210329

Following the sudden death of math teacher Mr. Wesner, Eastlake hires Mr. Beck to replace him. He is gorgeous and even his handwriting on the board is gorgeous. All the girls are attracted to the hunk with many coming to school early and staying late just to see him. The only two females not attracted to Mr. Beck are rivals for the heart of Nash the banshee, Kaylee the banshee screamer of death and Sabine the Mara bringer of nightmares.

They realize why Mr. Beck is the fantasy of their female classmates; as he is an incubus whose sustenance is absorbing the desires of humans. Kaylee and Mara believe that if Mr. Beck learns they know his secret, he will come after them. As her current life span draws closer to her final soul scream for herself, Kaylee teams up with her adversary Mara to rescue the females of Eastlake from the handsomest male at school. However, the incubus is more diabolical than Kaylee imagined as he forces her to do his bidding even if it means harming her relationship with Nash to save her friends’ souls.

The latest Soul Screamers urban teen fantasy (see My Soul to Keep and My Soul to Save) is an entertaining entry as Kaylee struggles to balance her teen life at school and at home with saving the lives of her schoolmates from the clever incubus. Young adult readers will enjoy Kaylee’s exploits as she ponders not If I Die but when I die soon in an exciting twisting (perhaps too many spins) thriller.

Harriet Klausner

The Shadow Wolf
Bonnie Vanak
Harlequin Nocturne, Aug 23 2011, $5.50
ISBN: 9780373618675

The Draicon Council has incarcerated shadow wolves on Shadow Island out of fear of the sub-species skill to turn invisible. Megan Moraine knows she cannot raise her two younger seven years old twin cousins (Jillian and Jennifer) from a prison cell; so using her invisibility power, she escapes with her young relatives.

Draicon Council Enforcer Gabriel Robichaux hunts escapees. Known for killing runaways as much as bringing them back to lockup, he stalks the three female shadows. However, his reputation for assassination proves false as he tries to take Megan and her wards to a safe house, but someone inside his support cell betrays Gabriel and the three females.

The latest Draicon wolf romantic urban fantasy (see The Immortal Wolf) is a terrific thriller due to the traits of the fearsome foursome while on the lam. Gabriel and Megan are falling in love, but most significant to both of them is getting the youngsters to safety. The twins make the tale as they are frightened but intrepid. This is an exciting entertaining read.

Bonus story: Darkness of the Wolf. For killing his Alpha, Guy Laurent was imprisoned for life in the Savage Kingdom Zoo. Phoenix offers him his freedom if he escorts Brianna the young Draicon girl and her guardian Kayla Morris to the youngster’s pack. He accepts the job while wondering why Kayla ignores her Draicon background. As the adults fall in love, neither loses sight of keeping their young charge safe from insidious enemies. This reprint of an e-byte novella is a fun Draicon urban romantic fantasy.

Harriet Klausner

Blood Bound
Rachel Vincent
Mira, Aug 23 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9780778312550

The four friends (Liv, Anne, Kori and Elle) swore an oath to never ask one another for help because if requested, the one asked would be compelled to do anything to accomplish the mission. Now despite the written pact Anne burned the document so she can make Liv Warren the bloodhound tracker locate the killer of her late thirty-four year old Asian husband Shen Liang; father of their five years old daughter Hadley.

Liv the lone wolf has no choice due to that childhood blood oath, on which refusal means horrible death. When Hadley goes missing she has a more endearing reason to investigate. Liv and her former boyfriend Cam Caballero team up on the hunt in which his agenda is to learn why she ended their relationship.

Blood Bound is superb first romantic urban fantasy investigative thriller as Rachel Vincent creates a fascinating dangerous world in which people are Skilled or Unskilled. The story line is fast-paced but held together by dynamic Liv whose convicted history impacts her big time today with the oath, her relationship with Cam, and her insistence she is not a blood splatterer anymore. Readers will enjoy the new paranormal Vincent world as fascinating Liv escorts fans around the deadly bloody landscape.

Harriet Klausner

Kitty’s Greatest Hits
Carrie Vaughn
Tor, Aug 16 2011, $25.99
ISBN 9780765326966

This super fourteen short story collection consist of twelve that are clearly in Kitty’s sphere though the most popular werewolf talk show personality only appears in five of them. Cormac stars in two (with Ben in “Looking After Family” and in the excellent tale of his haunting “Long Time Waiting”). Additionally T.J. stars in “Wild Ride” and Emma from “Kitty Takes Washington” heats the sheets in “Life Is The Teacher”. Rick stars twice as Ricardo in Conquistador de la Noche” and with Kitty in “The Temptation of Robin Green”. Finally there is also Jake the vampire who called the night radio host complaining about how his life literally sucks in “Kitty and the Silver Bullet”; this is what happened to him after his “You’re on the Air” fifteen minutes of fame. Obviously for fans of the Kitty universe who will howl with delight even with two cleverly well written historical paranormal entries (A Princess of Spain and The Book of Daniel) that do not belong within Kitty’s Greatest Hits.

Harriet Klausner

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities: Exhibits, Oddities, Images, and Stories from Top Authors and Artists
Edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer
Harper Voyager, Jul 12 2011, $22.99
ISBN: 9780062109927

Thackery T. Lambshead explained to his friends he was not a collector or pack rat of any sort. In fact, he felt he was the opposite trying to properly dispose of things though somehow items had a tendency over his century plus of life to find him. Still with his death in 2003, he left behind an incredible cabinet of curiosities in Brook, England. The Broadmore Exhibits include Tesla’s “The Electric Nuerheographiton (by Minister Faust) and Dacey’s Patent Automatic nanny (by Ted Chiang). The Cabinet has also has noted authors wiring about aspects like China Mieville’s “Pulvadmonitor: The Dust’s Warning” and Naomi Novik’s thesis on Lord Dunsany’s Teapot”. Then of course there are Dr. Lambshead’s astounding journals in which he holds the west culpable for many transgressions.

The second Dr. Lambshead’s anthology (see The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases) is incredible with stories and pictures that make Thackery T. Lambshead’s Cabinet of Curiosities seem real rather than a steampunk fantasy collection. Loaded with plenty of fun, well written entries, and fabulous designs and photos, readers, especially young adults, will spend several weeks appreciating this engaging compilation. Each relic reminds this reviewer of the ending to the TV show the Naked City: “There are eight million stories” in Dr. Lambshead’s Cabinet and each one is worth reading and seeing.

Harriet Klausner