Burned
J.F. Lewis
Pocket, Jan 31 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9781451651867

Eric Courtney the vampire wonders how killing one evil vampire ruler could cause such sh*tty chaos in Void City. His Mouser Talbot explained many time over the past year that it is easier to criticize the opposition than to rule. Still Eric in spite of his tumultuous tsuris as the city’s leader, would kill again; as Lord Phillip, the twisted late city ruler, deserved to die for his assault on Courtney’s adopted lunatic daughter Greta. Now by default he is the ruler of a lunacy ridden Void City as the riffraff has risen to the surface with Phil’s demise.

Responsibility sucks, but it is time for to begin the Big Plan. First is to kill immortal VCPD Captain Stacey the crooked Mouser running unlawful enforcement due to a deal with the Mages Guild. That is if Eric can remember not to step out of the squad car into the sun as his Alzheimer’s syndrome can make him forget to stay out of the sun.. He orders Stacey to leave his hole and meet him at a scene where many cops lay comatose thanks to his Eric’s mage Magbidion. Step two is to place Greta as sheriff; her crazed credo is to kill first and ask questions afterward. The final transformation is hell breaks loose in Void City as Lord Eric demands loyalty or else. That’s just the job; his personal life is even more screwed up with family curses and cursed females.

The latest Void City fantasy (see Crossed, Revamped and Staked) is a fabulous satirical noir starring an antihero whose attitude switches from bad ass leave me alone to bad ass I’m in charge. Fans will enjoy his “transformation” while he deals with myriad of paranormal species with demons always lurking in the gut.

Harriet Klausner

Bloodrose
Andrea Cremer
Philomel, Jan 3 2012, $18.99
ISBN: 9780399256127

Bellicose Calla knows if she is to be the Alpha of her pack, she must prove her leadership skills in combat and choose a mate. Ren and Shay vie to be that male. However, Calla makes it clear to both competitors and her pack she will not select anyone until the Keepers and their magic are defeated.

Calla also shows her loyalty when she protects her brother Ansrel, stripped of his essence, from those who want to kill him for being a traitor. However, it is what she prays is the final battle that she focuses on; a war Calla does not expect to survive and if she does she knows she will live with regret of having led brave warriors to their deaths; though she feels she had no choice.

The final Nightshade fantasy (see Nightshade and Wolfsbane) is an exciting thriller starring a heroine who was forced to detach her feelings for others in order to lead her side in war as she knows she will leave brothers and sisters in arms dead and maimed. A stunning twist adds to the realism that people die in war. Andrea Cremer provides a shocking but strong finish to an intriguing trilogy.

Harriet Klausner

Born Wicked
Jessica Spotswood
Putnam, Feb 7 2012, $17.99
ISBN: 9780399257452

By 1896, The Brotherhood established a harsh Christian theocracy in which the prosecution of witches is a major endeavor. Practitioners are condemned to death or worse: the prisons ships and the asylums. Additionally when a female turns seventeen, they must marry or join the Sisterhood.

Cate Cahill’s mom died trying to produce a male offspring. Her mother made her make a death bed pledge to care for her two younger sisters, but Cate is running out of time as in six months she must choose. Adding to her dilemma is the three Cahill siblings are closet witches, which makes her courtship by Paul McLeod a going nowhere relationship and her dalliance with Finn Belastra possessing even less staying power. As Cate reads her mother’s missing diary, she realizes her time problem worsened with a terrible fate that dooms the trio; forcing her to peruse banned books in an attempt to keep her and her sisters safe while townsfolk suspect them of wickedness. Then Sister Elena arrives to help them.

Born Wicked is an exhilarating alternative New England historical fantasy starring a courageous but increasingly desperate heroine. Her sisters and Elena are top notch characters while their late mom comes across as full blooded also through her diaries and her daughters’ observations. Although the males seem thin, fans will enjoy Jessica Spotwood’s engaging witch hunt.

Harriet Klausner

Bridge of Dreams
Anne Bishop
Roc, Mar 6 2012, $26.95
ISBN: 9780451463814

Siblings Lee and Glorianna Belladonna along with Michael the Musician and others removed the darkness of The Eater of the World from Ephemera (see Belladonna). However, though Ephemera is balanced now, the world remains a perilous place as affirmed when bellicose wizards arrive. Lee stops their threat to disrupt the balance, but ends up in an asylum in Vision, a city also facing dark peril.

The Vision Shamans fail to prevent the dark plague from spreading. Lee understands what they face and offers his assistance and those of his family in Ephemera, Glorianna and their cousin Sebastian. However, the proud protectors of Vision eventually may acquiesce to his offer, but time is running out.

The third Ephemera fantasy is an entertaining tale with an incredible vivid description of the Bishop mythos and a wonderful self-sacrificing hero who risks his life again to save a city of strangers. The storyline starts slow with an inordinate amount of time on what happened in the previous entries (see Sebastian). However, once the protagonist jumps into the frying pan to save Ephemera and then into the fire to save Vision, Bridge of Dreams accelerates into a super-fast-paced exciting thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Born to Darkness
Suzanne Brockmann
Ballantine, Mar 20 2012, $26.00
ISBN 9780345521279

The United States is spiraling into third world status as the Great Depression II wreaks havoc on most people due to policies that legalized unfair practices leading to the wealthiest doing great while everyone paid the price. For much of the increasing poor there is only one commodity they can sell: their preteen daughters. The Organization has created Destiny from the hormones of pre-puberty females; the affluent love the elixir that allows those with money to buy the perfect physical specimen at the cost of their mind.

The Obermeyer Institute opposes the sale of girls as a commodity and by extrapolation are against the use of Destiny. However, groups like the Organization own the media and the politicians so Obermeyer is considered by most a place for crackpots. With nowhere to turn, banished former Navy SEAL Shane Laughlin joins OI though he believes the media portrayal of lunatics especially the “Greater-Thans” philosophy to deploy otherworldly powers for the common good. He changes his mind when female Greater Than scientists half his size kicks his butt in. Shane and Greater Than Michelle “Mac” Mackenzie had shared a one night stand before he joined OI as a test subject. In Boston, they attempt to rescue a young girl sold for her hormones who appears to be a Greater Than.

Noted for Breaking the Rules of romantic suspense with her Troubleshooters saga, Suzanne Brockmann provides a powerful enthralling and dark paranormal thriller as the extraction of young female hormones is a capitalist commodity exchange item. The gripping premise extrapolates trends in economics, politics, journalism and pharmaceutical to paint a dark soulless future. The prime romance between the protagonists and a gay relationship enhance an exciting fast-paced rescue mission.

Harriet Klausner

By a Thread
Jennifer Estep
Pocket, Feb 28 2012, $7.99
ISBN 9781451651768

In Ashland, Pork Pit owner Gin “Spider” Blanco completed the magical hit she has trained for when she assassinated Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered her family when she was a teen (see Spider’s Revenge). With many of the punks seeking instant infamy by killing Spider, and with Gin wanting to spend quality with her long-lost baby sister Ashland police detective Bria Coolidge, she leaves on a vacation from her occupation.

The siblings travel to Blue Marsh beach resort where Bria introduces Gin to her best friend Callie Reyes of the Sea Breeze. Small time felon Pete Proctor and his giant partner Trent warn Callie to sell her establishment to their employer Randall Dekes the vampire before hurricane season causes damage. Pete also harasses Bria before breaking a mirror. When he gloats over hurting Bria before, Spider knocks out Trent and stabs Pete’s hand to the floor before knocking him out. With a sigh Gin knows the vacation is over. Gin’s former lover Blue Marsh police detective Donovan Caine who is also Bria’s fiancé arrives at the Sea Breeze. However, the power hungry vamp covets a new acquisition, Spider’s elemental ice and Stone magic.

The enjoyable sixth Elemental Assassin urban fantasy is the first in the post Mabs era and fans of the series will appreciate the still kick butt heroine flashing her knives though her opponent is much more clever and a more dangerous adversary than her previous opponent was. Action-packed from the moment the vacation ends, Jennifer Estep avoids the sub-genre stereotyping of the heroine and the villain By A Thread based on who has the sharper bite.

Harriet Klausner

Borrowed Heart
Linda Lamberson
LAOL, Dec 2 2011, $8.99
ISBN: 9780615498768

The psychic Madame Sasha tells Evie Sanders things about herself and her family very few people know. She also warns her that she has been marked with The Curse of Three, which will include two near death experiences and something worse. Evie awakens from a bad dream that seemed so real because she met Sasha two years ago.

After class, Quinn Harrison introduces himself to Evie and asks for her notes from a session he missed. He asks her to come to a party, but she is dating her Michigan boyfriend Ryan Walker though they are apart as she attends IU and he goes to Illinois. Still Evie is attracted to Quinn so she and her two BFFs (Lisa and Rachel) attend the party. However, due to a drunk, Evie dies in a car accident after seeing Ryan with another woman in Champagne. Five days later she awakens to a Peter informing her that this is no longer Bloomington and he will guide her in her transition into being a rare chosen Shepherd to help humans. As she learns the rigid Rules, Evie has one problem with obedience, Quinn.

Book One of the Evie Sanders series is a terrific romantic urban fantasy starring a fascinating heroine who at sixteen realized she had a gift and welcomed it rather than running from it. Evie holds the entertaining storyline focused with help from her mentor and her beloved. However, what makes this strong opening act work is the unique Lamberson mythos that sub-genre fans will appreciate and want more.

Harriet Klausner

Boneyards
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
PYR, Jan 24 2012, $16.00
ISBN 9781616145439

Lost Souls Corporation owner Boss has come a long way from her hermit days when she was searching for artifacts amidst rubble and dust by herself. Instead she now runs a corporation with several employees ever since Boss located that first Dignity vessel and its Stealth Tech (see Diving into the Wreck and City of Ruins). Boss and her crew found the Ivoire, an ancient vessel powered by Stealth tech that was propelled forward five millennia with its mates surviving the time change. Lost Souls and the Ivoire search for clues as to what happened to the rest of the fleet and why this ship and crew ended up five thousand years into the future. They find clues to an ancient battle that might contain the information Boss and company seek.

Meanwhile, the Enterran Empire continues its lethal research into Stealth Tech. As the scientists die from the experiments, one of their former colleagues Squishy destroys the prime Enterran Empire’s research lab, but fails to escape due to a distraction of meeting her former mate. Her only hope to escape empire justice resides with her friend Boss.

The third Boss futuristic science fiction is a fast-paced, action-packed space thriller starring a courageous heroine whose fight switch has her “diving” into some nasty scenarios. The entertaining storyline continues the theme that to the victors go the history books, but that generalization is enhanced by a close look into how the past impacts the present. Although there is some repetition, fans will appreciate this strong intelligent dive into the Rusch universe.

Harriet Klausner

Bedeviled
Sable Grace
Avon, Dec 27 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9780061964411

Vampyre-Lychen hybrid Dark Breed Kyana Aslan saved the life of Haven when she turned her BFF into a vampire by giving her blood. However, Kyana learns where good intentions lead to when the rebellious raging spirit of Cronos possesses Haven. Cronos plans to use the recently transformed Haven as a vessel to overthrow the Olympus pantheon, but his host has a vendetta too as she needs to kill her once beloved “sister” for changing her into this monster.

Although her bodyguard Ryker the demigod has not mouthed one I told you so, looks tell Kyana that he knows she erred due to her love of a friend. Now she must rectify her passionate saving of Haven because in seven days her BFF replaces Kyana as the new Artemis Goddess of the Hunt and therefore Haven must die before this transformation to prevent her BFF from bringing hell on Earth.

The second enjoyable Dark Breed Greek mythos urban fantasy (see Ascension) is an exciting tale that looks deep into the soul of the heroine as she struggles between guilt over her friend whom she expects to kill, whining over her wardrobe, and lusting over the body of her bodyguard. Fast-paced from start to finish, however the clothing and Ryker issues at times supersede the intriguing hellish Haven horror subplot.

Harriet Klausner

A Bridge of Years
Robert Charles Wilson
Orb/Tor, Dec 6 2011, $16.99
ISBN: 9780765327420

Following a divorce and a desperate need to start over, alcoholic Tom Winter leaves Seattle to return home to Belltower where he buys a three decade old house not occupied for over ten years, but maintained in pristine condition by an apparent phantom housekeeping service. The previous occupant Ben Collier lived there from 1964 until he vanished in 1980. Tom thinks his luck has changed as there is not one iota of dust anywhere and everything works.

However, he wonders if he is having the DTs when the “Tidiness Elves” clean his dishes. He soon meets his ghosts the cybernetic caretakers who plead with him to repair the abode as Tom learns the basement contains a tunnel that on the other end takes a traveler to Greenwich Village circa 1962. Ignoring the custodians’ warning not to enter the tunnel, Tom lands in May 1962 where he meets Joyce Casella in Washington Square Park. They are attracted to one another, but she fears he lost his mind to LSD or something similar. However, a marauder Billy Gargullo who killed Ben targets Tom and Joyce.

This is a reprint of a 1991 classic time traveler relationship drama. The exciting story line is filled with action, a vague future filled with war and horrific climate change, and a purposely not fully developed bittersweet romance. Character driven, fans who appreciate a complex somewhat convoluted thriller will want to read Robert Charles Wilson’s terrific time travel treatise as the protagonist struggles to cope psychologically (accentuated with the right on target climax) even more than the physical stalking by a killer.

Harriet Klausner