Ghost of a Chance
Simon R. Green
Ace, Aug 31 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780441019168

In a deserted supermarket in Bath, England are the Ghost Finder agents powerful in magic JC Chance, technological geek who disdains magic Melody Chambers, and telepath Happy Jack Palmer. The place is haunted and between psi and tech skills, they locate a stone age settlement miles beneath the parking lot. A woman’s murder led to the haunting, but they obtain justice and dispatch the victim to the next plane and malevolence lingering from ancient times is destroyed.

Shortly afterward, the team, who are part of the Carnacki Institute, is summoned to meet with their boss. A massive supernatural event occurred at London’s Oxford Circus Tube Station. The team is to learn what supernatural essence caused the incident, kick its butt, and send it back to whatever hell it calls home. They realize “it” is a Power so potent no one can defeat it. Adding to their difficulty is two dark arts practitioners from the Crowley Institute; the mission of these operatives is to kill the three Carnacki agents. When they comprehend that the otherworldly entity can terraform the planet into its environs, the adversarial pair of earth groups unite though none of the five field operatives believe they have a ghost of a chance to prevent the extinction of their world.

The newest series from urban fantasy grand mage Simon R. Green is as good as the Nightside and the Secret Histories sagas. Each of the three Carnacki heroes have their own personalities, which feel believable as they fight the supernatural; their human enemies become frenemies because they may practice dark magic but are not suicidal as they do not want to be devoured by otherworldly powers. Filled with action, no one turns London into a horror-fantasy playground better than Mr. Green consistently does as the city has a Ghost of a Chance of surviving the writer’s latest magical mayhem.

Harriet Klausner

Grave New Day
Lina Gardiner
ImaJinn, Jun 15 2010, $14.00
ISBN: 9781933417561

Remorseful NYPD secret vampire Police Captain Jess Vandermire knows she owes John “Britt” Brittain who saved her life, but died doing so. Even though his body has not been found, she plans on giving Britt the best funeral send off she can. Jess also relooks hiding her existence and even her police work as that no longer feels the same to her.

Because she has a partial soul thanks to Regent her brother, Jess has a partial soul and so feels regret and guilt over Britt’s death. She knows that makes her unique as other bloodsuckers kill without a second thought. Jess buries Britt’s empty casket. The only other attendee is a stranger to her, Zeke who insists he is Britt’s friend and has plenty to tell her about choice between returning to human being or remaining a vampire to fight an ancient evil threatening all humans. However; her police instincts tell her not to trust this informant while fearing failure to heed Zeke’s guidance could mean mankind’s extinction; adhering to it might mean the end anyway.

The third Vandermire Vampire Hunter is a fast-paced urban fantasy that grips fans of the series from the beginning to the cliffhanging climax that ties up some threads, but adds new danglers. Action-packed, the Gardiner universe expands but newcomers will be lost as this super saga must be read from the Grave start to fully comprehend what is happening especially to the heroine.

Harriet Klausner

God of War
Matthew Stover and Robert E. Vardeman
Del Rey, May 2010, $15.00
9780345508676

Kratos the warrior knows that serving the Gods of Olympus means being a monstrous murderer. He accepted his fate as a slave but feels being labeled by his fellow Greeks as a murderous monster is unfair when Ares or Athena demand you do their bidding; saying no is not an option until now. The chains of the Blades of Chaos that bound him are broken as the Gods apparently abandoned him to his conscience as the Ghost of Sparta.

Hermes taunted Athena with news that her pet mortal was considering entering Hades. She is stunned and upset but believes Kratos’ downfall into thinking of suicide started with the Grave of Ships mission that set sail on the Aegean; leading him to an inferno engulfing Athens. His freedom from doing the biddings of Olympus was to kill Ares the God of War; someone Kratos loathes for atrocities on humanity that the God made him commit. Athena advised Kratos that the Blades of Chaos, the weapon he is bound to, is the only thing that could kill the God of War. He sought to confront Ares; with his goal that one of them will die, which one did not matter to Kratos.

Clearly intended for fans of the fantasy game, God of War provides an intriguing mythological thriller with an underlying message to watch what you wish for as sometimes you get what you asked for. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Athena thinks back to the adventures that led to her mortal pet being depressed and suicidal. Game players and Greek mythos readers will especially appreciate Kratos’ “final” (if he survives the Gods are a capricious crowd toying with their inferiors) quest.

Harriet Klausner

The Girls with Games of Blood
Alex Bledsoe
Tor, Jul 6 2010, $14.99
ISBN 9780765323842

He had survived for ages until 1915 when Baron Rudolfo Vladimir Zginski was staked through the heart. In 1975 pathologist Patricia Johnson withdraws the cross from the mummified corpse, which revives the dormant dead Continental vampire. In Memphis, when he meets some moronic young hippie vamps, he reluctantly takes the kids under his wings (see Blood Groove).

Mentoring vamps is not easy for a vowed misogynist; especially the push for gender and racial equality when he knows he is the superior breed due to his aristocratic heritage, sex and race, yet his sidekick is black Leonardo Jones. However, he has a new passion with the modern age and buys a 1973 Mustang from Zeb Crabtree while Jones wants to bite Zeb’s daughter, Clora. At the Ringside Club Rudolfo owns, his waitress Fauvette meets undead singer Patience Bolade who like her estranged sister Prudence thrives without drinking blood. Zeb wants to bring the battling sisters past their civil war fight to the modern age as he wants to taste both Bolade babes; unaware how nasty a baseball bat can be when it strikes the head of even a vampire when the hitter swings for the fences.

Not for everyone as the Baron may be sophisticate and suave, but he also is a malicious racist, nasty sexist and arrogant elitist. Starting with the opening profound one word profanity at the bar the story line is filled with gore, action, and gore as the Baron goes after sisters of the blood in an entertaining but over the top of the Smokey Mountains historical vampire tale.

Harriet Klausner

Go, Mutants!
Larry Doyle
Ecco, Jun 2010, $23.99
ISBN 9780061686559

J!m Anderson understands you cannot pick your parents, but wonders how far out can you get. His father led a failed alien invasion before allegedly being nailed on the Washington Monument. His mother was a siren cat woman, who earns a living as a sexy cocktail waitress.

Growing up as a hybrid outsider, J!m fell in love Marie Rand in high school. Her roots are not much better though she is a purebred human. Her dad is a mad scientist Dr. Howard Rand and her mother lost her head, which floats in a pan filled with fluid that EPA would condemn but her dad worships.

This is an entertaining over the top of the Empire State Building, Washington Monument and a few other stratospheric locales that presume the stars of 1950s science fiction and horror movies are real. Loaded with movie information and amusing satire, the offspring horde of monsters, aliens and evil attend high school. Although the plot is thinner than a B-movie, fans will enjoy this amusing homage to the height of the Cold War paranoia that hooked Hollywood in the Eisenhower Era.

Harriet Klausner

Guardian
Lindsay McKenna
Silhouette Nocturne, Jun 2010, $5.25
ISBN: 9780373618361

In 1308 Templar Knight Nicholas de Beaufort and his cohorts prayed to the Cathay God not for themselves, but for those who were burning them at the stake. French King Phillip used his army on the Albigensian Crusade killling a million people. However though his body died in the inferno, his spirit and that of his peers survive at the Village of the Clouds. They remain warriors for the Taqe forces of light on the eternal battle against the Tupay forces of the dark.

In the present Mary Anderson has been assigned to find the last two missing spheres to a magical necklace that will bring peace and harmony to mankind. Although he prefers not to return to earth as a mortal, Nicholas understands he must as his task is to protect Mary from the evil Tupay Dark Lord Victor Carancho Guerra and advising her on her efforts to find “Saturn” in her Scottish trek. As they fall in love, Mary and Nicholas seek the final two emeralds with help from her late grandfather, a warrior owned by Victor.

The sixth Warriors for the Light romantic urban fantasy is a wonderful finish to an engaging mythos. The story line is loaded with action yet insures the lead couple is fully developed as they struggle with their quest, a powerful insidious enemy, and love. Fans of the series will enjoy the end of this arc and marvel at Lindsay McKenna setting up the next spin in her saga. Lindsay McKenna can only write books that are sublime.

Harriet Klausner

Glimmerglass
Jenna Black
St. Martin’s Griffin, May 25 2010, $9.99
ISBN: 9780312575939

One has to travel to London to reach Avalon; the only place where Faerie and the mortal realms converge. It is a sovereign nation similar to how the Vatican is its own country within Rome. Mortals can journey to Avalon but not the Faerie who can only remain in Avalon. Magic and technology work in Avalon but only the latter works in the human realm.

Dana Hathaway is the sixteen year old child of an alcoholic who keeps her daughters away from Avalon and her father. Finally Dana gets so disgusted with her mother’s behavior; she enters Faeirie to meet her father Seamus for the first time. When she arrives she learns her father is in jail and her Aunt Grace kidnaps her. Two Faerie siblings, Ethan and Kimber, rescue Dana but they too have their own agenda. They realize she is a Faeriewalker, who can traverse both worlds, which according to her dad when they meet makes her a powerful weapon and brings about a strong interest by all residents of Avalon. Ethan’s father, Grace and Seamus want to be the next Consul and Grace would be a great weapon in anyone’s arsenal. Where she lives impacts faerie politics as Dana must be protected from those who want to use her and those who want to kill her.

Young adult readers who enjoy the fantasies of the Cast team or that Alyson Noel will relish Glimmerglass. Jenna Black spellbinds and enthralls her readers who initially like the heroine, want to know why Dana’s mom fears her daughter’s sire she became an alcoholic, drinking and relocating all the time to elude his reach. After meeting him and better understanding the realm of magical politics, fans will remain enthralled as Dana starts to understand what motivates the paternal side of her family. She trusts no one to protect her interests. With a strong climax and more to follow, fans will want to follow the adventures of the teenage Faeriewalker.

Harriet Klausner

Ghosts of Manhattan
George Mann
Pyr, Apr 27 2010, $16.00
ISBN 9781616141943

In 1926 Queen Victoria has just died but the Cold War between her kingdom and America remains heated. Violence in the big cities of the United States is rampant as the Twenties are Roaring with murders. In that wake the Ghost walks the city streets of Manhattan with a vengeance. He kills people employed by mobster Roman whose Italian-American gang is particularly known for their brutality and violence. The vigilante’s calling card is an ancient Roman coin left on the eyes of those he murders.

Police detective Felix Donovan is well aware of the Roman mob and the vigilante who stalks them. Each in his belief are criminals. However, though he would prefer to bring Roman and the Ghost to justice, he makes little headway. Meanwhile as the Ghost closes in on Roman, the vigilante learns first hand his adversary is using paranormal connections and fears the end game is to bring a deadly God into the city.

Although comic book gory over the top of the Empire State Building, Ghosts of Manhattan is an entertaining superhero steampunk fantasy that will remind the audience of Darkman. The story line is fast-paced from the moment the Ghost stalks Roman’s legion and never slows down until the climax with half of Manhattan at stake. Although the plot never quite decides between lampooning the two sub-genres and action thriller, readers will enjoy the High Noon over New York war between the vigilante and the mobster with eerie connections.

Harriet Klausner

Grayling The Prophecy
D.B. Wright
Xlibris, 2008
www.exlibris.com
ISBN: 9781425785574

For over a decade Malora remains a prisoner of Beagen inside his stronghold Daggar’s Pointe in Bakaw, Metar. He demands she support his evil scheme concerning seven kingdoms under his malevolent rule. However though he tortures her constantly, she refuses to break. She finally manages to escape, but is injured by a soldier hitting her with an arrow.

Pickard the thief finds her and though he should ignore her as he knows she will be trouble, something compels him to take the unconscious female to safety. His premonition proves right as Beagen’s wizards and apprentices give chase. She proves powerful, but out of control becoming dangerous to herself and others while he finally desperately leaps with her to his home in Te-Mok. There he hopes he can find answers to who she is and get her to safety before the Council interrogates and stopss him from returning to his quest to find Greyling of the Great Prophecy as he is the Protector of the Mgician who will either destroy the world or unite the nations as they were once before until treachery split them apart.

Grayling is an exciting quest fantasy that grips the audience from the onset with a need to know why Beagen magically tortures his female prisoner and maintains that hold on the reader throughout. Besides the obvious lead duet being fully developed with character flaws, the key support cast is also strong as they enhance either understanding the motives of the prime pair or the Prophecy. With several solid middle twists to augment an entertaining saga, sub-genre readers will appreciate the adventures of Malora and Pickard in a land divided.

Harriet Klausner

Ghosts And Echoes
Lyn Benedict
Ace, Apr 272010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780441018703

Miami based private investigator Sylvie Lightner continues to grieve deaths she caused like that of Michael even if she simply saved the world (see Sins and Shadows). She knows she needs to get back to work handling paranormal cases, but that is easier said than done when you are responsible for the death of others.

Still she goes to her South Beach store Shadows Inquiries to see what havoc her partner Alexandra Figueroa-Smith caused even as her backbrain snipes at her. Sylvie rejects as clients witches, werewolves, demons and others as she has pissed off enough of them for several lifetimes. However, she reluctantly agrees to handle the case of Chicago police officer Adam Wright who shows up while she is doing surveillance. A husband and father of a six years old son, he says he is either possessed or crazy as he died but came back with an otherworld hitchhiker. She explains not her thing as she is good at breaking and destroying not surgically removing parasites from a host as her approach is kill the host and the parasite is gone. Still she agrees to help him after he mentions Anna D the succubus who hates her referred him.

The key to this terrific urban fantasy is the world of Benedict seems genuine as the heroine works the Magicus Mundi cases. Fast-paced, fans will relish Sylvie’s efforts to send that other soul back to the beyond. Readers will enjoy this fine paranormal private investigate thriller with a great late twist as the tough detective works the abnormal beat.

Harriet Klausner