The Gift (Book 2 of The Others Trilogy) by Evette Davis
This is a condensed review. The longer one is on LitPick’s site.
The Gift is the second book in The Others Trilogy. It greatly expands on the concept of a secret society of people with magical paranormal abilities including Witches, Shifters, Fairies, Vampires, by taking place in a new setting and introducing new characters. However, it also relies on some cliches like a love triangle to unnecessarily enhance the plot.
Former political activist and half-Witch, Olivia Sheppard travels to Europe after a family emergency. She travels with her companions Gabriel, her Witch father, Elsa, her Time Walker Spirit Guide, Lily, her Fairy best friend, William, her Vampire boyfriend, and Josef, William’s Vampire friend. Olivia and company also have to face Nikolas, a powerful charismatic thousand year old Vampire who uses any means to lead the Council of Others, including murdering Humans and Others who oppose him. The investigation into Nikolas’ plans and actions put Olivia and Josef closer together and Olivia has to reconcile her love for William, her long term boyfriend and growing affection for Josef who has unrealistic feelings for her.
The Gift goes global and takes the characters to Europe. The change in setting puts them, especially Olivia, at a disadvantage since they are on Nikolas’ turf and are playing by his rules.
The setting is one of glamor and Old World intrigue. Olivia and her friends visit various Medieval style villages and castles so the architecture calls to mind Gothic stories and legends and reveals the wealth and power many of the Others have. Nikolas isn't too far off from a James Bond villain, a character who compliments his adversary while using his vast wealth and power to do away with them.
There are some interesting new characters and plot twists that keep the series fresh and make the Readers look forward to the next volume. Nadia is a Tarot Card Reader and Clairvoyant whose predictions have a way of coming true that disturbs Olivia and in one key moment, Nikolas.
The returning characters also go through a lot of development. A personal loss devastates Olivia causing her to question her decisions and current path. However, she finds her strength in taking charge of some unfinished business and pursuing Nikolas.
Both Gabriel and Josef reveal some dark secrets about their pasts, revealing themselves to be men who suffered great loss and heartache in their long histories.
There are many things that work well but one that doesn't and that is the love triangle between William, Josef, and Olivia. There are some interesting parts such as Josef expressing his affection for Olivia and her acknowledging that she is not exactly appalled by his confession. It adds an interesting wrinkle but love triangles are so overdone.
For a series that has a unique concept of a thriving society of paranormal creatures and their interactions with the Human world and explores the precarious inner workings of this world, a love triangle is boring, ordinary, and ironically lacks the magic and mystery of the rest of the book.
Spoilers: This review will mention the death of a character from the previous volume so I will reiterate and say that there are MAJOR HEAVY DUTY SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
The last time that we entered the world of Adam Andrews Johnson’s The Mantis Variant, the Messiah’s, a powerful cult residing in futuristic Teshon City participated in gruesome rituals in which they mutilated the bodies of Shifts, people with special abilities so they can absorb the glands that give those abilities. Agrell, a Messiah with a hidden Shift ability goes on the run and meets Ilya, a Shift with the power of flight and Dozi, a street smart thief who wants to be a Demifae, a mystic with special powers by study not birth. The trio hide out with a kindly couple, Mystic, a Demifae and Theolon, his husband. They reunite the couple with Lahari, their missing daughter while the Messiahs declare war on the Shifts.
In the sequel, The Mantis Equilibrium, things get darker, more sinister, and potentially more dangerous for the characters. It certainly anchors the series with a stronger sense of purpose for what the characters are going through and the changes that are affecting the world around them.
A year has gone by and the protagonists are mourning the death of Agrell who died in the previous volume sacrificing herself for her new friends. They have accepted each other and new member, Tchama as a surrogate family. They journey outside of Teshon City where Dozi has a very uncomfortable reunion with her family and also meet Ninyani, a Shift with the ability of creating fire and ice. Meanwhile, Vion, a Messiah, goes on the hunt for Shifts after he finds the murdered bodies of his colleagues. Also a trio of Shifts, Gawa, Eroli, and S’Kay, have a more violent and destructive goal in mind for the Messiahs.
The Mantis Equilibrium balances the expected darker stake-raising that occurs so often in second volumes while doing interesting things in terms of character and plot that make it fresh and unique in its own right.
I will get one personal issue out of the way. I miss Agrell. She was my favorite character in the first volume. Her story of Messiah turned rebel was the most fascinating. She greatly developed from someone who had much to hide to someone who loves and as we found out would willingly die for her new friends. Her loss is not only felt by the characters but this Reader as well.
Unfortunately, Agrell's loss is more felt because of Tchama’s presence. There isn't as much to make her stand out as an individual the way that her predecessor did. She seems to exist solely to make sure that the main protagonists remain a trio. In fact, Tchama is so indistinct as a character that Johnson could have just as easily had Agrell remain for one more volume before killing her off. In fact, he missed a golden opportunity to have conflict and backstory between Agrell and Vion, a current Messiah who still is a devotee. But Agrell's absence is a minor personal issue in a volume that is otherwise excellent.
One of the most interesting aspects is the presence of Ninyani. He lived in a rural village that was isolated from the rest of the world so his powers are looked at very differently from the other Shifts. His mother believes that they are divinely inspired and this could be an opportunity to replace the Elder God of their village, a Shift who uses his powers to establish his own cult to worship him. Unfortunately, Ninyani's mother’s plans go awry when the boy accidentally causes a disaster that kills everyone in the village including the Elder God and his mother and he is the sole survivor.
Ninyani's backstory introduces some interesting concepts in this book. One of them is how similar things can happen to people but because of cultural or regional differences, they might be seen in various ways. Ninyani is unaware of the prejudice against the Shifts or even that there are people like him until he meets Ilya and she introduces him to the others. He is from a spiritual background that doesn't know about glands or genetic mutations, the way characters do. Since his village can't explain it, they attribute it to divine intervention. It's quite an awakening and a bit of spiritual conflict when he learns of the truth though in his defense, he never really thought of himself as a god. His mother did, in an attempt to overthrow the previous one. He went along with it for her sake. “New God” was not a label that he was comfortable having so it's one that he doesn't mind when it is removed.
The other concept is that the destruction of Ninyani’s village can show what happens when those Shift abilities are misused. Even if they happen in a bout of thoughtless emotion, like it did with him, much damage can occur. This is why it is A) dangerous for one to absorb so many like with the Messiahs and B) why it is so important to learn to channel them and use restraint as the Mystic trains Ninyani to do.
Vion also is an interesting figure in this volume because he is a contrast to the previous Messiah, Agrell like I said. She left the cult after finding out their true intent. Vion not only accepts the slaughter of Shifts, he is ruthless in implementing it. He is the dogmatic cult member who follows the doctrine to the letter. He would rather continue down the path no matter how bloody than admit that he was wrong about it. With so much conversation and debate about cult followings sometimes involving the surrender of one's free will and morals, this subplot is surprisingly relevant.
Vion is an unrepentant bigot and rigid dogmatist especially towards Shifts. However, there is a very curious moment in which something bizarre happens to him and his fellow Messiahs. He attributes it to the Shifts that they are following but it is purposely left ambiguous whether this strange event was caused by the Shifts or by Vion himself. Is it entirely possible that the Shift Hater is himself a Shift? If so, would he go the way of Agrell and rebel or repress his true nature underneath the veneer of hatred and authoritarianism?
The recurring characters have some fascinating things happen to them, most notably Dozi and fellow returnee, Auntie Peg. Dozi’s reunion with her biological family starts out well but becomes awkward and fierce once they learn about her Shift friends. Their ultimatum and Dozi’s decision to stand by her friends shows a strength of character.
Auntie Peg was a supporting character in the previous book. Here, she comes into her own as we learn about her backstory and why she lives her life the way that she does. She also serves as a warm maternal mentor to the others and leads many of the Shifts on the path to a civil resistance.
There are some interesting threads that could lead to potential story arcs. Gawa, Eroli, and S’Kay’s subplot is not fully realized or more than likely has not yet reached its full potential as though they have a much larger role to play in the events to come. Ilya goes through a chilling transformation with potential long term complications and might blur the lines between enemy and ally in future installments. It certainly leaves Readers hanging.
Folded Steel (Book 3 of The Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardians Series) by G Russell Gaynor
Let's see in the first volume of The Forge Trilogy, The Blind Smith, we were introduced to John James Moore, AKA Augur who was blinded in an assassination attempt and is recruited by an organization of spies and assassins. He then is betrayed and plans revenge on his one-time recruiters and allies. In the second volume, Muted Rage, John recruited his team most notably, Sonya Bocharova, a deaf Russian woman, and weighed and analyzed their strengths and weaknesses. Let's see we have the leader, we have the team, what next? Why it's time for the missions of course. In this third, volume, Folded Steel , it's time for the team to organize and take action against their enemies.
This plot isn't quite as straightforward as the previous volumes. It's a series of gambits between John’s team and the organization fronted by Bob, John’s former recruiter/mentor turned betrayer and arch-enemy. Along the way characters fall in love, question their loyalty, play various sides, and conspire against their enemies and sometimes their allies. Meanwhile other characters like lovers, Thomas and Jessilae are thrown violently into the fray.
Sometimes things get incredibly confusing with the cunning schemes and action-centered nail hanging chapters. It also doesn't always help as characters are routinely called by their real and code names. It can be difficult to say who is involved in what, what the goals are, whether they succeed, and who they are successful for. It keeps the Reader’s suspense and interest, but it is bad when trying to summarize and keep track of it all (even worse when adding the first two volumes).
However, there are some great moments. Unlike many similar novels, John and Sonya do not become lovers. They are just allies and partners, close to friends as the often cynical John will allow. They do however become paired with other characters. Sonya and her lover have a touching moment amid the tension and violence of their usual lives that allows them to receive a great release of emotion and humanity no matter how brief. Meanwhile, John’s relationship comes to a harsh end that can be expected in a world when lives are on the line and loyalties can and often are for sale.
Jessilae and Thomas’s subplot alternates between humor and heartache as they are confused and out of their depths, the way most normies that are suddenly thrust into such a situation would act. They can't tell friend from foe, ally from enemy, and do not find it easy to trust anyone. On the outside looking in, they, especially Jessilae, can see that the two sides aren't really that different and that it was just circumstance over which side they ended up with.
By far one of the strongest moments is a one on one confrontation between John and Bob. Both insufferable geniuses, they don't use weapons but they use words. The one time allies show mutual respect for one another, even admiring their tenacity, perseverance, and iconoclastic creative thinking. In another life, they might have had a father and son relationship. But in their case, respect gives way into treachery and distrust. In a way, their conflicts arise because they are too much alike. They are both brilliant men who are dogmatic in their views and have a serious addiction to being the smartest and best in the room. They were bound to be on opposite sides and are bound to fight until one is victorious and the other is completely annihilated and/or preferably dead.
John’s pursuits has left him with a small group of allies, but they have earned his trust and he theirs. Once a rich kid and tech guru, he has to live a clandestine life of revenge, secrets, and violence but thankfully because of his alliances and his new team, he doesn't have to do it alone.
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