The Gift Book 2 of The Others Trilogy by Evette Davis, The Mantis Equilibrium (Book 2 in The Mantis Gland Series) by Adam Andrews Johnson, Folded Steel (Book 3 of The Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardians Series) by G. Russell Gaynor

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, showing themselves as 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.

The Mantis Equilibrium Book 2 of The Mantis Gland Series by Adam Andrews Johnson 

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. They 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 leaving him 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 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 alternate being 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 be 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.

Sinister Ascension by Marc L. Abbott; School Spirit (and Vampires and Mediums)

 

Sinister Ascension by Marc L. Abbott; School Spirit (And Vampires and Mediums) 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Sinister Ascension Marc L. Abbott’s graphic eldritch Supernatural Horror novel involves a coven of vampires that infiltrate a University and interfere with mortal’s lives for their goals.

Todd, a mysterious handsome charismatic newcomer enrolls in Bruckner University and catches the eye of Kim Morris. She is in a tempestuous relationship with her boyfriend, Eric Tucker which Todd takes full advantage of. However, Todd's not just there to be the third point in a love triangle. He's a vampire with a secret plan for “ascension” and needs a mate. He has many who oppose him including his fellow vampires and coven mates, Kevin and Zeborah, Eric, Dayton Conner, Eric's best friend, and Carmen Guerra, Kim’s roommate. Carmen actually has a secret weapon. She's a medium whose grandmother taught her how to communicate with ghosts and read the minds of otherworldly creatures.

Sinister Ascension has all of the usual earmarks of a decent Supernatural Horror: spiritual encounters, horrific monsters that are beyond description, love triangles gone fatal, and a confrontation between a sinister otherworldly creature with unbelievable abilities and a courageous worried human, often the Female Survivor/Final Girl, also with unbelievable abilities. There technically isn't anything new with what is done with the material, but it is an engaging ride with its ominous moments and genuine suspense.

Todd is a presence that alternates between charming and chilling. There are moments where he plays the role of the sympathetic potential boyfriend to the hilt, maneuvering Kim and Eric’s relationship in his favor. They have personality conflicts about missed dates, spending more time with friends, and mixed signals. These are often minor moments that create tension with any couples, but Todd is a master manipulator. He exaggerates Eric's flaws, builds up his own virtues, and plays on Kim's insecurities and sexual longings. 

Todd almost doesn't need supernatural abilities because he makes for a very effective manipulator and potential abuser. But he is a vampire and is capable of various powers like shapeshifting, hypnosis, and telepathy. As a 21st century vampire, he updates his technique. He spends a lot of time in labs breeding leeches and a subservient fellow vampire to extract the mortal blood. He goes through an eerie metamorphosis that strips away the handsome manipulative exterior to reveal the monster that had been lurking underneath.

The characters that fight against Todd are effective, particularly his rival vampires and Carmen. Kevin and Zeborah hover between being as antagonistic as Todd and justifiable in their fights against him. Kevin takes a more pragmatic approach towards humanity and Todd's fanatic megalomaniacal ambitions run counter to that. Even though he was willing to work alongside Todd on behalf of their coven previously, Kevin realizes that his colleague has gone too far and sides with the humans, specifically Carmen, against Todd. 

Zeborah also has his reasons to side against Todd. There are spoilers involved, but let's say his reasons are more emotional. He still has a soul despite his vampiric tendencies and is also tired of following Todd's orders especially when they led to much previous destruction. His journey towards atonement is one of the strongest aspects of this book.

By far Todd's strongest opponent and the primary protagonist is Carmen. She is beginning college just as she is discovering and developing her powers. Her conversations with her grandmother often consist of her asking questions about these growing powers that she doesn't understand and can't always control. Her abuela gives plenty of heartfelt advice born from a lifetime of using otherworldly talent in an ordinary world. 

Carmen's powers manifest themselves in different ways. Her encounters with ghosts are so mundane that she at first believes that she's talking to actual human students until something gives them away, usually when someone else does not see whom she is talking to. There is such an eerie chapter in which she talks to someone revealed to be a ghost during a stressful shocking night. 

Carmen also has the ability of sharing thoughts with some supernatural creatures most prominently Kevin. This skill allows these two unlikely allies to be on the same page as Carmen tries to protect Kim from Todd and Kevin fights against his one-time coven mate. 

With the ghostly encounters, telepathic conversations with vampires, and the migraines that often precede the use of her powers, Carmen is often on edge. Her abilities are amazing but they are clearly not a pleasant experience. They bring physical pain, mental confusion, and emotional loneliness when she can't tell anyone about them. Carmen recognizes the pain and discomfort but also realizes that it is a calling to help those in trouble particularly her friend and ultimately everyone around her.

Sinister Ascension is a worthy addition to any Supernatural Horror book collection. It has a lot of depth, scares, and plenty of spirit.

The Others (Book 1 in the Council Trilogy) by Evette Davis; Blue by Charles Keatts; The Blind Smith (Book 1 in the Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardian Series) by G. Russell Gaynor; Eveningstar: Awakening by Samantha Curl

 The Others (Book 1 in the Council Trilogy) by Evette Davis; Blue by Charles Keatts; The Blind Smith (Book 1 in the Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardian Series) by G. Russell Gaynor; Eveningstar: Awakening by Samantha Curl 

The Others (Book 1 in The Council Trilogy) by Evette Davis

The entire review can be found on LitPick.

Evette Davis’ The Others is an intriguing concept that is illustrated with intrinsic copious details that fully explores it.

Political consultant Olivia Shepherd is suffering from a professional crisis when she encounters Elsa, a spirit called a Time Walker. Elsa informs her that her rival, Stoner Halbert has made a deal with a demon and is using that influence to grab power. As if that's not enough there is a hidden society called The Others: vampires, fairies, witches, ghosts, and other creatures. They live alongside our own and affect the human world around them. Olivia has some untapped abilities and must use them and her newfound friendships within the Others community to make some important political changes of their own, ones that will benefit humans and Otherkind not dominate it as Halbert wants to do.

The Others Society is captured brilliantly because it seems so much like the normal 21st century human society. The Others live in houses, have regular jobs, and go about their daily lives.

Once she is introduced to the concept, Olivia realizes that she is surrounded by The Others. Her best friend Lily, a teacher, is a fairy. William, a musician whom Olivia begins a relationship with, is a vampire. Gabriel, a multi billionaire who mentors Olivia, is a witch and so on.

There are also some other interesting facets to the plot. William and Olivia begin a tentative romance that is conflicted by differing views but a strong emotional and physical connection.

The political landscape is adequately explored and has some very timely relevance in an already eventful Presidential election year.

The Others takes a fascinating concept and lets the imagination run wild with it.

Blue by Charles Keatts

Blue by Charles Keatts is not an easy book to read. It's confusing, rambling, and disjointed, but it is also honest, introspective, and real. It shows the mental decline of a creative artist who is losing himself to addiction, depression, disconnection, and the despair felt by the people around him.

The Narrator mostly ruminates on his struggles and those of the people around him. They are highly artistic and highly troubled. There's Robert, a music critic, who falls into addiction and various love affairs. His painter friend, Ann soothes herself with heroin. The Narrator, a novelist and poet, has flashbacks of his unhappy youth and is overcome with depression, manic thoughts, and alcoholism. Other names and situations float through the book and disappear quickly as the Narrator’s sanity spirals.

This book is not an easy read. The narrative is confusing, repetitive, jumps from one point of view to another, and rambles on with little to no point. At times it comes across as boring. It tries for a stream of consciousness narration ala James Joyce or Virginia Woolf and sometimes it works but often it doesn't.

Blue works by capturing the slipping sanity of a brilliant but unraveling mind. The Narrator can't keep his thoughts together so it shows in the chapters. He repeats himself, tangles his thoughts, forgets names and places. Even his descriptions of Robert and Ann are causes for concern because The Narrator purposely leaves information out. It is unclear who Robert and Ann even are in his life. Are they friends of his? Is he Robert? Are they parts of his psyche? Fictional characters whose conflicts bleed into his own? We don't know and it is left to interpretation.

At times however, the narration is too complex and pretentious for its own good.

Blue contrasts with another recent book, blue: season by Chris Lombardi which also captures a stream of consciousness narration but does it better than Blue. blue: season is also narrated by a character who is a genius but has a fractured mind but this is a book with a character and plot. It doesn't lose focus so it can tell a good story along with a smart introspective narrative. We care about the characters and want to explore this strange journey into one woman's struggle with mental illness and traumatic memories of her past.

Blue on the other hand is more concerned with showing off the narration than putting it together in a book. It's hard to understand who the Narrator is or who the other characters are partly because of the limited perspective. We only see everyone through the Narrator's eyes. They all live miserable lives and that's it. The bleakness overpowers and since The Narrator jumps around, we can't really know the characters beyond mere sketches. The misery just piles on them without any full understanding of who they are as people or a reason why we should care about them when they reach rock bottom.

Blue is hard to comprehend and sometimes hard to care about, but it is an introspective and honest book about a brilliant mind that is falling apart. As those around him suffer from their own problems, he has to deal with his own heartaches and disappointments. The Narrator lives inside his own head and finds solace in his writing. If in fact, Robert and Ann are fictional characters that he created, he is perhaps using their addictions and psychological problems to confront or even avoid his own. 

As his life and the other's collapse, The Narrator who once found solace in his own mind can no longer trust it. He completely retreats into the fragmented remains in his mind as they slip away into nothingness. 

The Blind Smith (Book 1 in the Forge Trilogy in The Shadow Guardian Series) by G. Russell Gaynor

Note: This book was not selected because of current events. This schedule was made beforehand. Use caution when reading this review.

Even though G. Russell Gaynor’s The Blind Smith is 112 pages, it is a tightly wound and taut thriller about betrayal, revenge, and using one's own abilities and power to get that revenge.

An assassin blinds teen tech billionaire John J.J. Moore and kills members of his security team. He is taken in by Bob, a mysterious figure who teaches the young man how to be an assassin. Within a few years, J.J. excels in his training and recruits some new assassins to help him plan his revenge on the people who attacked him and killed his friends.

The opening chapter begins with a violent attack and there are some other subsequent action oriented chapters. However, the emphasis in this book is on gathering intelligence and planning strategies. Fighting harder takes a backseat to fighting smarter.

J.J. is particularly skilled in the whole “fighting smarter” mindset. He fits the description of someone who “plays 3D chess while his opponents play checkers.” In the beginning of the book, he is taught to use his other senses to become a formidable fighter ala Daredevil.

This style not only sharpens his physical strength but his mental strength too. He almost obtains a second sight and awareness into his allies and opponents's thoughts and actions.

With J.J.’s physical strength and analytical prowess, he is more than formidable against his enemies. Half way through the book only a few years into his training, he is already recruiting and leading his own groups. He picks into his protegee’s desires for revenge and anger at being wronged.

He helps his new recruits channel their anger into being a fighting team that makes up for the deficiencies that he lacks. They will be his force for revenge over the enemies who attacked him and the traitors that allowed it.

The Blind Smith is a brilliant game between a genius who is conditioned to fight and those who he is conditioned to fight against.

Eveningstar: Awakening by Samantha Curl 

Samantha Curl’s first Eveningstar novel, Awakening, skillfully tells three separate stories with the same characters. Curl then entwines them into one wide reaching expansive Epic High Fantasy that passes through three universes.

Alethia Eveningstar is the daughter of The God of War and Queen of the Stars and is destined to defeat Kakaron, God of Chaos before she can inherit her father's title. Kakaron seduces and betrays Alethia before making an escape. The Goddess-to-Be has to live ten or eleven lives encountering and fighting Kakaron before their final battle. Most of the book is set during two of those lives: Our Realm, where she is a high school girl in modern times discovering magic powers while dealing with new friendships, romance, and studies and the Other Realm, a Medieval like forest where her powers manifest as she is involved in a love triangle between her betrothed and a handsome and familiar stranger.

For a short novel of 178 pages, a lot is accomplished in an impressive manner. Curl devotes enough time to all three universes to give us ideas of the plots, settings, and characters and how they overlap and interact with each other. 

With time and interdimensional travel and the decision to set alternating chapters into different worlds, Awakening can be a very difficult book to follow. But thankfully many plot points parallel each other enough so if it already happened in one universe, the Reader will expect it to happen in another.

The key is to make each universe unique from the others and Curl does this superlatively. We know that Alethia and Kakaron are destined to encounter each other in each universe. 

There are also friends, relatives, authority figures, and romantic rivals that carry over in amusing ways. It gets to the point where the Reader goes “Okay there's this character in Our Realm. She should appear in the Other Realm right about..now.” It becomes an interesting game to see how quickly the characters' doppelgangers appear and in what way plots shift in the various worlds.

There are some interesting twists to keep Readers from expecting or assuming too much. One character strangely can jump from universe to universe so instead of being a reincarnated soul or a double, he's the same person in all three worlds and is able to teach Our World Alethia this ability so she can see what her Other Realm counterpart can. The circumstances of how Alethia and Kakaron meet, what forms they take, who seduced who, and how they discover the truth are different each time. Different enough that in one universe, Kakaron’s reveal is a genuine surprise. It keeps the momentum going in this strange novel.

Eveningstar: Awakening has a lot of fun playing with the laws of time and space and taking the Reader along with it.

 

Weekly Reader: Midlife Incantations: A Paranormal Women's Fantasy(Paraval Book 2) by Kate Swansea; More Magic, More Problems

Weekly Reader: Midlife Incantations (Paraval Book 2) by Kate Swansea; More Magic, More Problems

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Now we return to the world of Black Lake Falls, Washington and its Warden, 45 year old Elise Clair, a divorced dentist and mother of two that has to awaken alchemist abilities to fight dark forces.

In the previous volume of Kate Swansea's Paraval series, Midlife Alchemy, Elise accepts the position of Warden when she learns that her late father, Jack Clair had been one before he died. As Warden, their job is to make sure the gate to Inferium remains closed. If it is open even a tiny bit, dark unpleasant creatures called umbra come out and wreak havoc on the town. That's not the worst of it, they act under the bidding of a sinister character known as the Dark Commander who has possessed Black Lake Falls citizens in the past and has done it again.

One of the things that I liked about Midlife Alchemy was that it depicted a middle aged normal woman thrust in an extraordinary circumstance and shows how she adjusts and even thrives in this new world. The sequel, Midlife Incantations, loses a bit of that regular person feel. Elise is now the Warden and while she has to learn some new powers, she is definitely adjusted to her surroundings. However, it's still an effective adventure that tests Elise and her new friends.

In this volume, Elise and her boyfriend, General Theo Stallard, are two of the three Keepers to keep the Umbra out. They have to help the third, Ronath, a minotaur who is also the Gatekeeper. He is the latest to be possessed by the Dark Commander. He disappears but only after leaving destruction in his wake as though he were looking for something. Elise learns that her parents were part of a secret organization of alchemists whose surviving members are dying one by one. Apparently, they had knowledge of a mysterious book called The Book of Mairel, that has spells to open all of the demon gates in the entire world or close the portal to Inferium permanently.

There are some great moments that focus on Elise expanding and testing her powers. She has to learn ritualistic magic from a local witch named Agatha. While she makes many mistakes in practice, she ultimately is able to succeed in this endeavor, even changing events by swapping certain objects used in the rituals.

Her alchemist abilities are also growing stronger. In a couple of great moments, Elisa and Theo combine her alchemical powers with his pyrokinesis to build a working boat and activate a motorcycle. 

Elise's search for The Book of Mairel gives her the opportunity to weigh the powerful implications of that book and its potential consequences. She may have the ability to eradicate all evil and close the portal for good but what does that mean for herself and everyone around her? There will be nothing for her as Warden to do. How powerful can a spell like that be in reality and what if it fell in the wrong hands? 

Another important thing to note about the Book of Mairel is that it contains a spell that would eliminate all vampires. This is hugely problematic because Black Lake Falls is home to many vampires including Elise's friends, Nina and Jerome. Elise vows that no matter the circumstances that she will never use that spell but the fact that such a spell even exists puts her at odds with various vampires. Also there's the unspoken thought that who's to stop someone else from using it. The Book of Mairel may be an easy solution but it ultimately could do more harm than good.

There is also a lot of drama concerning the Dark Commander's possession of Ronath. In the previous volume, he possessed another character but it was treated like a mystery over who was getting possessed and it ended up being one of Elisa's new friends. While she is kind, we barely knew her before her possession. 

This is different. We have known Ronath since Book 1. He is a kindly gentle giant uh minotaur. He and Theo have a bro-like friendship which consists of teasing and riffing each other but constantly having each other's backs. He is a good loyal friend to many and makes Elise feel welcome in her new surroundings. He even has a girlfriend, Agatha, who arrived in Black Lake Falls the same time that he did, centuries ago.

Ronath's a permanent fixture around town and for the Dark Commander to take him removes a large heart from the story.

It also affects Theo personally as he watches his best friend and partner succumb to a madness that he cannot help him with, a madness that can only be cured one way. This leaves Theo  with the heartbreaking dilemma whether or not to kill his old friend.

Even once everything in this book is resolved, there is a cliffhanger ending for the next volume, which will bring the series to a dark, fascinating, and possibly decisive climax.

 

New Book Alert: Cardinals by Ian Conner; Lesbian Vampires and God's Wife are Highlights of This Seductive Mesmerizing Dark Fantasy

 

New Book Alert: Cardinals by Ian Conner; Lesbian Vampires and God's Wife are Highlights of This Seductive Mesmerizing Dark Fantasy

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: "God's Wife is a Lesbian Vampire!" 

That sounds less like the plot of a good dark fantasy novel and more like one of those weird cheesy tabloid headlines that could be found in any supermarket in the 80's-90's. But actually that's what Cardinals by Ian Conner actually is. Uh not a cheesy tabloid headline but a compelling mesmerizing dark fantasy about a goddess cast out of Heaven and ready to seek vengeance on the deity who abandoned her and now insists that he is the only way to Salvation.

As he did with his previous novels, Dark Maiden and The Long Game (An Amy Radigan Mystery), Conner proves that no two Ian Conner novels are alike. He can jump from an eerie supernatural horror to a complex political thriller in no time at all. His latest, Cardinals, is a dark fantasy which takes some clever savage gut punches to religion. The only thing that these books have in common are that they all have LGBT characters, particularly lesbians, but even those characters vary in terms of personality and relationships. It's nicely refreshing when an author takes on various genres and writes them so well.

In Conner's book (and according to some theological scholars) God's wife's name is Asherah. She was an actual deity who was worshipped in Canaanite religion. She also appeared in Mesopotamian religion as Ishtar and Egyptian as Isis.

 In Cardinals, it is she and not Lucifer (as told in the Bible) who sparked the angelic rebellion and is cast out of Heaven. Yahweh is so threatened by her demands of equal status,  goal to be acknowledged as co-creator, and her dislike for the humanity that he created to worship him, that he orders her to not only be cast out but not to be referenced in the records that humans are transcribing. This explains therefore why she had scant reference in the Bible and why despite other myths and religions that feature a God and Goddess, the Abrahamaic religions are one of the few that have a solely male deity.

Asherah's story in Cardinals is similar to that of Lilith, Adam's reported first wife who was thrown out of Eden after she refused to take a subordinate position to Adam. Afterwards, Lilith was referred to as the mother of monsters and later metamorphosed in Hebrew myth and legend as a demon who takes the souls of men and children at night. Asherah's in this book story is also analogous to the many religions that began with a goddess as the creator of the universe in agrarian society only to have her fall in status in favor of the male gods. This archetypal story can be found in various myths such as the conflict between Gaia and Zeus in Greek mythology, the war between Tiamat and Marduk in Mesopotamian, and Isis' relinquishment of her duties to Horus, her son, in Egyptian. 

Similar to the female characters in many of these stories, particulary Lilith and Tiamat, Asherah is not only removed from Heaven and very existence is denied, but she becomes demonized. Once she arrives on Earth, she sports a pair of fangs and obtains an unquenchable thirst for blood. She uses her newfound abilities to attack Sharit, a woman who takes her in but becomes her first victim.

 Asherah is not alone however. Once they fell, her fellow angels transform into rubies. Later, Adam's son Seth and his son Enoch gather the rubies and create the Amulet of Cassiel which the prophet Elijah later uses to call the flaming chariot. The rubies are later separated so the Amulet could never be used again. Asherah resolves to get back the rubies, call the chariot, and return to Heaven to have more than a few words with God, even if it takes thousands of years. After all she has an abundance of time to get the job done.

Asherah is a fascinating character. She is seductive, alluring, manipulative, and hypnotic. She is a character that the Reader can't look away from. She is a cunning strategic planner, spending centuries creating a financial empire and entertaining herself with various lovers, mostly female.

She ends many of her encounters by biting other humans which probably is a lot of fun in later centuries. Some guy cuts her off in traffic? Just feed on him. She fights with someone over the latest dress at a sale? Just have Sangre ala Karen. Jehovah's Witnesses or MAGA fans won't leave her alone? Just eh-maybe not. Who wants to be stuck with them for Eternity?

 Asherah isn't likable, in that she often attacks and kills innocent people and cruelly uses others, particularly Amara, a girlfriend in the 21st century. However, her allure is unmistakable. She is one of those type of characters that is so memorable and so fascinating in her badness and single-minded pursuit that she steals every moment that she is in. You are drawn to her and almost, almost are rooting for her. So much so that the book is not quite the same when she isn't around and the plot shifts to the other characters.

However, the other characters are interesting as well, many of which are Asherah's former victims and are doing their best to thwart or aid in her attempts in putting back together the Amulet. There are: Lady Kellena Donnachaidh, a 14th noblewoman turned 21st century CEO who has a personal grudge against the former Mrs. Yahweh,  Suzette Allard, Kellena's loyal assistant and wife,  Yasmeen Obiad, Kellena's bodyguard and head of security who displays ruthless tactics to get the information that she needs,  Sharit Hagel, Asherah's first victim who is still around in the 21st cenury and seeking vengeance and Amara Korkolis, Asherah's current girlfriend who loves not wisely or well. 

Not to mention there various groups after Asherah such as:  The Cardinals , those who have been fed on by a vampire but not given vampire's blood in return (almost more like zombies), The Witches of Tenerife, a coven who are interested in not only Asherah but Amara as well, and the Roman Catholic Church particularly Cardinal DiScotti (the religious kind of Cardinal though she's a vampire too), the first female Cardinal and is on her way to becoming the first female Pope.

With all of these different characters and groups, sometimes it's hard to tell what are the character's real motives. Betrayal piles on top of betrayal and characters shift allegiances almost as fast as they change addresses. Sometimes it's a chore to go back and remember who is allied with whom and whether they are stopping or helping Asherah (or unintentionally helping her even when they think that they are stopping her). Sometimes the plot rubs away with itself.

There is also another flaw in the book. There is an earlier chapter that looks as though it will lead to something important but ends up having only a small impact in the final confrontation. If it had a larger importance and if the character featured in the chapter had actually become a part of the overall narrative, it may have made more sense to have it. Otherwise, it's just a baffling inclusion and seems to be only added to provoke and create controversy rather than exploring it to its fullest potential. 

Other than those flaws, Cardinals is a dark fantasy that like its lead character is impossible to ignore and hard to forget. In the vampire horror subgenre, it, and Asherah are goddesses among vampires.

New Book Alert: Psychonautic by Darren Frey; Deep Psychological Vampire Dark Romance

 

New Book Alert: Psychonautic by Darren Frey; Deep Psychological Vampire Dark Romance

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Alright, I give. I surrender. I used to hate Vampire Romances. Since high school, the very names of Dracula, Lestat, Buffy Summers, and Angel made me roll my eyes long before Edward and Bella had their first sparkle. I thought the Dracula movie starring Gary Oldman, Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles and Buffy The Vampire Slayer were some of the most overrated pieces of entertainment ever. If I ever saw another romance starring a dark brooding Byronic vampire antihero, it would be too soon. I often joked that the only vampire that I ever liked was C.D. Bitesky from Mel Gilden's Fifth Grade Monsters.

Well, I am willing to admit when I am wrong. I found that there is room in the saturated vampire subgenre to intrigue and impress me. I found that out twice this year. First, with The Genius of Our Wiles by Blythe Gryphon. It was a historical fiction about a vampire falling in love with the woman that he transforms. The two spend the changing centuries studying the history of vampires, including looking for the original vampire.

 The second book that changed my perspective is Psychonautic by Darren Frey. In contrast to The Genius of Our Wiles, Psychonautic is a modern psychological drama about a damaged human who is accepted into a coven of vampires and feels the love of family, friendship, and romance that had long eluded him.

The human who becomes closely encountered with the undead is Julian Frost. He has a coffin full of problems. He was a child of abandonment and abuse having been left by his father and abused by his mother, her boyfriend, and his grandfather. The only family member that he felt close to was his loving grandmother and other relatives kept her death from him out of spite. He just ended a long term relationship when he caught his ex in bed with another man, and not just any man but her brother. Not only that but he has Retina Pigmentosa (RP) and is therefore legally blind. Many, including relatives and his ex have used his disability against him and mocked him.

Julian is trying to put his life together. He spent time with a shaman and took Ayahuasca, hallucinogenic drugs, to deal with his pain. He also got as far away from his Virginia home as possible to attend college courses in Las Vegas. Why, he even has a new potential love interest in classmate, Violet Trouton. 

Things are starting to look up.Okay, Violet panics and retreats into a bathroom when the sun rises. But she is gorgeous. Sure, she can read his mind and knows a lot about his dreams. But she's so sweet and understanding about Julian's past. And okay, she can float in the air and fly, but nobody's perfect.

 It takes a while, almost a comically long time, for Julian comes to terms with the truth that his new potential girlfriend is really a vampire. Oh yeah and Violet takes him to New York (flying on her back, instantly in less than an hour) to meet her vampire family. There they get involved in a civil war with other vampire clans and vengeance seeking humans who are out for blood, vampire blood.

A psychonaut is described as someone who explores an altered state of consciousness, especially through hallucinatory drugs and that is what Frey's book excels at. Yes, of course there are times where Julian takes hallucinogenic drugs to deal with his troubled past. But what really stands out is the exploration of Julian's mind. In some ways, vampirism becomes a metaphor for this exploration and how Julian emerges as a stronger person who challenges his past.

Julian suffered tremendously from the abuse, abandonment, and betrayal in his past. He became closed off and rejected close intimacy. He has been clearly scarred and is unable to move forward with such baggage behind him.

His taking of drugs allows him to open his mind and recognize those issues. It identified the problem, but his friendship with Violet and her family allows him to take action.

Naturally, when he discovers that Violet is a vampire, he is a little concerned and terrified. After all, can he be sure that she doesn't want a snack or will attack him? He even has nightmares about her mocking him, like his ex did, before attacking him. 

This is before he gets to know Violet and realizes what a sweet kind person she is. She also has many difficulties from her past including an abusive childhood and the betrayal from one human friend who turned on her and her family.She just happens to have a penchant for blood and sleeps during the day. 

Julian also develops a kinder more empathetic personality in his relationship with Violet and the vampire world. He meets Xavier, the vampire who transformed Violet and whom she calls "Dad," and various others in their clan. He develops a surrogate father-son relationship with Xavier as his love for Violet increases. He finds in them the family that had long eluded him. 

Because of this familial connection, Julian is able to confront his past. When vengeance seeking humans threaten the vampires in their club, Julian defends them then takes it upon himself to hide his new family in his aunt's house in Virginia. He is now in close proximity to members of his birth family, including his abusive grandfather and neglectful aunt and uncle. Strengthened by his new family's love and support, in one of the best passages, he confronts his relatives with all of the hurt that they caused him over the years. 

Many of Julian's experiences in seeing the world through the vampire's perspectives are some of the highlights. For example when they fly to New York from Las Vegas, it is a psychedelic experience as Julian feels his third eye open. He feels like they broke barriers in sound and his own self, his ego, is being melted away. It's clearly an exhilarating experience.

The transformation of becoming a vampire is described throughout the book. It begins with death, as though the old self were dying to make way for a newer higher plane of existence. Next is an intense thirst, a heightening of the senses, and an increased awareness of all that is around the newly made vampire. It's a beautiful description and shows that depth of the inner journey into the subconscious and the higher being that could emerge.

Frey excels at writing a psychological drama and exploration of the subconscious of an individual who sees a new higher perspective in the world around him. There are hints of a more action oriented tone if he continues this series. The vampire hating humans seem like many hate groups, formed because they fear what they don't understand. Also, the conflicts between various clans suggest that just because someone becomes a vampire doesn't mean that their problems are over. They will still be surrounded by hatred, prejudice, and some who would use these heightened gifts for revenge or to satisfy their sadistic pleasure.

For people like Julian however, vampirism allows him to explore deeper meaning, getting rid of the old frightened Julian to become a stronger person.

Psychonautic is a great book. That being said, I still find Gary Old man's Dracula, Buffy Summers, and Lestat intensely overrated.

Weekly Reader: The Genius of Our Wiles by Blythe Gryphon; Surprisingly Great Vampire Romance and Dark Fantasy Looks At Vampires in a New Way

 

Weekly Reader: The Genius of Our Wiles by Blythe Gryphon; Surprisingly Great Vampire Romance and Dark Fantasy Looks At Vampires in a New Way

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: How's this for a twist worthy of M. Knight Shyamalan?

I am reading two books in a row: both Historical Fiction with subgenres in Fantasy. One, Empire's Heir by Marian L Thorpe, is an Epic High Adventure Fantasy which is usually a favorite genre of mine. The other, The Genius of Our Wiles by Blythe Gryphon, is a Dark Vampire Romance, one of my least favorite.

I read them and what happened? I hate the Epic High Adventure Fantasy, and found it boring, tedious, and questionable. On the other hand, I loved the Vampire Romance with its interesting unique perspective of the infamous (or is that infangous? Boom!) night creatures.

I need to turn in my membership of the "Vampires Are Overrated" Club or check to see if I haven't swapped brains with my sister or something.

In 1265 Kent, Lady Gwendolyn is betrothed to a knight, but she has a secret lover. She has been telepathically communicating with a mysterious man named Pius. Pius challenges her standards of propriety and inner passions and makes her think about breaking out of her structured life.

One night, Pius encourages her to run away with him. There is one little catch and a very small miniscule problem. It's wee, almost petite. Well he's a vampire and he needs to turn her into one so…?

Well that conflict is resolved very quickly and Gwendolyn becomes a vampire or rather in using the vernacular of Gryphon's book, a sunborn.

In fact most of the book actually deals with Pius and Gwendolyn's immortal life and journey to learn about the history of the sunborn, including trying to locate the first sunborn. Meanwhile, we get flashbacks on how Pius became immortal including his relationship with the vampire who made him, Strato.

Gryphon gives an interesting perspective of vampire lore. For example a sunborn vampire is a vampire whose senses are so heightened that they can see the energy and radiation emerge from the sun's rays. Because of that, they can see energy and radiation all around them including around people.

Sunborns are also filled with an unquenchable thirst that can never satisfied except by something red, life giving, and filled with plasma.

The more ethical ones like Gwendolyn, Pius, and Strato compromise by eating animals or feasting on humans that are criminals or murderers who were about to be executed anyway.

There are others however who use their vampirism status to satisfy bloodlust and homicidal tendencies as the trio discover when they encounter a newly made vampire who was a psychopath when she was human. Now imagine her immortal and constantly thirsty with no morals or ethics to hold her back.

The term Lorethor is thrown around. That is a vampire's creator, the one who bit them. They often act as guides and mentors to the young vampire. As Strato does for Pius and Pius does for Gwendolyn. The relationship between an older and younger vampire could be deep friendship or sexual intimacy. Pius and Gwendolyn wed after their sunborn link is established.

Strato remains in Pius' life as well taking on a fraternal almost paternal connection with him. There are some possibilities that his feelings for Pius border on unrequited love as well.

There is even a long period where Pius and Gwendolyn separate for almost two centuries. During this time Gwendolyn becomes a Lorethor herself. This is a period of growth for her to show how much that she has grown as a character that she can go from student to mentor, rookie to veteran in one novel. She is able to take on the senior maternal role that Pius and Strato had previously.

One of the more interesting aspects of the book are the flashbacks and hints about their previous lives before they became sunborns.

The way that this is revealed is through telepathic consciousness shared between sunborns and humans, particularly the ones they select for feasting. For example before she became a sunborn, Gwendolyn caught images of Pius' life in France such as cathedrals and buildings that he as a sculptor helped create.

Pius also sees Strato's memories of Ancient Greece and the Parthenon "when it was new" and his studies under the philosopher, Aristotle. Interesting enough the separation between Pius' mortal life and Gwendolyn's is approximately forty years while Strato and Pius' separation can be counted by millennia.

Along with these shared memories is a shared culture among other sunborns. This is especially prominent when they study the history of the sunborn to learn who the first one was.

In one of the more enigmatic passages, the trio attend a ritual of other sunborns headed by Crete, a sunborn who was old even by Strato's standards. Crete's age and experience gives her an almost goddess like hold on other sunborns. Is she the first sunborn? Well, the text leaves it open ended but if she isn't, she's certainty in the running.

She's a mesmerizing enchanting character who exudes extreme power by her own appearance. This makes her one of the more fascinating characters in the book.

There are some cliffhangers and unanswered questions that suggest another volume. If it takes the Reader more into sunborn culture and history, maybe flashes back to past sunborn of forward to future ones, then I am looking forward to reading it.

Weekly Reader: The Eidola Project (An Eidola Project Novel) by Robert Herold; Historical Horror Brings The William James Gang Together Again-For The First Time

 

Weekly Reader: The Eidola Project (An Eidola Project Novel) by Robert Herold; Historical Horror Brings The William James Gang Together Again-For The First Time

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Earlier this year I reviewed Moonlight Becomes You by Robert Herold. It was a historical supernatural mystery in which William James, co-founder of the American Society for Psychical Research, forms The Eidola Project which investigates unusual phenomena in post-Civil War America. Accompanying him are Annabelle Douglas, James' assistant, Sarah Bradbury, a medium and former carnival performer, Dr. Edgar Gilpin, an African-American scientist and inventor, and  Nigel Pritchard, a Confederate vet with precognitive abilities. In Moonlight, the quintet investigated a series of werewolf attacks in a small Virginia town while also fighting the KKK, mistrust from locals because of their multiracial and unisex makeup, and their own suspicions, prejudices, and biases. 

The Eidola Project, the first book in the series, takes us back in time to the James Gang's first meeting and their backstories that created those suspicions and biases. They also investigate the home of Lenore Hutcheson, a reclusive heiress whose home is haunted by malevolent spirits. 

There are some very creepy moments spread throughout the book. Sarah and Nigel's visions are terrifying. Most notable is Sarah's vision of practically drowning in a pool of blood and Nigel offering her his hand (resulting in their meeting with Nigel). The ramifications are even more eerie when the vision comes true and involves a trip between worlds and a face to face with scary creatures. 

There are plenty of scary spirits as soon as the Eidolas enter the Hutcheson household, some that do physical and psychological harm to our protagonists. Sarah gets possessed by a ghost and almost tricks herself and her friends to jump off a cliff. Another apparition gets into a fight with Nigel causing him to harm himself. That's not even going into the ending when one of the characters is caught alone with the Big Bad of the story.

As with Moonlight Becomes You, The Eidola Project uses supernatural horror as a metaphor for real life conflicts in 19th century America. In Moonlight Becomes You, racial issues are upfront with the presence of the KKK, segregation, and the arguments between Nigel and Edgar. Race is important in this book, particularly since it shapes Nigel and Edgar's feelings towards each other. There is a powerful dialogue between the two where Edgar reveals his past as a former slave and Howard University graduate that shows that even though Nigel believes that he is Edgar's superior because of his skin color, Edgar is much better in terms of character and intelligence.

This time the focus is on gender. Annabelle and Sarah's backstories are elaborated upon and show the forced limitations that they have been given and why they make the choices that they have made.

Annabelle is a highly intelligent woman who is just as dedicated in the pursuit of psychical science as James. However, she can never be regarded as highly as him. In this time period, she has very few chances to become a scientist or researcher in her own right.

Not only that, but Annabelle feels the stigma of being labeled a "spinster" which resurfaces with memories, possibly visitations from her late mother. She also harbors an infatuation with the very happily married James. She suppresses her emotions as tightly as women were required to in her day but her visions become a window to her tortured soul, opening up her fears and insecurities. It's no wonder that by the second book, Annabelle acquires an addiction to laudanum.

Sarah has baggage of her own. Her spiritualist skills come about when as a child, she heard the voice of a recently murdered girl. Most people fear her or think she's crazy, particularly her own family.

She ends up kidnapped and sold to a carnival. Sarah feels like an outsider among so-called normal people so she befriends the sideshow performers. Madame Tsuritsa, a fortune teller, takes her in hand and becomes a mentor to her. 

Sarah is used by many around her for her abilities. In many ways, she is similar to the real life Fox Sisters, two sisters that professed to have medium abilities and kick started the Spiritualist Movement. They were used and abused by many around them, particularly their older sister, Leah. One of the sisters confessed to faking the communications with the dead but the Spiritualists continued into the 20th century and today. Lily Dale, NY is the home of many spiritualists, even now.

Like the Fox Sisters, Sarah was exploited by the people around her. The carnival owner, Dodgerton, collects the money while she works and after Tsuritsa's death sexually assaults her. By the time Sarah meets the Eidola Project, she feels abandoned and used by nearly everybody, not to mention she possesses abilities that frighten her and could eventually drive her insane. 

Similar to Annabelle, Sarah's powers overwhelm her and could be destructive, but they also give her a measure of power and recognition. She may not have had those without her ability to communicate with the dead. She is able to free many of the repressed feelings that Annabelle, an ordinary woman of her era, has to bury.

Similarly, Lenore is also limited by her gender and physical characteristics. She has albinism so can barely leave her house and she is restricted by her status as a wealthy woman. She is also very religious and because of this is made to feel as though she is a worthless sinner. Like Annabelle and Sarah, Lena longs to find an escape and emotional release. There are too many spoilers connected to her but let's just say, her only companions are ghosts and that can certainly drive a person into rage.

The Eidola Project is a book filled with scares but the most frightening aspects are how many people, particularly women, are constrained and held by the roles and expectations that society holds for them. It takes the power of the dead to bring the real people underneath those constraints to come forward.