The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen

By Nikki G. (nikkig224) 

The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen is the story of Sasha Annenkova, a girl trying to live a normal life despite all of the not-so-normal things happening around her. She begins the story by attempting to join a secret society in order to find out why her father was killed. Her plan backfires when the leader of the group, Alex, reveals that she is Anabo, the purest of the pure humans descended from Eve’s daughter Aurora. Before he can whisk her away to his superior, an evil man named Eryx, she is rescued by Jax and his brothers, who have a secret of their own.

She wakes up with her memory wiped, but her life begins to spiral out of control. Suddenly, her Russian mother is deported and she is forced to move to Telluride, Colorado, with her uncle’s family who absolutely hate her. Things get even more complicated when Jax runs into her during a skiing trip that turns her life upside down.

This book didn’t just have me engaged, it had me addicted. It was an absolute thrill ride with one exciting event happening after another. Faegen’s story constantly had me wondering what would happen next.

It was really interesting to see the variety of problems Sasha faced. She had the same problems that most teenagers face, like getting into college, but she also had to worry about her own life. While she was worrying about becoming popular, she was also struggling with accepting an entirely new supernatural world. Faegen’s descriptions of how Sasha felt where very thorough and I felt I could connect with her. My heart broke when her’s did and I felt the same joy she did.

A large part of the novel dealt with the morality of what Jax and his brothers, known as the Mephisto, were created to do. One thing that stuck out to me was how nonchalantly sex was discussed. Though the book seemed to center on morality issues, the anonymous sex that Jax and his brothers took part in wasn’t an issue at all.

The Mephisto Covenant is very action-packed and entertaining. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels.

Kizuna Deluxe Edition 1, by Kazuma Kodaka

Review by Cyn C. (Cyn-Sama)  

I have a special relationship with the Kizuna series.  It was the first series that I picked up in it’s original, untranslated format.  I had found a text translation online, and I would go line by line, looking at the images, and getting the dialogue from my translation.

This had to have been at least ten years ago, and at that time, it was pretty hard to find manga here in the states, never mind find a slightly perverse sub-genre.

I remember wandering around the Japanese bookstore in a daze, trying to guess which series was the one I was looking for, when I couldn’t even read the spines for help.

Ever since then, I’ve been hooked.

I have the entire series in the original Japanese.

I have books one through seven, which were released in English by BeBeautiful, before they crashed and burned.

I even have the DVD’s.

So, with all this, why would I need to collect the new deluxe edition?

Because it’s the closest thing that I’m going to get to the original.

When BeBeautiful brought over the series, they censored out a kiss on the cheek that one character gives to another, that foreshadows their relationship, once they both come of age.

Since a kiss on the cheek does not pedophilia make, saying the fans were slightly cranky is an understatement.

June had the sense to leave that page in, when they did their deluxe edition.  It’s cute.  It’s charming.  It makes me happy.

The Kizuna series revolves around lovers Kei and Ranmaru – and all the trials and tribulations that come with Kei being part of a dysfunctional yakuza family.  Including a rebellious half-brother, and the yakuza member assigned to help keep the rebellious half-brother out of trouble.

It’s over the top, quite silly, ultra violent and sexy as hell. Kazuma Kodaka has always been, and will always be one of my favorite manga-ka.

She is part of the reason that I have no money.  I’ve spent it all on her manga.

River of Darkness by Rennie Airth

Review by Vicky T (VickyJo)

I LOVE finding new authors.  I have lots of favorite authors, and in reality, there are very few writers that I can say, “I’ve read everything he/she has written.”  So I shouldn’t be looking for new people.  But I always do.  And I’m always thrilled to find someone that I really enjoy.

I just finished the book “River of Darkness” by Rennie Airth, a journalist from South Africa who has written a wonderful murder mystery set in England in 1921.

I immediately took a liking to the main character, John Madden.  You just feel for this poor man.  He lost his wife and baby daughter during the influenza epidemic.  He went off and fought in World War One, seeing even more death, and coming home with physical and psychological reminders of the horror of war.  He is accepted back at Scotland Yard, and is now once again an inspector.  He’s trying to find, at the least, some meaning to life.  Finding joy or happiness is probably too much to ask for.

When five people in one household are brutally murdered in a small village in Surrey, Inspector Madden is sent to begin the investigation.  He examines the site, sets up a few constables to begin questioning the locals, and meets with the village doctor, the beautiful Helen Blackwell.  She reveals an amazing twist: the killer didn’t know it, but the murdered family’s young daughter Sophy was hidden in the house, and may have seen something.  However, she is so traumatized that she cannot speak.

Gradually, more details come out; what at first seemed like a robbery gone wrong now looks to be not a robbery at all, but a deliberate slaughter.  But why this family?  And why was Sophy’s mother killed in a different manner than all the other victims?

This novel made me realize how much modern police work depends upon DNA evidence, psychological profiling, and forensic science.  The author takes us back to a time before all that, when murders had to be solved with old-fashioned police work.  No labs, no running tests….just finding people, interviewing them, and using one’s imagination to try and put oneself into the killer’s shoes.  In fact, when Madden suggests bringing in a psychologist to examine the evidence, he is ridiculed and the idea is forbidden by his superiors!

While the higher-ups in the Yard believe this crime to have been committed by a gang of robbers, Madden knows it’s just one man.  A man who has had military experience.  For when it is revealed that the killing wounds were made with a bayonet…a correctly used bayonet….Madden finds himself delving into memories he’d rather not resurrect in order to stop this madman.  Madden needs to make significant headway before he is pulled from the case, and his carefully constructed theories are pushed aside.  Because the reader learns that Madden is right: it is one man, and he will strike again.  In fact, he’s already planning his second hit.

This book is full of English countryside atmosphere, solid characters, and has a well-thought out story.  I found myself anxiously hoping Madden would see the clues, pick up on the subtle mistakes the killer made.  The tension mounts as a break in the case just might allow Madden to save the killer’s next targeted victims.

I loved this book.  The writing was strong, solid; the story sucked me in right away, and I found it hard to put down.  And what’s even better, Airth has written two more novels about John Madden, A Blood-Dimmed Tide and The Dead of Winter.  I give his work a solid 5 stars.

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Review by Janice Y. (jai)

Ann Aguirre is one of my favorite authors, particularly for her Sirantha Jax series, which is a science fiction romance. I’ve been eagerly awaiting Enclave since I first heard that Aguirre would be trying her hand at YA dystopia. This is the first installment of the Razorland series.

The Premise: In the enclave, children have numbers, not names, unless they live till their fifteenth birthday. Then they’re given a naming ceremony and a place as a Breeder, Builder, or Hunter in the society. Deuce (formerly Girl15), has just been named and given a spot amongst the Hunters – an honor she’s been training for as long as she can remember. Now she can leave the enclave, and bring her people food, and she can protect them from the Freaks – creatures that live in the tunnels that would like nothing more than to feast on human flesh. All her life, Deuce has only known a world that is underground, where the oldest is in his early 20s, and where people don’t live for more than that. It’s a world with very little, but it’s the only world Deuce has ever known. Deuce is partnered with Fade, the only Hunter who wasn’t born in their enclave. Fade has never really fit into the enclave, but he’s the best fighter they have, and Deuce is eager to prove herself worthy of being assigned to him. But being a Hunter brings a different perspective to all that Deuce knows. During their patrols Deuce and Fade encounter Freaks with more organization and intelligence than the norm. When their warnings about this eerie Freak behavior are ignored or suppressed, Deuce begins to question the leadership of the enclave.

My Thoughts: Enclave is basically three parts. At first the focus is narrow. The story revolves around Deuce’s small sphere and all that is familiar to her. When Deuce begins to think beyond the small borders of the enclave, the spotlight expands. She discovers where her partner, Fade originally came from. The last part expands the world even further beyond that.

For the size of this book, a lot happens. I liked that the story manages to blend in action, a gritty world, and a budding friendship into the story, and I think this is what made the beginning of Enclave particularly strong for me. When Deuce’s narrative begins, we’re introduced to the daily life of a semi-primitive tribal culture. It has three basic roles (Hunter, Breeder, Builder), a leadership structure based on age (over twenty makes you an elder, as this is a very small group), and a painful initiation ritual into “adulthood” (cuts made on the arms that are seared closed by hot metal).  Deuce knows only the limited scope of this enclave, which is in the Underground. Only after she becomes a Hunter and assigned a partner can she see what’s outside her home. It’s not clear what the year is or what has happened to make the world it is in Enclave, but there are enough hints to say that it is our world that has been hit by some apocalyptic event that has reduced the world to rubble and society into small tribes like the enclave, and created monsters like the Freaks.

Because Deuce is a Hunter, that brings plenty of action and the story goes at a fast clip. Deuce is eager to prove her mettle, but she is also learning about Fade and about her the Underground. The action adds drama to the story, but the plot moves along because of Deuce’s path of discovery. Fade isn’t very talkative but as time goes on Deuce begins to trust him, and she knows he doesn’t like the current leadership. Their relationship evolves through time and trials, but Fade keeps a lot close to his chest. What he does tell her, Deuce has trouble believing, but she begins to question. She debates the need for rules and leadership, against inhumane punishments to keep the enclave in line. A leadership that keeps tight control is particularly dangerous when there is important information being suppressed.

But before anything really happens in the enclave, the story changes gears. Fade and Deuce move on together, away from what Deuce is familiar. Deuce continues to learn about her world, and along the way other teen characters are introduced. The shift is a little abrupt for me and left some dangling threads. I think as a series it’s more interesting for Deuce and Fade to travel outside the enclave, but the way this story was presented, it felt like some set up was abandoned. As a result, the second half of the book felt like a restart. Again a new setting and new characters are introduced to us, but thankfully Fade and Deuce stay constant. On the other hand, with new characters introduced late in the story, I didn’t feel like there was much time to get to know them.

There’s a hint of a love triangle with Fade, Deuce, and one of the new characters as well, but it is an odd choice. One of the things I like about Aguirre’s writing is the darkness she brings into her stories. Sometimes this is in the form of dark heroes – people who have done unlikeable things in their pasts but who I still root for. In Enclave the darkness is primarily in the world building, but it’s also in Fade’s past and Deuce’s choices for self-preservation. However, in the potential love triangle, I found the third person VERY unlikeable and a better choice as a villain than a romantic interest. Depending on what happens with this character, it could either be a show stopper or a deal breaker in a later book. I have my fingers crossed.

Overall: My reaction is that I was entertained. Aguirre’s writing keeps me interested in what’s going on and there’s enough darkness in this story to add depth, but the concepts themselves feel familiar. The underground setting after a post-apocalyptic event, the humanoid creatures craving human flesh, and society broken down and ignorant of the past are familiar tropes. But this series has a lot of potential. I think the slowly evolving relationship between Deuce and Fade and their fighting partnership is what has me hooked. I also suspect that now that the world has been established, the characters will have more room to grow. I would actually want to read the second book, and there’s are a lot of other YA dystopian series I’ve started where I couldn’t say the same.

Vampire in Atlantis (Warriors of Poseidon 09) by Alyssa Day

Review by Cynthia (Frazerc) 

Great paranormal romance with an action plot.  Some series are like TV sitcoms, they go stale rather quickly.  Not this one! Alyssa Day manages to give each book its own fresh view of the world while moving the series story arc along and resolving the main story line.

The hero is Daniel who has played an enigmatic role through several of the previous books.  We’ve known him by several names [Daniel/Devon/Drakos/Demetrios] and in several roles – most recently he had become the vampire head of state.  Our story starts with him telling them all to shove it and going out to meet the sun in the middle of the reflecting pool on the Washington DC mall…  Good plan until SOMEONE interfered and smacked him clear to Atlantis.

Those who have been following the series know that somewhere in Atlantis lies a vault of ancient, sleeping maidens who were put into stasis 11000 years ago to be married off to Atlantean Royals as needed.  [This was a very big issue in the first book as the heroine was neither Atlantean or even a maiden and Conlan fell in love with her anyway.]  Our heroine is Serai, one of these maidens, rudely yanked into the here-and-now by the malfunctioning Emperor gem – yet another of the gems Atlantis needs before it can rise above the waves.  More importantly, the gem is harming the remaining [still sleeping] maidens and hurting her as well.  She flees Atlantis with the help of the Portal [which now has a presence and an over-the-top verbal attitude] and Daniel who materializes at her feet.  Seems she and Daniel were in love with each other back in the old, still-above-the-waves Atlantis – and both had been told the other was dead.  Talk about an ages old, long unrequited love! Can a vampire mage and an Atlantean princess find happiness while tracking down the missing gem, fighting off other vampires, witches, and the paranormal ops troops?  And then figure out how to use the gem to save the remaining maidens?  Sure they can…

Another big change of scene in this book, most of it is set in and around the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona.  Poseidon makes an appearance towards the end of the book and makes it REALLY clear he doesn’t like the area at all.

There are some real bombshells laid on the story arc which are obviously setups for the next book.  Serai makes it clear that priests don’t have to be celibate, in fact are stronger magic users when they are balanced within the soul-meld.  Big news for Alaric and Quinn.  The Portal informs the warriors in Atlantis that no one can assist Serai and Daniel because they are being ‘tested’ and refuses to transport anyone out of Atlantis.  Daniel gives over being Primus to Nicholas; another ‘bad’ vampire who seems to be trying make changes from within. Then Alaric, Quinn and tiger Jack disappear when supposedly on their way back to Atlantis…

Warriors of Poseidon Series

1.      Atlantis Rising (2007)

2.      Wild Hearts in Atlantis short story in Wild Thing

3.      Atlantis Awakening (2007)

4.      Shifter’s Lady short story in Shifter

5.      Atlantis Unleashed (2008)

6.      Atlantis Unmasked (2009)

7.      Atlantis Redeemed (2010)

8.      Atlantis Betrayed (2010)

9.      Vampire in Atlantis (2011)

The Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

This mystery is the fourth of a series starring Inspector Salvo Montalbano and set in contemporary Sicily. Character and setting drive the plot. Salvo is easily angered and distracted, both of which make him absent-minded and liable to make mistakes. He also has synesthesia, a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. For instance, Salvo’s brain may assign colors to smells.  Luckily for him, he’s a gourmand that demands silence when eating so as to enjoy the food better. The descriptions of food and eating are a foodie reader’s delight.

Camilleri does not make a big deal of Salvo’s synesthesia and doesn’t refer to it in every book. But it helps Salvo to make leaps of intuition when his emotions short-circuit his intelligence. Blending ideas and hunches creatively may also help him to understand quickly new social milieus and how people are compelled to behave in them. Readers that like the questioning of people in different walks of life and shrewd investigations of Simenon’s Maigret will find Salvo’s lack of method appealing.

Salvo is every scene and he has vigorous exchanges with this subordinates in the police station, his friends, and his long-distance romantic partner Livia. Dialogue and keen descriptions aid characterization and setting of small town Sicily. Camilleri also uses shifts in tone to excellent effect. For example, Salvo will be enjoying a traditional Sicilian dish. A couple pages later he will act as the cynical fighter for what he thinks is right. For him, it’s mainly uphill battles against the endemic corruption of Berlusconi’s government, the careerism of his colleagues, and depraved human nature that leads to grotesque crimes. Then a couple pages later the comic character Officer Catarlla will be making the reader crack up like Officer Toody did in Car 54 (boy, does that date me….). Then Salvo will be bemoaning Sicily turning into a concrete nightmare due to overdevelopment, sprawl, and road-building frenzy.

Readers who don’t require a puzzle will enjoy the characters and settings of Camilleri’s Salvo Montalbano novels.

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Green by Jake Lake

Review by Bowden P (Trey)

After Mainspring I admit I wasn’t thinking too highly of Mr. Lake. Worse, he found the review of Mainspring. He did have the good taste and class to not engage in the blog comments about it though. And I have to say this: I wish I’d found Green first. Four and a half stars.

What’s the book about? It’s Green’s story from her first memories, to her training as a courtesan and an assassin. Her escape, return home and her struggles with herself and within. The blurb from the book does a good job of describing the basics, but leaves out many, many things. Some for fear of spoiling the plot, some because they can get very detailed.

The language Lake uses for Green lends to the unique feel of the book, formal but with many sensorial details. Sensuous and languid are two ways I could describe it. It isn’t “You are there!” type language, but I found he’d mastered the art of showing and not telling with Green. And while its languid, it doesn’t waste time. There are portions of the book that could be novels in their own right.

I liked it – partly because the plot against the Undying Duke that in most novels would take up the entire book is disposed of in rapid sequence. Another is that the after effects echo down through the years and are corrupting to the original plotters and impacting the lives of their agent, Green. I also liked the hints that it is the same world as Gene Wolfe‘s New Sun series (Lives of the Seventeen Megatherians for one) are another joy. And if it isn’t a hint, then it’s a fun little Easter egg. The idea of a god of pain and his beneficial role in the world was something unique and worth pondering. And if I like anything, it’s a novel that can make you think.

Then there is Green herself. Sold by her family, raised in cruelty to a specific standard of courtesan, used as a weapon and on and on. She should have broken under all that. But she keeps on. She endures. She grows and changes.

I like her prickly pride, stubbornness, wit and temper. She’s also deadly as a viper. In all of these, she reminds me of Venera Fanning (Karl Schroeder’s Virga series) and Jamethiel Dream Weaver (of P.C Hodgell’s Kencyr series), with a touch of Hezhi from Greg Keyes Waterborn. I like reading about her though I doubt I’d want to deal with her regularly (sort of like Dr. House in that regard), and right now I want a copy of the sequel Endurance to read.

Four and a half stars easily.

Likes: Green, herself; The eternal quest for a home that doesn’t exist; Kalimpura and its unique way of government and life; The Temple of the Lilly Goddess; Blackblood the God of Pain and the role he fulfills; The divine shattering and the Father’s Tale and Mother’s Tale; The Pardines – they’re very alien and different for all their resemblance to humans.

Dislikes: Green does verge on the whiny and angsty with her quest for a home that doesn’t exist, but its forgivable, especially since he inverts the chosen by fate trope of fantasy novels.

Suggested for: Fans of character driven fantasy novels; fans of Karl Schroeder’s Virga series, P.C Hodgell’s Kencyr series and Greg Keyes’ Waterborn and Blackgod novels.