One Master survived the inferno that destroyed the Order of the Illuminati. He may know that I survived, but does he suspect that I betrayed the Order?Rudolf Heine has sent Hunters flooding into Westport, wreaking carnage on vampires, shifters, and mages. Normal humans are taking notice, and the shadow world teeters on the verge of being revealed. The Hunters also may be hunting me. Do I stay and … hunting me. Do I stay and fight for my new life and my friends, or run again?
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An Illuminati Master who survived the destruction of the City tries to create chaos in Westport. Erin and her friends, along with a new character or two, work to stop the impending storm of Hunters and rogue vampires in an attempt to protect humans and their town. Exciting, intense, and a bit on the gory side, but a compelling addition to the Rosie O’Grady Paranormal Bar and Grill series. I enjoyed it.
I’ve only recently discovered BR Kingsolver and found a new favorite. I’ve addictively read through all of her urban fantasies sci-fi series, as well as the only sci-fi story story of hers I could find (Border Patrol, in the Bellator collection). Here’s my review of all of them in one clump – the bottom line being that they are all easily 5 star books.
Rosie O’Grady’s Paranormal Bar and Grill Series
This was the first series by this author that I read, trying it in a whim as it was free on KU and looked like fun. Oh Dear Lord was it ever. Perfect world-building with Fae, elves, vampires, mages, et. al. Perfect backstory with the world’s best assassin (our lead) funding out that she’s been lied to most of her life by the Order of the Illuminati who are actually evil and not the force for good she thought, followed by her lopping off the top tier of the Order and ending up in hiding at the eponymous Rosie O’Grady’s Bar and Grill. That’s the short version. The long one is much more complex and the series itself is filled with great plot lines and a perfect story arc (though each book stands alone sequentially, ie, the work fine and end well so long as you read them in order. Addictive fun and a perfect series ender.
The Telepathic Clans Saga
This was my second Kingsolver series. It evolves around telepathic clans (no shocker there) filled with people with different sets of telepathic “Gifts” (like mind shielding) made up of a series of “Talents” (different ways to do it). There are initially 25 known Gifts. At the top are the Succubi, all female, who have a series of Gifts including the Succubus Gift (drain energy from sex, etc). Known as Druids in the Irish clans, these ladies are bad-a**. The lead here is a Druid named Brenna, but she’s so much more. While the average telepath has only a few gifts, abs the extraordinary ones have 12-15 (Druids all have a base set of 8), Brenna has all of the gifts, unheard of. Anyway, she gets into a series of adventures with action, infra and inter-clan politics, and do much more. Incredible stuff really, all set in a world very different (but equally imaginative) as the prior series I’d read, and filled with a growing cast of perfectly crafted supporting characters. Once again you can read each book sequentially stand-alone, and they end with a perfect series ender.
Chameleon Assassin
I had initially avoided this series because I tend not to like a post-apocalypse setting. In this case the apocalypse in question (atomic wars leading to massive population loss and mutations) was so far in the past that society has more or less recovered and has now passed the pre-war tech levels. Our hero here, Libby, is the coolest kick-a** dame in fiction. An assassin and thief, among other things, who has two primary mutations: she’s a chameleon (she can look like anyone or pretty much blend into the background) plus a sort of electrokenisis, and a pretty fantastic set of physical skills (don’t mess with her in a fight) and computer hacking talents. Add in another perfect supporting cast and, well, just wow. I adored this series.
Dark Streets
This is the last of the series that I read, currently on book 2 (and ending with a perfectly good “Happily Enough For Now” though I’m drooling for the next book). It’s set in a world that’s very similar to that of The Telepathic Clans (though there are some differences – Washington DC is nuked in this one) but society is different as the Magi, who beat back (to a draw) the demons who invaded once rifts between worlds opened, now pretty much rule everything. Our lead here is another kick-a** dame, a police detective who is a magitek (a rare form of magic that enables one to do magic with machinery – including computers), potential heir to one of the Ten (the ten most powerful Magi clans who basically rule the world) but also the granddaughter of the man who accidentally opened the rifts and let all the monsters, demons and fantasy beings in. The perspective is very different, part gritty detective tale, part politics and warfare on the global scale, pure urban fantasy. Fantastic stuff, really.
Border Patrol (in the Bellator collection)
This was the only pure sci-fi story I’ve read by BR Kingsolver and was frustratingly perfect. Military sci-fi, the heroine here is the commander of an assault troop unit, it was an absolute total blast (and I’ve been reading this stuff since Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers was first published, so I should know). Perfect characters and storyline. The frustration is that while it ends in a very satisfying manner, I’m massively frustrated that this was only a short story. I’m truly hoping the author turns it into the first book in a new series.
Frankly, I’m hoping that BR Kingsolver expands every series she’s written, even though most have ended with great HEAs. That’s the sign, I know, of works that are fantastic and easy to highly recommend.
Terrific story, with tons of action. The protagonist is strong and endearing, finding her way in the paranormal and real world. Facing her past and striving toward the future. The tension builds and comes to fruition, with a warm and surprising ending. On to the next in the series!
I have always enjoyed stories of redemption and growth. This story has those in spades. Erin is a survivor of a defunct order learning to live on her own after being raised with very specialized skills. Just imagine Erin as a ninja trained from childhood being tossed into Mayberry, North Carolina without any support, life skills or money. I am impressed by her ability to fit in as well as she does, even if she fails to fly under the radar as she wanted to.
Each book is getting better and better. There’s a bunch of stuff going on and an awesome support structure in Westport. Erin is unique an assassin who is slowly but surely integrating and learning about something other than being a hunter. I really think she should be getting more action. She trained years and the individual fights she’s been getting in more like flukes. For someone who is fighting nasty bad guys and is so well trained there’s really not a lot of action. New characters have been introduced and they are rolling right along. I’m enjoying the books but with all the build up Erin ‘s skills have there’s not a lot of use with them. Erin is learning magic from Jolene but it doesn’t explain ant of it. I feel like she could be getting mage training especially with her having 3 friends who are also half witch and mage. Sam is meaning about some of the stiff she can do with ley lines like her bombs and he’s shocked but I feel like he could teach her things to. There’s little things that I feel like could be worked on but I still love the books.