Monday, January 4, 2010

Vampires, Doppelgangers, and A Military Thriller

Vampire Sunrise
Carole N. Douglas
Juno (Pocket), Nov 24 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9781439156773


It has been years since the Millennium Revelation when all the creatures of myth and legend rose up from the shadows to reveal themselves to humanity. Delilah Street comes to Las Vegas from Wichita to work as a paranormal investigator. Deep below the Karnak Hotel lives a vast Egyptian vampire sect ruled by two Pharaohs; humans are bred and brought to them as food. Delilah rescued her lover Rick Montoya by giving him the Resurrection Kiss to restore his life.

After Rick was in a coma, Delilah finds she has the ability to kiss away from his back thescars he received while he was a slave for a master criminal.. He wakes up and remembers what happened to him and is determined to free the other humans held by the Egyptian vampires. Before they leave on theur quest, the werewolf Cesar Cicerau summons Delilah to remove the ghost of the daughter he killed who haunts his hotel. A supernatural creature is stalking the hotel killing anyone who gets in the way. Delilah is clueless how to rid the hotel of this deadly fiend and the ghost while below ground the vampires are dining on humans.

The latest Street Paranormal Investigator thriller combines horror, mystery, romance, and sex into an exhilarating urban fantasy that puts the sin in Sin City. With plenty of twists, VAMPIRE SUNRISE is a roller coaster doing loops with each spin accelerating the ride. Readers will enjoy following the clues, surreal and mundane, as Carole Nelson Douglas lets Midnight Louie catch a cat nap while Delilah does the sleuthing above and under the streets of Las Vegas. Harriet Klausner

Me And My Shadow
Katie MacAlister
Signet, Nov 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451228383


Doppelganger May Northcott has two major issues that could keep her from her beloved wyvern mate Gabriel. First she has a dangerous dragon shard inside her heart and second she remains in indentured servitude to sexual predator former demon lord Magoth.

However, while the loving couple struggles with her delicate conditions, the lethal black dragon Baltic has apparently come back to life. No one in their right mind trusts Baltic, so though he is PLAYING WITH FIRE and risking everything GOING UP IN SMOKE Kostya the black dragon demands a council showdown. While every creature jockeys for position, a pregnant Aisling Grey and her mate Drake await the birth of their child.

The latest Silver Dragons entry is a fabulous urban fantasy as everything even to a degree the storyline seems out of control, chaos lives in the heart of Katie MacAlister’s saga. The story line is fast-paced form the onset and never slows down as Gabriel struggles to keep his beloved at his side and safe while the dragons are heading towards an encounter with a neat twist. Fans will enjoy visiting the chaotic charming world of Ms. MacAlister where the unbelievable becomes believable. Harriet Klausner

Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Shadows of War
Larry Bond and Jim DeFelice
Forge, Nov 10 2009, $25.99
ISBN: 9780765321374


In 2014, the world is in deep trouble as the global economy spins out of control and the environment has gotten worse. The superpowers keep kicking the can saying the time is not right for needed change. In that environs, China faces a horrific drought that has left masses starving and out of control rioting and looting abound. In Europe, a deep recession made worse by inflation has crippled the continent while many economists proclaim a second Greater Depression has occurred. In the United States, the recession has deepened exponentially and inflation has gotten out of control; both fueled by environmental issues and inertia in DC.

The rulers in China go back to pre-Communist roots whenever the country is in economic peril; they invade their small neighbor to the south Vietnam in order to feed their starving masses. America, worried by what the invasion will do to the balance of power, comes to the aid of the Vietnamese.

This is a terrific military thriller that extrapolates current trends into the near future. Although the big global stage pulls the exiting story line, the ensemble cast is solid and brings the big theatre to life especially in Southeast Asia. Fans will relish this thrilling cautionary tale but also be concerned, as Larry Bond and Jim DeFelice make a strong case that time is running out after years of neglect. Harriet Klausner

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