Archive for Best Fantasy Books
Travel New Worlds in Ghosts & Echoes by Lyn Benedict
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Title: Ghosts & Echoes
Author: Lyn Benedict
Release Date: April 27, 2010
Pages: 368
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Best Book Quote: “Michael Demalion had trusted her with his life, and Rafael Suarez before him. They were both dead now. Dead of trusting her.”
Ghosts & Echoes is the second book in the Shadows Inquiries series by Lyn Benedict. If you’ve read the debut book in the series, Sins & Shadows, then you’re familiar with the urban fantasy world of Magicus Mundi, a supernatural realm that operates just below the radar of human beings. A dark, disturbing place where the normal rules of human reality don’t apply, Magicus Mundi is populated by sorcerers, werewolves, and other evildoers of the undead.
Private eye Sylvie Lightning is the implacable foe of the Magicus Mundi. As the owner of Shadows Inquiries, a firm that investigates paranormal crimes, she specializes in cases involving magic. But sometimes it’s hard to separate the possessed from the just plain psycho—and that’s the challenge Sylvie faces when she takes the case of Adam Wright, a Chicago cop who is convinced that he’s being inhabited by a ghost. Sylvie first has to determine whether Wright is really possessed, or simply suffering from PTSD. As she digs into her client’s plight, she begins to suspect that Wright’s ghost is somehow connected to her own troubled past. As she inches closer to the truth, she realizes that the real target of this ghost may not be Wright, but Sylvie herself.
And as if exorcising a ghost isn’t enough to keep Sylvie busy, she also has to tackle another series of crimes, a spate of burglaries connected to a ring of teenagers dabbling in the black arts. Things go from bad to worse when she learns that her younger, rebellious sister Zoe may be involved in the break-ins.
Ghosts & Echoes is intense and fast-paced, written in gritty prose that makes Sylvie’s urban landscape seem believably haunted and threatening. The plot is easy to follow even if you haven’t read the first book in the series. The predicament that Sylvie ultimately faces – whether to save her client’s life or resurrect the ghost that inhabits his body – is fraught with tension and emotionally convincing. Highly recommended!
Fantasy Book Cover Artist – Dan Dos Santos
Posted by: | CommentsWhen you’re browsing for something new to read at your local bookstore, what makes you stop and pick up a particular book? For me it’s the cover art. If I see a book with an awesome cover, I’ll pick it up just to examine the design more closely. Sometimes, based on the book’s synopsis, I’ll purchase the book – sometimes not.
I’m happy to say that there’s one group of books that hits it on both counts: they’re incredibly well written and the cover art is awesome:
The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. The cover art is provided by Dan Dos Santos.
Check out some of Dan’s work:
This is the book cover for the new Mercy Thompson book titled “Silver Borne” by Patricia Briggs. It’s due to hit the streets in March 2010.
Isn’t this awesome!
I could stare at this illustration for hours.
Here’s an illustration for the movie Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
This illustration won the 2009 Chesley Award for Best Product Illustration! Yea Dan!
Here’s the cover art for the book Ancient Bloodlines.
Dan is an awesome artist isn’t he? Check out more of his art in his gallery at DanDosSantos.Com. Enjoy!
A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox
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Title: A tale of Two Demon Slayers
Author: Angie Fox
Release Date: January 26, 2010
Pages: 308
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Best Book Quote: “After all my years of organizing field trips, fire drills and potty breaks for my three-year-olds at Happy Hands Preschool, you’d think I could get two geriatric biker witches through the Las Vegas airport in under an hour. But sometimes the things that look simple on the outside aren’t. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.”
In Angie Fox’s latest urban fantasy novel A Tale of Two Demon Slayers
(from the Love Spell series) the main character, Lizzie Brown, is a somewhat unconventional slayer in that she didn’t choose her current occupation. Instead, she’s just an average girl who had this wonderful power thrust upon her. With these powers came a family of witches, a talking dog, and an incredibly handsome Griffin named Dimitri – all seemingly there to complicate her life. But, Dimitri ends up being exceptionally helpful during their demon slaying encounters and she’s starting to fall for him.Deciding that’s it’s time for a well-earned vacation, Lizzie and Dimitri decide to go to his family villa in Greece – an awesome opportunity for Lizzie to get to know Dimitri better. Unfortunately, nothing is ever as it seems in the world of the supernatural and it turns out that Dimitri had used some very special magic in his original quest to find Lizzie, the demon slayer. And, someone has stolen that magic – this is not good. It’s tantamount to death for Lizzie if the magic falls into the wrong hands so they must get it back at all costs. So, the vacation in Greece turns into a constant fight to defend the villa against attacks from evil beings while trying to figure out a way to get her magic back.
Angie Fox has crafted a well written tale of supernatural romance and action that almost makes you think she crafted a spell of her own to keep the reader wanting more. The author grabs your attention immediately with funny descriptions of Lizzie’s Harley riding grandmother and her coven of witches. Her talking terrier, Pirate, provides comic relief throughout the book with his quips about every situation they find themselves in while Lizzie herself has that ability to always say the right thing. The sizzling romance between Dimitri and Lizzie is just the right mix of passion and intimacy. I highly recommend A Tale of Two Demon Slayers for urban fantasy readers and look forward to the next installment in the Love Spell series.
Evermore by Alyson Noel
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Title: Evermore
Author: Alyson Noel
Release Date: February 3, 2009
Pages: 320
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Sample Book Passage: “I nod, refusing to look any further than his sleek, black motorcycle boots. The kind that are more GQ than Hell’s Angels. The kind that look very out of place among the rows of multi-colored flip flops that are currently gracing the green-carpeted floor.”
A sixteen year old high school girl who can read the thoughts of others – sounds like a gift, right? Well, not really for Ever Bloom, a young girl who had a near-death experience and she now knows people’s thoughts, learning all of their life story simply through touch. Why is that a bad thing? Well, in Evermore, by Alyson Noel, knowing people’s innermost thoughts is not nearly as entertaining as one would think – people hide a lot of disturbing information from others while maintaining a ‘respectable’ façade.
Hiding behind her iPod and a hoodie, afraid to touch anyone, Ever does whatever she can to block out the psychic energy flowing around her. When a gorgeous new kid, Damen Auguste, shows up in school, every girl wants to be with him – except Ever. Keeping to herself, she avoids looking at him until she finally can’t avoid eye contact any longer and what she sees shocks her – he has no aura and she can’t hear his thoughts. What’s going on? How can this walking, talking hunk have no aura . . . is he dead?
Ever avoids Damen but she can’t run from him, he tracks her down. Hooking up with him at a party, Ever is sure her life is about to change. But, the next week, Damen neither calls nor texts – he’s a grope-and-run. And when she sees him giving a white rose to her top tormentor in class, she can only think that he must be playing some kind of sadistic game – jerk! But, there’s a whole lot more to this story than meets the eye and Ever is in for a wild ride as she finds out just what Damen is and what’s in store for her future.
Evermore is available in paperback, Kindle format and audio format.
Great Werewolf Book: Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
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Title: Silver Borne
Author: Patricia Briggs
Release Date: March 30, 2010
Pages: 352
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Best Book Quote: “I could have kept arguing with him – I usually like arguing with Adam. But there were things I liked better. I leaned forward and kissed him.”
Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs is another great installment in the story of Mercy Thompson, coyote shapeshifter. At this point in the series she’s bonded to Adam, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack. Mercy is an ace mechanic who works in a garage, fixing cars while trying to understand all the nuances of her relationship with Adam. A coyote mated to a wolf comes with its own unique set of problems – least of which is the fact that his pack isn’t welcoming her with open arms because they think their Alpha should be mated to a true werewolf.
Mercy lives in a trailer with Samuel, a family member from a different pack. He’s a very old werewolf (but still incredibly hot) who seems to be succumbing to a problem that plagues a lot of old werewolves: he’s losing his humanity. When Mercy comes home on day to find Samuel in wolf form and realizes he’s not switching back, she fears the worst because most lone wolves don’t survive for long – they are usually killed by their pack. However, Mercy is determined that this will not happen to her friend and sets out to find a solution to his problem. But this makes significant problems for her because Adam is not about to let a lone wolf near his mate. How can she protect Samuel but not lie to Adam at the same time? Quite the dilemma . . .
Patricia Briggs once again delivers a great story with complex characters and captivating story lines. Samuel and his battle with his inner wolf keeps you engaged as you truly hope it does not negatively impact the relationship between Adam and Mercy. Keeping these two together is of paramount importance. Along with a parallel story where Mercy tries to help out a young fae bookstore owner, the author gives you plenty of action to keep you captivated throughout the book. Be sure to pick up Silver Borne if you are looking for a fast-paced, fantastical and interesting story to read. check prices
