In the Blood by Adrian Phoenix

In the Blood picks up where A Rush of Wings ended with certain forces in government eliminating all evidence of project Bad Seed - the programme designed to produce sociopathic killers under the control of the authorities - leaving Dante and Heather not knowing who they can trust. Meanwhile Lucien the Fallen is caught between protecting Dante his son, and the rest of the Fallen who would see the young Maker installed on their Chaos Throne.

This was the Kelley Armstrong bookclub book for March and I'm sorry that I missed so much of the discussion there, unfortunately it's taking me quite a long time at the moment to get through a book. First off - the cover this time is a 100% improvement over the previous one, less streetwalker, more street smart and is much closer to my own image of Heather and she's even wearing a trench coat. :)

This is a complex tale that builds on the story from the first book, so I can't recommend that you start the series here. Instead I'd recommend you check out A Rush of Wings first. In the Blood has conspiracy on conspiracy on conspiracy but Dante stands at the centre, still hardcore when it comes to the truth, setting an almost impossible standard for others. Lucien tries to tell him

"The truth is never what you hope it will be...And the cost is always higher than you imagine."

If Dante is going to be saved then the Bad Seed project needs putting to rest once and for all, but Bad Seed are no longer the only people after Dante, everyone wants a piece of him for their own purposes, from the shady human government to the Fallen angels. Which brings me to the quote that is at the centre of the book for me, and one which could be applied to most of the characters. Again from Lucien,

"We all do what we must. Each one of us. Then once we've done what was necessary, we begin anew."

More characters are introduced here - Heather's father and sister. And my favourite new character Caterina Cortini - the cleaner - human child of a vampire. She walks between two worlds having not yet made the choice which she'll live in. Through her we learn a little more about the vampire culture and I hope she'll have a role to play in future books.

There is a point in this story towards the end where everything starts to go a little haywire - this is in keeping with the tale and the worldbuilding but I find myself going 'Whoooaaaa, I'm not quite sure about this' and it's credit to Adrian Phoenix's storytelling that she manages to keep me on the ride. In fact if I had any complaints it would be that occasionally I lose track of who the characters are - there is quite a large cast and towards the end as we build towards the climax we get multiple points of view. The one I kept not being able to place was Sheridan. In the previous book if I remember correctly it was Silver and Simone I kept getting confused - maybe I have a problem with names beginning with S?

It seems we haven't yet seen the limits of Dante's powers. The next book Beneath the Skin releases early 2010. And I can't wait to find out what happens next.

A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix

This is the Kelley Armstrong bookclub book for October. The thread is well worth checking out this month as the author is answering questions, so if you've read the book and have a burning question you need to get off you chest you can find the thread here. If you're not a member of the board you might have to join, but it's free!

A Rush of Wings follows F.B.I. special agent Heather Wallace as she pursues a serial killer across the country. The trail has brought her to New Orleans, Club Hell and the rock musician Dante - a man who claimes to be a vampire. Heather believes Dante to be the killer's next victim, but the situation is so much more complicated than she could have imagined. As she tries to unravel the truth about Dante, she comes to realize she's just one small pawn in a much bigger game. Dante's past holds the key to everything, but the cost of him remembering may be more than she wants to pay.

I'm glad this was chosen as a bookclub book, it's one that I came very close to buying last December, even picked it up in the bookshop but in the end didn't buy.

A Rush of Wings is very much urban fantasy, if you prefer fluffier PNR, you're probably not going to like this one. It has vampires that are vampires, not angsty, sighing by the moonlit window guys and gals, these are the real, rip your throat out without breaking a sweat, deal.

Overall I very much enjoyed it. It has a multi-stranded plot which slowly comes together as the destinies of all the characters start to collide. Heather is torn between wanting to protect Dante - who in a nice change from the usual vampire novel is only 23 and several years younger than her - and acknowledging that she may need protecting from him. Heather is a strong heroine, she doesn't fall apart when she finds out about this other world that lives alongside our own, but neither does she meekly accept it either, which I thought was realistically done.

As well as vampires, the other main species introduced here are the Fallen (angels/Elohim). I don't want to give too much away, but the Fallen Lucien has chosen to set his path with that of Dante. I'm very much interested to see where this goes in future books as their relationship was somewhat unresolved at the end of the story. Lucien I think was the character who most left me wanting to know more.

Dante himself is a tortured hero. A victim of horrific abuse, he has a past he can't remember, and unfortunately seems to bring pain to those closest to him. Only half-vampire he has a power that he can't control and which, if he's not careful will bring him even more unwanted attention.

And I want to mention here that Adrian Phoenix has a wonderful way of describing her characters using scent which is very evocative.

His scent was frosty and clear, the first chilly breath of autumn.

There are also a couple of recurring motifs - the rush of wings, and references to the reshaper, the unmaker, which are worked throughout the story.

I loved the contrast and similarity between Heather and Dante. Heather who believes promises are made to be kept, not broken, but she knows that sometimes that's not possible. And Dante who never lies, and who can't forgive those who lie to him. As you read the story, it's almost inevitable that they'll come together, but the question of whether they'll be able to stay together has yet to be answered.

A couple of nitpicky problems. To begin with I was having a slight problem keeping track of who was doing what among the large cast of characters, but that's probably because the last few books I've read have either been first person or very tight third, so I'm a bit out of the habit of keeping track. After I got into the rhythm of the book and finally got Simone and Silver straight in my head, I was okay. What made it easier was the fact that the major characters are so well drawn.

The cover - I'm not sure if at any point Heather wears a leather bustier and mini-skirt. In fact her default mode of dress seemed to be trench coat. (I know authors have little control over their covers but it's a niggle and I'm mentioning it, just in case anyone was put off by the chick on the cover.)

And I didn't immediately cotton onto the fact that this is set slightly in the future. There are a couple of technological things that went over my head because I assumed that the book was set in the present. Chapter 4:-

The bartender swiped the debit spike...

So colour me a little slow when I'm trying to work out why the bartender wants a spike of metal. It's not until near the end of the book that credit/debit spikes are explained a little more, that I finally put two and two together and work out we're not quite in Kansas any more.

However, this is another series that I will be following, and I think this is perhaps one of the first books to bring in Angels to UF. A trend which I'm seeing more in current and upcoming books.

Book 2 - In The Blood (Jan 2009)