The Scent of Shadows: The First Sign of the Zodiac / The Taste of the Night : Second Sign of the Zodiac
The Scent of Shadows : The First Sign of the Zodiacby Vicki PetterssonI have already posted something about this series over on my main site, but it is certainly something that deserves to be featured on my Book Blog. As I said over on Beyond Elsewhere, when I first saw this book I thought it was an anthology of some sort. The cover gave me the distinct impression that it wasn't just one story, the size and weight of the book as well. No one releases mass market books with any heft anymore, so why would it be only one story. I walked by the book on a table in the bookstore probably twice before something caught my eye... there was a quote from Kim Harrison on the front cover. "Ooohh!" I thought. "I love Kim Harrison! And she hasn't released anything for a while and I am suffering!" (Ok, so she did release her latest book and it was in bloody HARD COVER! I hate when publishers do that... what's the matter with just continuing to release the books in mass market, I ask you? You're more likely to sell more mass copies than hard cover copies and I HATE when suddenly an author who is always a mass author suddenly decides to mix it up and try to make more money with the hard cover! I am sure it's a publisher decision, but still! Down with Hard Covers! And the only reason I bought the book in HC was because I had just bought my house and I had to sit for an entire day in an empty house waiting for things to be delivered and I needed something to read! Grr! *rant off*)But I digress... my point was that I took a closer look at the book and figured I would take a chance on it. My gut feeling about things, especially books, is generally spot on for me, and I was not disappointed in this book at all. Right from the start I really liked the main character Joanna Archer although I have to admit I had no clue what was going on for a long time. This is a fantasy/superhero type story unlike any that I have read. Joanna's powers aren't fully and completely explained right up front, I spent most of the book waiting for the Big Explanation and when it came... well, I still didn't know what was going on. Ha! My solace was that I was thoroughly enjoying the story and though I had to re-read the explanation of the "powers" for my own understanding (I finally got it - I think) it didn't make me throw the book down and walk away, in fact I was even more eager to continue reading.The story takes place in Las Vegas, and I feel like I know the place after having watched 7 years of CSI (ha!) and it was a nice change to have heroes and villains fighting with supernatural powers than cops running amok all over town. There's a battle between Light and Shadow and each hero and villain, is, um associated (?) with a Zodiac sign. Joanna's is the Archer (surprise, surprise with her last name and all!). Each Light sign has a Shadow sign (Good Sagittarius, Bad Sagittarius, etc.). There are battles, there is witty banter, there is sexual tension and love. There is a ton of whoop-ass, all the makings of an exciting and entertaining and extremely original fantasy-action story.What else makes an exciting fantasy novel? A series of them! Woot!
The Taste of the Night : The Second Sign of the Zodiacby Vicki PetterssonOh, look! It's the SECOND sign of the Zodiac! Boy was I happy. Once I got to the end of the first book I was aching for more and lo! There was a teaser for the second book at the end and it said it was due out almost exactly when I had finished reading the first one! I searched high and low for the book but it was off by a month, I ended up getting this one the day before I was to sit in my empty house as a friend of mine in the store let me know it had just arrived (and this was right AFTER I had already purchased Kim Harrison's hard cover... *cough*). So this is the book I read while sitting in the one chair in my empty new house waiting for the cable/phone/internet guy, the bed delivery and the stove delivery. I loved the first one so much that I sent my father home with it that day as he was over waiting with me to make sure I wasn't raped and pillaged by sketchy delivery men (luckily, they were not all that suspicious looking in the least... although the cable guy didn't have an identified truck or uniform, so I was a little weary, but it was all good. Plus he was HOT.)Here I am digressing again. Funny how talking about a book can bring back so memories of what was going on during the time you were reading it.Anyhow, Joanna Archer and her merry band of Zodiac Good Guys are yet again saving Las Vegas and the world from the band of Evil Zodiac Bad Guys. Turns out Joanna is like a Chosen One and balances on the edge of both Light and Shadow. Who knew? Not I! Sarcasm aside, one of the things I really liked about these books is that they weren't predictable in the least. Just when I thought the story was going to go one way it veered off in a completely different direction and a couple of times in Book 1 I was pleasantly surprised. It's been a while since I had read such an original and fresh story. The second book kept that up fairly well, though I am sure I was able to guess a few more plot directions this time around.Vicki Pettersson has an excellent writing style, terrific imagination and a wonderful sense of wit. After reading both books (almost 500 pages each!) I was desperate for more and was quite excited to find her web page which would surely tell me more! Alas, at the time it looked as if there were only two books in this series. But then Ms. Pettersson excitedly announced the arrival of the THIRD book in the series. Huzzah! Only it isn't due in stores until Summer 2008. Boo! Hiss! I want it NOW!If only for the fact that at least the women on her covers have heads! Heh.And this is another series that I shall be lending to my Monkey, if I can find the first book. I know I got it back from my father, but do you think I can find it? Hell, no! And it's driving me crazy! I am also missing the second book of a Kate Forsyth series, but that's ok, because at the rate I am going Monkey is posting about the books I have read faster than I am! Gah!And in case any one is curious, I'm an Aquarius, yo!Zodiac Series