Ghost of a Chance, by Simon R. Green (Ace, 2010)

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Got ghost problems? You’re in luck. The intrepid agents of the Carnacki Institute will investigate. They’ll do whatever’s necessary to take care of the problem, from convincing the ghost it’s time to move on, to kicking its sorry ectoplasmic ass. Their best team is a three-person operation, capable of handling any problem. There’s JC Chance, the leader, technogeek Melody Chambers, and drug-addled telepath Happy Jack Palmer. Between them, they have every eventuality covered.

Fresh off a job involving a haunted supermarket parking lot, the team is sent to deal with an extremely nasty incident originating in the Oxford Circus Underground station, an unprecedented event that’s just the start of their worst adventure yet. Something ancient, alien, and powerful is threatening to break through down where the sun never shines, and it’ll take everything the team has just to survive, much less succeed. And just to complicate matters, they have to deal with their evil counterparts from the Crowley Project, who believe the best opportunity is the one seized through force and blood. But when the chips are down and it’s everyone for themselves, can the two teams work together? And who’s going to tell JC Chance that falling in love with a ghost is a monumentally bad idea? (All of them, that’s who.)

The start of another new series from the ever-popular Simon R. Green, Ghost of a Chance is billed as his first real horror novel – which is a rather disturbing thought at first, given his propensity for injecting horrific elements into just about everything he does. Sadly, if anything, this just reads like more of the same. Surprisingly, there aren’t any overt connections to any of his other series, meaning this might just be a rare standalone series for an author who’s carefully laced together everything else he’s done.

The characters themselves are part archetype, part collection of neurotic quirks, and somehow lacking any real depth. There’s plenty of witty banter and snappy dialogue, but rarely do we see below the surface. They’d make great protagonists in an action movie, but I don’t feel like I know them nearly as well as I do some of Green’s earlier characters, like Rupert and Julia from Blue Moon Rising.

I can’t call this horror. It’s dark urban fantasy, with some horror trappings, but it doesn’t strike the right chords to be true horror, the sort that sparks nightmares and makes you turn on all the lights at night and jump at shadows. Maybe I’m just used to Green’s style, his ability to creep me out with a well-turned phrase or image, or maybe he goes for the gross-out a little too enthusiastically – a literal river of blood appears at one point – but it didn’t really bother me the way some horror does.

Hey, as an urban fantasy, it’s good. It’s fast-paced, filled with nifty concepts and memorable characters, and quite enjoyable. I’ve never disliked a Green book, and even his lackluster efforts still have the capacity to make me happy. Ghost of a Chance may not be as awesome as his other stuff, but it’s not awful by any stretch of the imagination. I’ll be looking forward to more of this series, if just to see what Green will do next.

Succubus Shadows, by Richelle Mead (Kensington, 2010)

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Ever since she broke up with her mortal boyfriend Seth, succubus Georgina Kincaid has been in a royal funk, and it’s been getting worse ever since she reluctantly agreed to help plan Seth’s wedding to one of her best friends. Acting noble and self-sacrificing when all you really want to do is steal the groom-to-be away is hard at the best of times, downright impossible when you’re a creature of Hell whose job is to corrupt the good and steal their life energy. Georgina’s always been a woman of drastic contrasts, though.

The more down she gets, however, the more it seems like some strange outside force is trying to lure her away, stalking her at her most vulnerable. So she throws herself into work, tries not to obsess about Seth, and attempts to discern why another succubus is in town “on vacation.” When she learns just what’s after her and why, she realizes all hope may be lost. Because caught under their power, she’ll relive the worst and most defining moments of her centuries-long life, and be driven to the breaking point of despair. Can the love and obligation of her friends save her, and if so, at what cost?

Now onto its fifth book, this series about the succubus with the moral streak just keeps getting weirder and more engaging. All along, Mead’s been dropping hints that Georgina isn’t like other succubi, and that there may be irregularities with her contract with Hell. Here, the plot thickens and progresses a little; there may not be concrete answers, but we get more insight into her checkered past, seeing who she was long ago and where she started to rebel against her Hell-given directives. We also see more of the strangely compelling interaction between the forces of Heaven and Hell, and it’s becoming ever clearer that it’s not a struggle of absolutes. We’re already familiar of the odd friendship between Jerome, Georgina’s supervisor, and Carter, his angelic counterpart for the Seattle area, and now it seems there really is something else going on behind the scenes. Naturally, the rest of Georgina’s friends are present, and the subplot involving the vampire Peter, who has the hots for a cute little Gothlet who rejects him for not being vampiric enough for her tastes, is sure to raise a few laughs.

Internal mythology aside, this series continues to straddle the line between urban fantasy and paranormal romance, with the continuing thread of Georgina’s on-again off-again relationship with Seth, who was her favorite author until he became the love of her life. Clearly, the feelings still exist on both sides, even when they’re apart, and it’s entirely possible that their bond exists on a deeper level than either expected. Unfortunately, explanations will have to wait for another book, though there’s some interesting progress made here.

What else? Well, as to be expected when one’s reading a story about a succubus, there is sex, and the sex varies between tawdry and sleazy (when Georgina’s seducing some mortal scumbag to jack up her internal energy lvels) and blisteringly hot (when it’s someone she cares about). Mead’s good at finding that line between erotic and explicit, so it doesn’t impact the overall flow of the story, like it might in some books.

Fans of the series will undoubtedly enjoy this latest installment of Georgina Kincaid’s adventures, and appreciate the development of the slow-burning overarching storyline that’s been present in each book. It’ll definitely be interesting to see what Mead has planned for future books.

Inhuman Resources, by Jes Battis (Ace, 2010)

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Vancouver’s Occult Special Investigations unit always, by virtue of its very nature, gets the weird cases. This time, a prominent academic and necromancer has been murdered, while inexplicably wearing an antique suit of armor in the safety of his own home. Now Tess Corday and her team have to figure out who killed Luiz Ordeno and why. To do that, Tess will have to wrestle answers out of the notoriously tightlipped necromantic community, brave the local vampire dens, track down enigmatic demon information brokers, and risk her own life against those who don’t want her to succeed. Along the way, she’ll also have to reevaluate her clandestine relationship with her necromancer lover, keep not one but two supernaturally-imbued teenagers out of trouble, and make time for a long-overdue heart-to-heart with her mother. Just another week at the office.

Where do I start? I love this series with a passion, and Inhuman Resources is definitely my favorite thus far. On the surface, it’s the urban fantasy answer to CSI, with a full team of quirky, talented specialists working behind the scenes and in the office to help Tess and her partners in the field get the results. The camaraderie, snappy patter and easy back-and-forth dialogue helps maintain a steady flow as the information and technobabble comes and goes, and it’s obvious Battis has a real ear for this sort of thing.

I love that when characters talk to one another, it’s open, direct, and productive. There are too many series out there where a misunderstanding or moment of miscommunication could fuel entire books of angst and hurt feelings. Here, for instance, Tess and her boyfriend Lucien actually find time to have an adult discussion that means something, full of honest emotion and forward movement. Sure, they might argue, but they get over it in a manner which rings true and feels real. There’s a subtle maturity to the emotional component of this book that helps it stand out, whether it’s Tess and Lucien, or Tess’ partner/housemate Derrick and his boyfriend Miles, or part-demon teenager Mia (just hitting those moody teen years!) or any of the other fascinating characters who contribute to the plot. It’s an intangible quality; some books have it, some don’t, and this one has lots of it.

I love the juxtaposition of modern science (verging on the futuristic sometimes) and weird magic. Sure, it’s a staple of urban fantasy to blend the real and unreal, but Battis has injected his world with enough cutting-edge technology and forensic techniques as to give this series a slight science fiction edge as well. But then he turns around and introduces us to Trinovantum, the bizarre hidden city of the necromancers, which could exist in a fantasy setting completely separate of the so-called real world. And instead of clashing, these disparate elements work well together.

The main crux of the plot may be your standard murder whodunit, but its packaging is anything but standard; this is top-notch urban fantasy in every regard, and I’m looking forward to the further adventures of Tess Corday and her friends and family.

Black Blade Blues, by J.A. Pitts (Tor, 2010)

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For Sarah Beauhall, life’s about to get very, very complicated. A blacksmith by trade, she live from paycheck to paycheck, making horseshoes for local farmers and replica weapons for convention-goers and the local Society for Creative Anachronism. By night, she works as props manager for low budget movies, like Elvis Versus the Goblins. Coming from a rather sheltered, fundamentalist Christian background, she’s still trying to piece together her feelings for her first ever girlfriend, terrified of public displays of affection and unable to really admit, even to herself, that she’s gay. Already in a mild state of emotional turmoil, she’s nowhere near ready for the trouble that’s about to unfold. When her favorite sword is broken, she sets out to repair it, only to be given an enigmatic warning from one of the movie’s extras: “If you attempt to reforge that sword, you must not fail.”

Turns out that she’s in possession of the legendary sword Gram, once used by the hero Sigurd to slay the dragon Fafnir. And now that Gram has turned up, some very old, very powerful people want it, and will stop at nothing to obtain or destroy it. Now Sarah has to deal with giants, trolls, dwarves and dragons, even as her life crumbles around her. With her job, her friends, even her relationship slipping through her fingers, with events spiraling out of control, Sarah may very well have to slay a few dragons of her own, or lose everything.

Black Blade Blues is a remarkably complex book, highly reminiscent of early Mercedes Lackey in some regards. Originally published in short form under the same name in the DAW anthology Swordplay (2009), it’s been cleaned up and expanded quite considerably here. Sarah’s intertwined struggles to defy destiny and come to terms with her own sexuality make for interesting, gripping reading. She’s the sort of heroine you alternately want to smack sense into, and hug comfortingly, especially as it becomes clear just how much of this is beyond her control. Elements from Norse/Teutonic mythology are utilized with great success here, weaving through and around the plot in an increasingly creepy, dramatic manner. What starts out relatively subtle becomes downright deadly by the end, where ancient myth and modern technology collide with devastating results.

All in all, Black Blade Blues is an extremely strong start to a new series, and I can’t wait to see what happens to Sarah Beauhall and her friends after this. It’s clear that we’re just scratching the surface of this setting, with Sarah as a relative newcomer to a world inhabited by ancient dragons, desperate dwarves, and hidden deities. Good stuff, without a doubt.

Ghosts & Echoes, by Lyn Benedict (Ace, 2010)

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Sylvie Lightner is a private investigator who specializes in the supernatural, the weird, and the dangerous. Her last job was a real killer, and it’s taken her a month to recover and get her head back in the game. Unfortunately, that month is nowhere near enough, since she’s still haunted by the death of her occasional lover, Michael Demalion, and reluctant to tackle anything involving “life-and-death struggles.” However, she may not have a choice. First, she’s saddled with temporary supervision of her rebellious sister Zoe. Second, she takes a case involving some unusual robberies at a local mall. Third, she meets a Chicago cop who’s been possessed by a very familiar ghost, undoubtedly more fallout from the near-apocalyptic adventure Sylvie had the month before.

Now Sylvie’s up to her eyeballs in trouble, with necromancers and Hands of Glory popping up around every corner, a ghost putting the moves on her, a sister who’s been up to questionable hijinks with her friends, and an entire clan of local cops pressuring her for explanations and results. If Sylvie doesn’t put together the pieces of this puzzle, the dead will walk again, but at a terrible cost.

So far, two books in, this is proving to be a really fun, interesting series. Sylvie’s a tough, no-nonsense protagonist whose sense of responsibility and duty may occasionally lead her awry, but more often than not she’s out there kicking ass and doing her best to protect those she cares about. Her attitude is refreshingly direct, but not over-the-top enough to turn her into a cliched bad girl/action heroine. The world she lives in is, as might be expected, chock-full of the magical, mysterious, and menacing, but Lyn Benedict still finds new things to focus on. Ghosts & Echoes wraps itself around several plot threads, which come together in surprisingly subtle ways; it wasn’t until I was a third of the way in that I realized where the story was going, and then everything took on a new perspective. Honestly, I’ve never seen such an interesting, twisted take on the whole concept of the Hand of Glory (traditionally, the specially-preserved hand of a dead murderer, capable of opening locks and other nasty tricks.).
In a field that’s ever more crowded by private investigators dealing with the unknown, this series has found its corner and is doing quite well at maintaining its sense of uniqueness. Definitely one of the better series out there, and this book quite adeptly maintains the quality I saw in the first one.

Steamed, by Katie MacAlister (Signet, 2010)

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Following a bizarre lab accident, computer technician Jack Fletcher and his flighty sister Hallie are literally blown into another world. They wake up aboard the airship Tesla, commanded by the dynamic Octavia Pye, a red-haired, corset-wearing ray-gun wielding firebrand who captures Jack’s heart and libido from the second he sees her. Once Jack comes to terms with his new surroundings, he’s thrilled; a steampunk aficionado whose life has always taken unexpectedly strange turns, this is a world he was born to inhabit. Now he’s living the good life, traveling by airship, fighting pirates and saboteurs, romancing Octavia, and dealing with international intrigue. Just toss him a pair of goggles and he’s all set.

Octavia’s not sure what to make of her weird new stowaway, who seems way too fascinated by her corset and keeps muttering things about goggles and steampunk … whatever that is. He’s not a spy, and possibly not a raving lunatic (much) and there’s a distinct chemistry between them, and while she can’t afforded to get distracted, she’s allowed a little fun, right? They’ll have to rely on one another if they want to prevent an assassination attempt which could spark a war. Oh, and as for Hallie? When she’s not catatonic, she’s losing her grip, running away, or getting in trouble. Never mind her. She’s just there for the sequel.

Steamed is … interesting. As billed, it’s a comedy steampunk romance from the prolific and talented Katie MacAlister, her first real stab at this particular subset of science fiction. She wastes little time in setting up her male lead and thrusting him into an alternate world, and wastes little more time in making sure he and the female lead meet and start to doing what romantic leads do. Everything else – the traveling, adventures, action, airship piracy, assassination attempts – is just window dressing for the romantic entanglements of Jack and Octavia. (I’m serious: Jack’s sister really is excess baggage for much of the book, and if there’s not a sequel where she gets her own man, I’ll eat my hat.)

Based on the premise and setting, I wanted to like this book a lot. But I can’t help but feel something was lacking. In a word, it’s shallow, with very little extra thought given to fleshing out the history and details of the setting, beyond what’s needed for the immediate moment. You get the feeling that if you turn the corner too quickly, you’ll find the actors catching a quick smoke while waiting for the next show. In fact, the entire book has an oddly fetishistic tone to it; you’ve got all the trappings of steampunk with very few of the complexities. Airships, corsets, ray guns and weird mechanical widgetry don’t embrace the true depths of steampunk, but rather the easiest outward manifestations. Were it not for the passages told from other points of view, it would be all too possible to interpret this book as a hallucination brought on by the explosion in the first chapter, all conjured up by Jack’s subconscious and some toxic smoke. Certainly, he gets everything he could ever want, including the hot redhaired airship captain and the chance to play pirate.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you. I mean, sign me up for the same thing. But still, it was odd to read through this and come away feeling as though I was missing something. Admittedly, there’s some real chemistry between the leads, and the intimate scenes have a real spark to them, and there’s plenty of good-hearted humor to be found along the way – all hallmarks of MacAlister’s writing and to be expected – so not all is lost.

The final verdict? Steamed scratches an itch and fills a niche I didn’t realize existed, but it nonetheless comes off as flighty and superficial, preferring to leave the subtleties and complexities for other endeavors down the line. It’s great popcorn reading, but could have been so much more.

Shades of Gray, by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge (Ballantine Books, 2010)

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The superhuman revolution has begun. With the disruption of the system that was secretly brainwashing the extrahumans of Corp-Co and turning them into obedient superheroes, the superhumans who once protected the Americas of the future have turned to terrorizing it. Only a mere handful stand ready to defend the innocent and rein in their rebellious brethren. Chief among those valiant defenders are Joan “Jet” Greene and Callie “Iridium” Bradford, once best friends and now bitter enemies, separated by past events and grave philosophical differences. Working with Jet are the few Corp superheroes who still believe in justice and order. Allied with Iridium are a pack of infamous villains … including her own father, a hero turned villain. Maybe a dozen against hundreds, while the cities burn and the people fear for their lives. Worst of all, the sociopathic Doctor Hypnotic is on the loose, ready to turn his mind control abilities loose on an ill-prepared world.

Meanwhile, a generation ago, the fabled heroes of Team Alpha come to prominence, and then one by one suffer tragic fates, their lives and loves and losses setting the tone for the modern day. The parents and mentors of the current generation, their experiences play no small part in the events of today.

Picking up where Black and White left off, Shades of Gray expertly weaves together the threads of past and present to create a generational saga of superheroes and villains, and the all-too-human emotions which rule them. It’s all here: the rise and fall of Team Alpha, the tragic moments which created the stalwart hero Jet and the unyielding villain Iridium, the secret origins of the movers and shakers of an extrahuman world. Complex and intricately-plotted, filled with quiet moments of characterization and loud moments of superhuman battles, this is definitely one of the better attempts to translate the four color action of the comic books into prose form. It’s mature and thoughtful, without sacrificing excitement and ambition.

Kessler and Kittredge make for a hell of a team, their styles meshing flawlessly as they put together this fully-realized futuristic society with its multitude of conflicts both personal and public. The only discordant note would be a series of vignettes inexplicably told in the present tense, featuring characters whose plotline doesn’t quite synch up with the rest of the book until the very end. The tense change, at odds with the style used for the vast majority of the story, is somewhat jarring.

There’s both a real sense of completion at the end of this book, and the potential for continuation; if this is all the two plan to write in this universe, it’s about as solid a story as you can get, but there’s plenty of room to expand on what we’ve already seen. I certainly wouldn’t mind further entries, perhaps focusing on other characters, other times, or other situations. Shades of Gray, when taken together with Black and White, is pretty much an ideal comic book story, and would translate perfectly back into the medium which inspired it. This book gets five capes out of five.

Red Hood's Revenge, by Jim C. Hines (DAW, 2010)

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They are the secret protectors of the kingdom of Lorindar. Snow White, the sultry mistress of mirror magic. Danielle, wielder of a powerful glass sword, once known as Cinderella. Talia, whose fairy gifts make her a powerful warrior, but whose past as the legendary Sleeping Beauty still haunts her. Princesses all, and the best of friends, they’ve been through a lot together. But when Roudette, the assassin also known as the Lady of the Red Hood, targets Talia for death, the three are once again forced into action. Their struggle to defeat Roudette and end the threat to Talia once and for all takes them to Arathea, Talia’s desert homeland, where the queen who usurped her throne still waits, planning revenge. For the Prince who awoke Sleeping Beauty didn’t do so with a kiss, and he was certainly no Charming, and Talia’s bloody revenge has had long-lasting consequences.

In Arathea, the three princesses discover a grave threat to the land, one involving both the infamous Wild Hunt and the capricious fairykind. To survive, they’ll have to trust in the Lady of the Red Hood, even though her loyalties are decidedly in question. Talia’s home, but she may not live long enough to enjoy it. Not everyone gets a happily ever after….

Continuing to reimagine the heroines and storylines of beloved fairy tales, Jim Hines turns his attentions towards Little Red Riding Hood, reinventing her as a dark, tragic, driven anti-heroine out to exact her own revenge upon those who once wronged her. Here, we see one explanation for the wolf in Grandmother’s bed, the significance of the titular red cape, and learn that the huntsman of the story was no hero. We also get a much more in-depth look at the land and circumstances that shaped Talia, who deviates significantly from her fairy tale origins. And the changes couldn’t be more welcome. Some might say it’s pretty bold to turn Sleeping Beauty from the blond waif of Disney fame into a lesbian warrior from a pseudo-Arabic culture, but it just helps to reinforce the idea of these fairy tales as universal stories, where the trappings may change but the core remains the same. What matters is that Talia, like the others, is a strong, capable, princess who isn’t about to sit around waiting for her prince to show up and rescue her.

Combining the best parts of fantasy and folklore, mixed with action and adventure, tinged with horror (just like the original stories!), Red Hood’s Revenge is a thoroughly satisfying continuation of the series, and a worthy updating of these cultural icons. They may not sing and dance, but they can certainly kick some ass. Bring on the Snow Queen.

The Last Stormlord, by Glenda Larke (Orbit, 2010)

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Ever since she was sold as a child, Terelle has worked as a servant in a brothel, dreading the day she’ll come of age and have to start earning her keep in a manner she finds distasteful. Dreaming of escape, she seeks out alternatives, only to discover there’s very little opportunity for one of her low station. Ultimately, she runs away, finding refuge with an eccentric artist, who teaches her the secret of painting with water, and influencing the future. But the longer she stays, the more she learns, the more she questions her decisions, and her safety.

Shale’s village is among the poorest and most remote in the dry, hardscrabble Gibber Quarter, where water is beyond rare and survival is never easy. When his magical ability to sense and control water is discovered, he becomes a pawn in a deadly political game which seems destined to upset the status quo of the Scarpen once and for all.

In an area of the world where every drop of water is carefully rationed, where those who control water possess the greatest power of all, and where entire cities rest on the ability of the Stormlord to conjure up storms from the ocean and deliver them as needed, it doesn’t take much to upset the delicate balance. And when the Stormlord grows weak and close to death, the time is perfect for someone both ambitious and unscrupulous to make his move. And in the chaos, Shale and Terelle will come together, only to be caught in the middle of war and suffering. The Scarpen will never be the same again.

Epic, sprawling, taking place over a number of years, this isn’t a story to be summarized easily. Each individual story spans the better part of a decade, and to detail even a small portion would spoil more than I feel reasonable. So take it from me when I say there’s a lot going on here, and it’s a densely-plotted, multi-layered book that doesn’t make for easy or casual reading.

The setting itself is quite interesting, though with just about every page having some reference to water or its scarcity or the magical manipulation thereof, it gets repetitious after a while. I was intrigued by the tiered cities with their elaborate systems of gutters and aqueducts and social systems determining who gets water and who doesn’t, and I was certainly interested in the plight of the Gibbers, who get their water as leftover gulley washes. I followed the various characters with interest, and enjoyed seeing how their various threads finally came together as the story continued.

And yet, for all the pretty language and unusual setting, I found this book to be something of a slog, an effort to get through. I ultimately got through the close-to-700 pages out of sheer bloody-minded determination, wanting to see just what happened at the end, only to learn that the story’s nowhere near finished. While I certainly have nothing against big epic books, it’s possible that this one might have benefited from some trimming or splitting up. While I liked The Last Stormlord, and it’s a perfectly good epic fantasy as these things go, it didn’t resonate with me as much as I’d hoped. Even though the various plot threads should be resolved in the sequel, I’m still up in the air about whether or not I’ll be along for the ride. Good stuff, but not entirely my cup of tea.

City of Souls and Cheat the Grave, by Vicki Pettersson (Eos, 2009/2010)

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The secret war between the Zodiac troops of Shadow and Light continues unabated, with Las Vegas as both battlefield and prize. As always, stuck right in the middle is Joanna Archer, whose uniquely mixed heritage casts her as a prophesied agent of change and destiny. Transformed into the exact likeness of her murdered socialite sister Olivia, she’s living under the noses of her greatest enemies, one step away from discovery at all times.

In City of Souls, Joanna discovers the existence of Midheaven, a legendary realm that’s both refuge and prison for those desperate enough to seek it out, where powers and abilities are bartered at the poker table, and where no secret stays safe for long. Every visit costs her more of her soul, but if Joanna wants to save an innocent life, she must risk it all. Unfortunately, there’s far more at stake than she realizes, and the dangers of Midheaven are greater than she expected. To achieve her goals, she’ll have to sacrifice everything.

In Cheat the Grave, Joanna is down and out in Las Vegas. Her powers are gone, expended in her attempt to right a grievous wrong. Her lover, the Light warrior known as Hunter, has been revealed as a traitor and exiled to Midheaven. Her own troop has disowned and expelled her. Sadly, even as a mortal, even masquerading as her beautiful, rich, popular sister Olivia, Joanna can’t catch a break.

The psychopathic Mackie has escaped from Midheaven, determined to kill her and anyone who gets in his way. As the body count increases, with no help coming from her former friends, Joanna reluctantly joins a band of rogue agents, those who claim allegiance to neither Shadow nor Light. Powerless and unsure how far she can trust her new allies, Joanna will need all of the creativity, bravery, and luck she can muster, especially since both Shadow and Light want her dead now. But when everything comes to a climax, she’ll make a bizarre discovery that could change her life forever… if she survives.

The first trilogy in the Signs of the Zodiac series was focused on setting up the general mythology of the world, with its superhuman heroes and villains fighting one another for secret control of Las Vegas. However, with these, the fourth and fifth books, there’s a distinct change in tone and trappings. The addition of the hidden realm of Midheaven and its manipulative mistress Solange, along with its population of outcasts and renegades, gave the world another layer of weird appeal. The removal of Joanna’s powers and her subsequent journey of self-discovery has helped the series’ protagonist to grow and evolve, even as she tries to figure out just what her role in the grand scheme of things really is. The introduction of the so-called Grays, rogue superhumans fighting for survival against all comers, provides tangible proof that this really isn’t a story of absolutes. What seemed to be black and white in the beginning has been revealed as something much more complex and ambitious.

Only time will tell if these changes will help or hinder the overall progression of the story. It’s certainly an interesting ride thus far, and it’s anyone’s guess as to where Vicki Pettersson plans to go. With City of Souls, she proved willing to upset the status quo, and in Cheat the Grave, she really unloads some major surprises and plot twists/developments. If just for the sheer unpredictability of it all, I can’t wait to see what happens next.