Short Takes: SF/Fantasy

Can't afford an exotic trip this summer? Embark on a voyage of the imagination with these five fantasies and visit strange fantastical worlds ranging from George Mann's alternate Victorian London to Jacqueline Carey's Renaissance-like Terre d'Ange.

Carey here returns to the sensual, Renaissance-inspired world of her best-selling "Kushiel's Legacy" series. Moirin knows little of the world outside the forests and caves of Alba, but when she undergoes the Maghuin Dhonn's rite of passage, a powerful destiny is partially revealed to her. In Terre d'Ange she finds her father, a priest serving Naamah, the goddess of desire, and meets Raphael de Mereliot, a talented doctor and the queen's favorite lover (until her majesty meets Moirin). Raphael wants Moirin to use her special powers on his behalf, but Moirin's diadh-anam, or soul, blazes that her path lies elsewhere. Instead, she joins visiting scholar Master Lo Feng and his companion Bao on their return to Ch'in to save the emperor's daughter. VERDICT Carey begins her new series with a bang. Moirin is an exciting heroine who, like Phèdre nó Delaunay, playfully and passionately explores the sacredness of sexuality. Highly recommended for Carey fans and mature readers. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/09; Carey has also just published an urban fantasy, Santa Olivia.—Ed.]—Karen Kleckner, Deerfield P.L., IL

In her 17th adventure (after Blood Noir), Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, also known as the Executioner, finds a surprise package on her desk early one morning. Inside, carefully packed in ice, is a human head. She knows this to be the handiwork of the vicious vampire serial killer Vittorio, whom she had chased from her hometown, St. Louis. The package was mailed from Las Vegas, so she leaves for Sin City and meets up with team members: cold, calculating Edward; psychopathic Olaf; and handsome, mellow Bernardo. Along with Vegas's preternatural police, they set out to track down Vittorio and anyone or anything else working with him. VERDICT For readers who have been longing for the engaging stories of the early Anita Blake urban fantasies, with lots of adventure nicely mingled with sexual tension but fewer pages of graphic sex, this is the book. Right from the start this supernatural thriller grabs the reader's attention and does not let go. Buy multiple copies for all those eager fans.—Patricia Altner, BiblioInfo.com., Columbia, MD

British scientist Johannes Cabal has sold his soul to the Devil in order to learn the secret of life and death through the art of necromancy but now regrets the price he paid. Satan, being bored, agrees to a deal: if Johannes can get 100 people to sign contracts assigning their souls to him, he will return Johannes's. Accepting the bargain, our hero is given one year's time and a traveling carnival to recruit those to be damned. He enlists the help of his older brother Horst, along with many an emanation of Hell, and a great deal of mischief ensues. Tension mounts as time grows short on Johannes's quest, and much is left to the last to tell. But much is also left untold; Johannes Cabal's duel with the Devil may not be the last we hear from him, and that is fine, for Johannes is a compelling character. VERDICT Cross Susannah Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell with Gregory Maguire's Wicked, and you have this witty and sometimes touching debut novel in the Faustian tradition. This will appeal to both fantasy and horror fans and readers who enjoy imaginative reinterpretations of fables, myths, and fairy tales, but it's humorous rather than frightening.—Nancy H. Fontaine, Dartmouth Coll, Lib., Hanover, NH

In this intriguingly bizarre version of 1901 London, Sir Maurice Newbury, ostensibly an academic, is a trusted agent of the Crown. The ailing Victoria charges him and his assistant, Veronica Hobbes, with discovering the cause of an airship crash, which may be linked to innovative automata now acting as servants all over London. Meanwhile, Scotland Yard is dealing with numerous strangulations perpetrated by a glowing policeman and an outbreak of a "revenant plague" that turns people into mindless, murderous zombies. Readers should not be put off by the introduction of several apparently unrelated investigative threads; Mann brings them together and ratchets up the action as the story progresses. VERDICT Although the imagery is occasionally repetitive and some loose ends are tied up rather abruptly, overall, this series launch by the editor of The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction is a strong addition to the "steampunk" subgenre and one that creates a lively alternative world.—Sara M. Schepis, East Fishkill Community Lib., Hopewell Jct., NY

Strange as it may seem, the key to good supernatural fiction is realism. Readers have to believe in the world that has been created in order to suspend their disbelief of the creatures set loose in it, and Wellington (Monster Planet) excels here. Most of the action takes place inside a women's prison, where vampire hunter Laura Caxton has been incarcerated and is being stalked by Earth's last vampire, Justinia Malvern. This could easily have dissolved into B-movie stereotype but instead seems intensely researched and utterly believable. The characters are likewise fully formed and consistent. VERDICT Since this is the third book in a series (after 13 Bullets, full-text available on the author's web site, and 99 Coffins), series readers may expect the principals to escape, but the cleverly managed ending avoids predictability. Wellington's voice continues to grow. Highly recommended for horror and vampire fiction fans.—Karl G. Siewert, MLIS, Tulsa City-Cty. Lib., OK