Title: “Evil Ways”
Author: Justin Gustainis
Series: Quincey Morris Investigation Series, Book2
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 336
Publisher: Solaris

Blurb:

Quincey Morris and Libby Chastain investigate a series of murders where white witches are being hunted down and killed—and Libby may be next on the list. Meanwhile, the FBI is stymied by a series of child murders around the country, in which the victims’ organs are being removed for use in occult rituals. Quincey and Libby don’t want to get involved, but they may have no choice. From Iraq to Idaho, the trail of clues leads straight to Walter Grobius, a crazed billionaire who plans the biggest black magic ritual of all time. If he isn’t stopped, all Hell will break loose—for real.

Verdict: It took me quite awhile to get to this novel and considering how many positive reviews it gathered, I think I ended up reading the novel wrong, because at large “Evil Ways” didn’t exactly work for me. Perhaps I am on a different vibe right about now or perhaps my tastes have changed in the stretch of a year, but after reading and loving “Black Magic Woman” I waited for something bigger and better as the perfect scenario for a series should be.

Plot-wise I got everything I needed. Compared to the first book in the series “Evil Ways” excels in dynamics and stretches through the better part of the USA and even offers some scenes of heist action in Baghdad. The use of magic is extensive and ranges from summoning to blood sacrifices, wards and astral projection. The variety and degree of explanation behind each act is satisfying for me as a fan of the occult and creates a solid believability. Satan also makes a very gruesome cameo appearance, which always acts as a plus and sex just lounges in between the pages. Gustainis also gives the readers every man’s dream: a woman wielding big guns with the intention of using them.

So what was the problem, if everything so far is all I could ever dream of? Gustainis has wonderful ideas and has woven them into a believable enough plot, but what doesn’t work for me in this installment is the actual writing. Spreading the story through different points of view is great and we can see what happens on both sides of the whole apocalypse-in-the-making, but the stark in-your-face approach to representing the impending doom fails to build tension. In “Black Magic Woman” I loved, when the author didn’t beat around the bush and slapped the reader with the facts as they were with no poetic detours and you felt like a part of a much messed up episode of CSI. However now that the supernatural elements have been pumped up “Evil Ways” should have, at least to me, dripped dread and the book didn’t. The famous bat scene was awesome yes, but it didn’t make me fear that the characters wouldn’t get out. Same goes for the grand summoning of Satan. As the final ceremony transpired I didn’t feel any immediate danger for the character or for the world at that.

This being said, the second thing that didn’t work for me happened to be dialogue. I enjoy wise cracking as much as the next guy, but I couldn’t buy the idea that two people no matter how comfortable with each other would mock bicker, wise crack and throw punch lines and funny expressions, when Libby is being chased by enemies unknown and the apocalypse on the rise. Comic relief via dialogue is a powerful tool and the final use at the very end of the novel is just perfect, but in almost every conversation, it becomes tiring and destroys the reader’s belief in the credibility of the story.

Negative aspects aside, there are quite a few good things to complement Mister Gustainis upon, such as his bravery regarding sex. Few ever dared to throw in orgies that have demons in and incorporate bestiality moments, a scene that stunned me as a matter of fact and was one of the few moments that created a very sinister atmosphere of decadence and dread in the novel. Also the scene, where Colleen had to play it cheap hooker in order to get the info she needed for the case to move on underlines how dire the situation is, even though it’s very un-FBI thing to do.

I am also very pleased with the world building angle. Gustainis has done some very heavy research to get down the principles of magic right and authentic as much as the complex system allows such a task to be performed. You won’t notice any deviation from the previous installment in the series, just a sort of expanding what has already been established in rules and possibilities. As much as I am a fan of the Japanese “I have a nuclear power plant rivaling load of energy” I find it refreshing to see that magic through most of the novel is very hard to get going and produce immediate effects, which usually takes up a lot of work that once interrupted can result into a catastrophe of some degree.

As a whole, “Evil Ways” is a good concept with an execution that didn’t manage to stir much of a reaction out of me. I am not sure I am in the capacity to recommend or warn off people as the experience as a whole was bittersweet and confusing. I still can’t make up my kind about “Evil Ways”, but there are enough reviews to show you a different perspective.

Different Opinions:
Darque Reviews
SciFiGuy.ca
Graeme’s Fantasy Reviews
Monsters and Critics
Fatally Yours
Love Vampires

Here are your random numbers:

6

Timestamp: 2009-04-28 18:42:31 UT

Congratulations, Dottie!

Please send me your snail mail details so we can get that copy out to you! (lindsayyorklevack @ gmail . com)

It was to this place that I traveled last year to research an authentic experience for my heroine. I met a witch. I had a cleansing. So now, enjoy the video and feel free to ask me what you’re seeing. (I included a photo of me climbing the path to the witch’s hut.)

http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/47b132e07b3c9036/49d2ffa34936e13c/47b132e05b7229a5/dedf4aed/-cpid/d879f480f42fc6d6

A random commenter will win a copy of Blue Diablo.

I’m writing to you from beautiful Napa Valley, home to Immortal Vineyards. Can I just say, the visitor’s center is a hoot! They’ve done the place up to look like it’s run by real vampires. They’ve got lots of fun souvenirs, like bumper stickers that say, “Vampires do it all night long.” The wine bar is made to look like a coffin, and a bust of Bella Lugosi stands near the restrooms. Even the wine names are vampiric: Sanguinarian Shiraz, Crypt Cabernet and Killer Chianti. Not sure why they only carry reds, but I’m not complaining. I got a few weird looks when I refused to spit the wine out during the tasting, but after several glasses, I’ve stopped caring.

I need to go now. A hot guy in a cape just offered to give me a personal tour of the grounds. When my character, Sabina Kane, recomended this place, she said something about avoiding red heads, but I’m having trouble remembering why. I mention it now because my hottie tour guide looks just like Ewan McGregor. Normally, I’m not into red heads, but what the heck? I’m on vacation and the wine is making me feel a little giddy. Wish me luck!

XOXO,

Jaye Wells
Red-Headed Stepchild comes out March 31
–
www.jayewells.com
RED-HEADED STEPCHILD out April 2009

Bottom line: I don’t have much free time any more, so I’m going to partition my time. You’ll see me here Mondays and maybe Fridays. I’ll also be working here behind the scenes.

My prolonged absence was never supposed to happen. My job requires my presence in the evenings. By day I’m raising three sons and running this place. Everything was going fine until I got a few special projects (read: 100-page documents) downloaded on me. So this, combined with a couple hard deadlines and rotating sick children has kept me away.

But I did get some reading done. And I fell in love! (More on which book I’m digging coming very soon!)

So how’s things with you? What have I missed?

Cheers,
Lindsay

Cover art for Unholy Ghosts, book one of the Downside series, to be released October 27, 2009.

Here is a description from Stacia’s blog:

THE AFTERLIFE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen and constantly attack the living. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Consequently, there are many false claims of hauntings from those hoping to profit. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully-tattooed witch and freewheeling Debunker and ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for nailing the human liars or banishing the wicked dead. But she’s keeping a dark secret from the Church: a little drug problem that’s landed her in hot and dangerous water.

Chess owes a murderous drug lord named Bump a lot of money. And Bump wants immediate payback. All Chess has to do is dispatch a very nasty species of undead from an old airport. But the job involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and crossing swords with enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust with a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.

“So, lately I’ve been seeing a lot of posts and comments and discussions online relating to the idea that ALL urban fantasy has become samey and dull. That it’s all circling the were-vamp drain, full of designer labels, with the same worlds and characters and plot devices.”

To read the first chapter of HUNTED, please visit the House of Night website by clicking here (link to http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/hunted.html).

ANGEL’S BLOOD
Guild Hunter Series, Book 1
Nalini Singh
Berkley  – March, 2009

Plot Summary: Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux is hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael. But this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other—and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn’t destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break.  [Amazon]

Creature Feature:  Angels, archangels, vampires, human vampire hunters and humans.

Worldbuilding:  Vampires, angels and vampire hunters are not unique to the Urban Fantasy genre.  But the way the angel/vampire hierarchy is set up, the inhuman way the angels are portrayed and the sheer brutality both of these races exhibit is unique and believable.

Originality:  I think the concept of angels creating vampires and why they are created is very original.  Vampires are “Made” by the angels and the candidates go through a screening process.  If they are accepted they are contracted to the angel who Made them for 100 years.  It is those who decide they don’t want to be contracted any more who usually go rogue and that Elena needs to find.

Characterization: The characterization in this book was outstanding.  The book is written in third person so you get to see things through the eyes of primarily Elena but also Raphael and the villain.  Elena is a little something different.  She isn’t cocky or a stone-cold bitch.  She is a complex character who is flawed and also knows her limits.  Raphael is inhuman, cold and calculating.  He has a track record of torturing or killing those who either need to be killed or cross him.  Never does Ms. Singh try to make him more human in any way.  He is what he is, there is no big revelation or change.  He is an inhuman angel who finds himself in love with a human.  Raphael is a true anti hero and one of my favorite characters to date.

The secondary characters are just as compelling as Elena and Raphael.  Dimitri-Raphael’s second in command, Illium-one of Raphael’s angel guards and any of the archangels in the Cadre of Ten all left me wanting to know more about them.

Storytelling:  Gripping and compelling from start to finish, the story never sags nor did it lose my attention.  It left me wanting more and when I was finished with the book, I was elated that I had read something special and sad that it was over.  So eager was I to have more that I went and bought the ebook novella set in the same world:   Angel’s Pawn.

Badass Factor:  The angels and vampires are extremely badass and ruthless.  They are thoroughly compelling and scary at the same time which makes them very dangerous.  Elena’s sheer strength of will and need to be true to herself even to the death make her a force to be reckoned with even amongst the vampires and angels.

Too Stupid To Live Moments:  Elena knows herself and her limits.  She has no illusions about what she can and cannot do but will  do whatever it takes to get the job done.  She just wouldn’t let herself go there.

Notable Quotes:  This is an exchange between Raphael and Dmitri.  I think it shows the lengths Elena will go to, the ruthlessness of Raphael and Dmitri’s curiosity in regard to Elena.

“How did you lose her?”  Raphael stared at Dmitri impassive.

“She cut my throat.”

Raphael looked at the vampire’s clean shirt, his damp hair.  “It occured soon after she left if you’ve had time to clean up.”

“Yes.  She didn’t want an escort home”

“Did you provoke the attack?” he asked calmly, because the answer meant nothing to him, except as a test of Dmitri’s loyalty.

“I wanted to taste her.”

Raphael struck out without warning, slamming Dmitri to the floor with a broken jaw.  “I told you she was off-limits.  Are you challenging my authority?”

The vampire stood, waiting for his jaw to heal enough so he could speak.  “You fought”.

“Yes, but I didn’t rescind my order.”

Buy/Borrow/Bypass:  Definitely a buy.  There was already some very glowing buzz for this book circulating before I had the chance to read it and it really made me kind of apprehensive.  “Can it really be *that* good”, I wondered?  It is.  This book lived up to the hype.  Kmont of Lurv a la Mode schooled me and she was absolutely correct.  Angel’s Blood will likely be in my top 10 for 2009 and that is saying a heap since it’s only March.

Nalini Singh’s Website

Nalini Singh’s Blog

Lisa Trevethan