Killing Rites (Book 4 of The Black Sun's Daughter) by M.L.N. Hanover

 

There will be information at the bottom for how to win a set of The Black Sun's Daughter: Unclean Spirits, Darker Angels, Vicious Grace, and Killing Rites.

We've known the series is called The Black Sun's Daughter from the beginning, but we haven't really known what that meant. I had assumed that Jayné's mom was The Black Sun, that Jayné's uncle had entered the whole occult/Rider thing as a result of helping her mom deal with whatever that meant, and that he'd done something to Jayné on the weekend she lost when she was a teen, where he supposedly rescued her. I had assumed that as we continued to be hand-fed bits and pieces here and there, we'd get more and more of the picture.

Killing Rites does a whole lot more than hand feed information to us, it gives it to us by the bucketfuls. And it pretty much threw my assumptions out the window. I have no idea where Jayné goes from here, and we're apparently going to have to wait for the next book to find out.

Here's the blurb:

Jayné Heller has discovered the source of her uncanny powers: something else is living inside her body. She's possessed. Of all her companions, she can only bring herself to confide in Ex, the former priest. They seek help from his old teacher and the circle of friends he left behind, hoping to cleanse Jayné before the parasite in her becomes too powerful.

Ex’s history and a new enemy combine to leave Jayné alone and on the run. Her friends, thinking that the rider with her has taken the reins, try to hunt her down, unaware of the danger they’re putting her in. Jayné must defeat the weight of the past and the murderous intent of another rider, and her only allies are a rogue vampire she once helped free and the nameless thing hiding inside her skin.

As the blurb says, we can no longer assume that Eric was acting in Jayné's best interests, as I had assumed from the beginning. And then there is the the thing inside of her... but I won't give spoilers.
 
As for the writing elements:

• I thought the plot was going to be predictable during the first quarter of the book. And then the curve balls started and I was kept on my toes. Nice plot, great execution.
• Pacing was fine.
• Prose and dialogue were very well done.
• Character development has been established in earlier books, and Killing Rites furthers the picture we already have of these characters.
• World-building was consistent with previous books.

Killing Rites easily gets a 10 of 10. In some ways it is an "in between" book, as it is Jayné looking inward, dealing with her own issues instead of other people's issues. But this is Jayné, after all, so she ends up saving some other people while she deals with her own crap.

• Book Rating: Killing Rites: 10 of 10
• Series Rating: 10 of 10

And now for the good stuff: Leave a comment (with your email address) to enter for a chance to win all four of the books in The Black Sun's Daughter series. I'll announce the winner Sunday evening (11/27/11).







1. Unclean Spirits
2. Darker Angels
3. Vicious Grace
4. Killing Rites

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Down These Strange Streets by Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn, Charlaine Harris, etc.

 

I'm not a fan of anthologies, and while Down These Strange Streets did have one really good story and two decent stories, I'm not sure it was worth the hardcover price. I wish I'd waited for the paperback. Granted, I only read four of the stories, but those were the four I was interested in. Here are the stories:

• Dead By Dahlia by Charlaine Harris
• The Bleeding Shadow by Joe R. Lansdale
• Hungry Heart by Simon R. Green
• Styx And Stones by Steven Saylor (a Gordianus story)
• Pain And Suffering by S.M. Stirling
• It's Still The Same Old Story by Carrie Vaughn
• The Lady Is A Screamer by Conn Iggulden
• Hellbender by Laurie R. King
• Shadow Thieves by Glen Cook (a Garrett story)
• No Mystery, No Miracle by Melinda Snodgrass (an Edge story)
• The Difference Between A Puzzle And A Mystery by M.L.N. Hanover
• The Curious Affair Of The Deodand by Lisa Tuttle
• Lord John And The Plague Of Zombies by Diana Gabaldon
• Beware The Snake by John Maddox Roberts (a SPQR story)
• In Red, With Pearls by Patricia Briggs
• The Adakian Eagle by Bradley Denton

And here is a brief review of the four stories I read:

Dead By Dahlia by Charlaine Harris
I didn't enjoy this one. Perhaps there is a different editor here than Mrs. Harris usually has, but the writing just didn't seem to be of the same quality I'm used to seeing from her. And the story was incredibly weak. I knew who had done it from almost the very beginning. It was more than the plot being weak... the story was weak. This entry gets a 5 of 10 from me.



It's Still The Same Old Story by Carrie Vaughn
A nice Rick story. Nothing earthshattering here, but it was an enjoyable read. The plot wasn't strong here, but the story was very strong. We already know Rick is a stand up guy, and this story just goes to further that knowledge. Yeah, he's a vampire and he doesn't hesitate to kill when he has to, but he's also got a heart, even if it doesn't beat anymore. He has managed to hold onto a good bit of his humanity, and that's got to be hard when you have to watch the humans in your life constantly grow old and die while you stay the same. I'll give this one an 8 of 10.



The Difference Between A Puzzle And A Mystery by M.L.N. Hanover
Set in the same universe as the Jayné Heller'/Black Sun's Daughter books, this one packs a bit more punch than the two previous books. It has a strong plot, and interesting characters, as well as a good bit of morality food-for-thought. This story gets a 9 of 10.



In Red, With Pearls by Patricia Briggs
The best story of the four, it gets a 10 of 10, easily. This story gives us a mystery from the viewpoint of Warren from the Mercy Thompson series. Warren and his boyfriend Kyle are an item in the series, and it's nice to see them outside of the main series. If you aren't familiar with the characters -- Warren is a werewolf, Kyle is a lawyer. As Warren points out, that makes them both a predator. The story also involves Elizaveta Arkadyevna, and is a fairly twisted plot by the time things come to an end. I guessed part of who-done-it, but then missed a huge part of it. A thoroughly enjoyable story.

I'm not going to give Down These Strange Streets a rating, as I didn't read the whole thing. I will say that if you are debating about whether to shell out the hardcover price, you may want to wait for the paperback. I don't believe we learned anything in these four stories that will be critical to the series that they are a part of.
 

Vicious Grace (Book 3 of The Black Sun's Daughter) by M.L.N. Hanover

 

Vicious Grace is the third book in MLN Hanover's Black Sun's Daughter series. The series name didn't mean much in the first book. It was a curiousity in the second book. And now, as I finish the third book, it is the subject of much contemplation. I will include that contemplation at the end of this review, but I will do it in spoiler text.

I started Vicious Grace last night after getting my daughters into bed and intended to just read for an hour and then go to bed early. Considering that I turned my light off after 2:00 this morning - it didn't quite work out that way.  Vicious Grace is a page turner, be prepared for it to be very hard to put down. 

Here is the blurb:

For the first time in forever, Jayné Heller's life is making sense. Even if she routinely risks her life to destroy demonic parasites that prey on mortals, she now has friends, colleagues, a trusted lover, and newfound confidence in the mission she inherited from her wealthy, mysterious uncle. Her next job might just rob her of all of them. At Grace Memorial Hospital in Chicago, something is stirring. Patients are going AWOL and research subjects share the same sinister dreams. Half a century ago, something was buried under Grace in a terrible ritual, and it's straining to be free. Jayné is primed to take on whatever's about to be let loose. Yet the greatest danger now may not be the huge, unseen force lurking below, but the evil that has been hiding in plain sight all along—taking her ever closer to losing her body, her mind, and her soul. . . .

When we first began learning about Grace Memorial's lengthy history I stopped reading so I could search for a picture of this interesting building. While most of the Chicago landmarks in the story did seem to be real (it's been a while since I've been in Chicago, but the descriptions sounded pretty familiar), it appears that the hospital is a figment of the author's imagination. Probably a wise move, because some pretty rough stuff happens in this hospital, and if I lived there I might think twice before admitting myself or a loved one after reading Vicious Grace. Yes, it's fiction... but it's still creepy. I loved that the author uses the labyrinthine designs of most hospitals as part of the plot. Grace Memorial becomes not just a setting, but a character. I wondered at first at the detailed history we were given of the building, but it makes sense now - it was part of the character building.

There is one issue I had with Vicious Grace -- Mr. Hanover treads over the edge of horror. I enjoy Urban Fantasy: I do not enjoy horror. I can't say exactly where the line is, what makes it go from dark fantasy to horror, but I am pretty sure Vicious Grace steps over the line. There is a song in the book, one that goes to the tune of a pretty well known hymn, that may very well have been the tipping point for me. I came very close to knocking off a point for scaring the bejeebers out of me somewhere after midnight last night, but in the end I did not.

There were so many things going on here... the interpersonal relationships, the main supernatural plot, and Jayné's personal growth. It doesn't sound like so much when I write them like that, but those items weave around and create their own plots and their own dramas and it just works.

As for the writing elements, the plot is genius and works well with what we've learned in previous books, the pacing is exceptionally well done, prose is beautiful and awe inspiring, dialogue is fine, and character development is stellar. World-building is detailed and imaginative and creative and refreshing. Oh, and scary. Horrific even, at times.

• Book Rating: Vicious Grace: 10 of 10
• Series Rating: Black Sun's Daughter: 10 of 10

The fourth book will be named Killing Rites and will be out in about a year. I need to just mark my calendar now that I must read through the first three books again before reading the fourth. It's going to be a humdinger, and I'm going to need to have all of the history fresh in my mind.

And now, for my discussion about the ending, and what that may mean for book four:
I don't think she has a rider, I think she is someone or something. Something good, I hope. Something that the bad guy, the hog-swarmer (heh), didn't like... so maybe that means The Black Sun's Daughter is good. For this to work, my theory is that her mother was ridden by The Black Sun for a short time, and it was then that the "affair" happened, and then that she got pregnant with Jayné - somehow this supernatural essence made it's way into the child, and thus Jayné is supernaturally special. This would be when Eric discovered the world of riders --when he had to rescue his brother's wife from one. At a guess, the "missing weekend" would be when Jayné's powers came to her, and Eric maybe bound them somehow so she wouldn't know about them yet? I'm a bit fuzzy on that, but I'm guessing that he did something so that they would be there if needed, but that she wouldn't have to deal with them just yet. I haven't completely ruled out the rider possibility, but it just feels right that she's got supernatural abilities and not a rider. (Select the spoiler text to view it.)





1. Unclean Spirits
2. Darker Angels
3. Vicious Grace
4. Killing Rites (Fall 2011)

Darker Angels (Book 2 of The Black Sun's Daughter) by M.L.N. Hanover

I loved Darker Angels. I can't wait for the next book, Vicious Grace, which apparently isn't due out until late summer or fall.

Darker Angels picks up two or three months after the end of Unclean Spirits. Jayné, Ex, Aubrey, and Chogyi Jake have been traveling to see what is stored at each of Jayné's recently inherited properties around the world. Let me put the blurb in here, then I'll talk about it more:

In the battle between good and evil, there's no such thing as a fair fight.

When Jayné Heller's uncle Eric died, she inherited a fortune beyond all her expectations -- and a dangerous mission in a world she never knew existed. Reining in demons and supernatural foes is a formidable task, but thankfully Jayné has vast resources and loyal allies to rely on. She'll need both to tackle a bodyswitching serial killer who's taken up residence in New Orleans, a city rich in voodoo lore and dark magic.

Working alongside Karen Black, a highly confident and enigmatic ex-FBI agent, Jayné races to track down the demon's next intended host. But the closer she gets, the more convinced she becomes that nothing in this beautiful, wounded city is exactly as it seems. When shocking secrets come to light, and jealousy and betrayal turn trusted friends into adversaries, Jayné will soon come face-to-face with an enemy that knows her all too well, and won't rest until it has destroyed everything she loves most....

So you can see from the blurb that they go to New Orleans. The author brilliantly weaves loa and riders together and creates a very engaging story with great worldbuilding. And I love the way this author writes, the way we can see and feel and smell what is going on. I love that the tension is interspersed with laugh-out-loud moments, and I genuinely like Jayné.

What else good can I say about the book? Pacing is great, dialogue kicks ass, storytelling is very well done... I'll cut myself short and say it's a great book and I'm giving it a 10 of 10. And since that's what I gave the first book too, then I guess the series gets a 10 of 10 while I'm at it.

Book Rating: Darker Angels: 10 of 10
Series Rating: Black Sun's Daughter: 10 of 10




1. Unclean Spirits
2. Darker Angels
3. Vicious Grace (summer or fall 2010)

Unclean Spirits: Book One of the Black Sun's Daughter by M.L.N. Hanover

Unclean Spirits is the first book in a new series, and it is by an author I've not read before. And I loved it. The worldbuilding is different, but good. The protagonist, Jayné Heller, is very likable. The pacing is excellent, and the conversation and the prose are very well done. As an example, Jayné's first real motorcycle ride is "like an amusement park ride, without the amusement".

Jayné (pronounced zha nay) arrives in Denver to settle her dead Uncle's estate, only to discover he was rich (as in, properties and accounts all over the world - an empire), and he was killed by something that isn't human.

The blurb describes the general plot pretty good, so I'll post it and then some of my thoughts.

In a world where magic walks and demons ride, you can't always play by the rules.


Jayné Heller thinks of herself as a realist, until she discovers reality isn't quite what she thought it was. When her uncle Eric is murdered, Jayné travels to Denver to settle his estate, only to learn that it's all hers -- and vaster than she ever imagined. And along with properties across the world and an inexhaustible fortune, Eric left her a legacy of a different kind: his unfinished business with a cabal of wizards known as the Invisible College.

Led by the ruthless Randolph Coin, the Invisible College harnesses demon spirits for their own ends of power and domination. Jayné finds it difficult to believe magic and demons can even exist, let alone be responsible for the death of her uncle. But Coin sees Eric's heir as a threat to be eliminated by any means -- magical or mundane -- so Jayné had better start believing in something to save her own life.

Aided in her mission by a group of unlikely companions -- Aubrey, Eric's devastatingly attractive assistant; Ex, a former Jesuit with a lethal agenda; Midian, a two-hundred-year-old man who claims to be under a curse from Randolph Coin himself; and Chogyi Jake, a self-styled Buddhist with mystical abilities -- Jayné finds that her new reality is not only unexpected, but often unexplainable. And if she hopes to survive, she'll have to learn the new rules fast -- or break them completely....

Unclean Spirits is a great book all on it's own, but I can easily see it setting things up for an entire series of plots. The series is "The Black Sun's Daughter", and I think we can assume that Jayné is the Black Sun's Daughter. At one point one of the bad guys asks her what she is and she replies she is her mother's daughter. But, we also aren't given any reason to believe that her mother (the person who raised her, anyway) is in any way supernatural. We do know that Jayné seems to have some supernatural powers, and the assumption at this point is that her uncle gave her some kind of protection that did that. But, could it be that she has these abilities for some other reason? There is also the tattoo she doesn't remember getting - is it possible her uncle did that, and that the tattoo is the protection? So many questions, and we'll have to wait for future books for the answers.

In a nutshell, Unclean Spirits is a bit of a different take on Urban Fantasy, it has a cast of characters interesting and different enough to keep things interesting, and the writing is just good. It's a fast, entertaining, and well paced read; and while I was happy with the ending, I wasn't happy that it ended.

Fortunately, book two is already out, and that's my next book to read. I'm giving Unclean Spirits a 10 of 10. I can't give a series rating until I've read at least two books.

Book Review: Unclean Spirits: 10 of 10






1. Unclean Spirits
2. Darker Angels
3. Vicious Grace