Dark Heir by Faith Hunter

July 6, 2015 By Leave a Comment

HEIR
Dark Heir by Faith Hunter
Publisher: Roc
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (363 pgs)
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Cactus

Shapeshifting skinwalker Jane Yellowrock is the best in the business when it comes to slaying vampires. But her latest fanged foe may be above her pay grade…

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Jane is tasked with tracking him down. With the help of a tech wiz and an ex-Army ranger, her partners in Yellowrock Securities, she’ll have to put everything on the line, and hope it’s enough. Things are about to get real hard in the Big Easy.

Jane has finally met a vampire that might be tough to kill and her beast can’t help her. One of the original sons of darkness, the markers of the vampire race, has escaped vampire headquarters and is on the loose killing humans. Jane has been called in by both the human and vampire authorities to stop the rogue vampire, but she’ll need help from her business partners and friends to do it. As Jane’s powers have been growing, so has her own uneasiness with her place in life. She’s not entirely sure what she believes anymore and how it fits into the new world view. It’ll take all her effort and the combined help of her friends to take down this super powerful vampire, if that can even happen.

Dark Heir is the ninth book in the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter. I suppose any action based book could, theoretically, be read as a stand alone since the focus is always on the action scenes but I wouldn’t recommend it. The characters, especially the large supporting cast, and plot rely heavily on reader knowledge of past events and complicated relationships for the book to fully make sense. So readers should ensure they’ve read the main books in the series before picking up this one. Here the plot is incredibly similar to the previous books – bad guy on the loose and only Jane can stop them. The story has upped the power of the bad guy to correspond with Jane’s own increasing power and ability. Jane is pretty super powerful in this book and only an uber powerful vampire can really match her now. The focus is solidly on the detective work to figure out where the vampire could be and then the several fight scenes between Jane and co. and the bad guy.

In some ways this works since the writing strengths are definitely in the action of the plot. It helps move the story along when I found it somewhat boring at times. I got frustrated with Jane’s all powerful new presence and kind of hated how she could survive literally anything. Not to give spoilers but the fact that she survives the ending and –then- kills the bad guy is almost ludicrous. I feel as though the story focused nicely on Jane but left out the most interesting secondary characters – Leo, Beast – and as always I’m so tired of Jane assuming that everything is always her fault. That kind of guilt is wearying when it’s so clear it’s untrue and unproductive. It also shows incredible arrogance that she feels she controls all destiny, both past and present. I really wanted to tell her to get over herself repeatedly.

That said I like this series for the most part, although this was a more introspective book focusing almost exclusively on Jane and her internal whining in between fight scenes. I think the other books have been stronger with their inclusion of the other characters and a more dialogue based story. I think fans of the series will enjoy this addition as it’s a classic JY story in almost every way. It has some differences and fans can decide if they like them or not but I don’t see this as a permanent departure for the series, more like one that didn’t work as well for me. I’ll still be getting the next book and hoping that there’s more of the witty banter and secondary characters that make the story shine so well.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Death’s Rival by Faith Hunter

July 30, 2014 By 2 Comments

RIVAL
Death’s Rival by Faith Hunter
Publisher: ROC
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (360 pgs)
Other: Violence
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Cactus

Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross—especially if you’re one of the undead…

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Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo’s territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to go to extremes…and maybe even to war

Life gets really weird when vampires start bleeding out. Jane Yellowrock is the enforcer for the Master Vampire of the City of New Orleans. When other master vampires start dying of a disease that causes them to bleed profusely, Jane is dispatched to try to find the source. She discovers that an old enemy of Leo’s is trying to take his place and doesn’t mind killing anyone that gets in the way. Caught up once again in a world of politics, secrets, and lies, Jane is always a step behind and may finally be betrayed by those she trusts.

Death’s Rival is the fifth book in the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter. Each book could be read as a stand alone and DR is no different as there is more than enough background to catch readers up but as with any series, reading from the beginning will deepen the understanding of the characters and plot. Ultimately it’s best to read all the books in order to get the most enjoyment out of the series. Here in the fifth book the action stays high and Jane seems to be losing friends and lovers at a fast rate. The plot is engaging and the mystery is pretty good. There aren’t enough clues to guess the twists before they happen – and there are numerous turns in the plot, which keeps things exciting. The unknown disease angle is unique and inventive, though it does kind of disappear towards the end of the book with so much going on.

The greatest aspect of the story, however, is Jane’s connection to the people around her. I really quite liked this book in the series and found myself oddly sympathetic towards Jane and her struggles. She has way too many men around her and her inner beast apparently claims them all, which had me rolling my eyes once too often. Additionally Jane acquires two new men for her business of enforcing vamps and I really liked their personalities. I hope they stick around and the older one is not interested in Jane. I had some qualms with how Jane acted around Bruiser in this one. Not to give spoilers but I felt as though she was constantly in heat around him, often ignoring very perilous circumstances. She also never really got mad at him even though it’s well beyond justified. I loved how the book ended, kind of a cliffhanger but kind of not, because it sets up a lot of tension for the next book.

As part of the series, Death’s Rival fits in really great. There is further characterization in some really interesting ways and the men around Jane continue to grow and become more than just another man in love with her. The plot is solid and acts as an engaging backdrop to the personal and political drama that makes up the world building around Jane and the vampires. The series continues to build tension and create road blocks the characters will have to tackle in the future so it makes me eager and curious to continue reading. This is one of the more interesting series I’ve read in a while and I’m just as invested as I am in the Mercy Thompson series. So fans of MT should definitely give this one a try. Those who already read the series should eagerly dive into Death’s Rival, it’s that good.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

June 23, 2014 By Leave a Comment

HUNTER
Skinwalker by Faith Hunter
Publisher: ROC
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (320 pgs)
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Cactus

First in a brand new series from the author of the rogue mage novels
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Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps…

Trouble just roared into Nawlins on a bastard Harley. Jane Yellowrock is a licensed rogue vamp hunter. Since the vampires came out of the closet, so to speak, they are still in limbo about their official status with governments. Thus they tend to take care of their problems on their own and there Jane comes in. She’s the best at killing vamps gone rogue, partly because she’s not wholly human herself. She’s been tasked to kill a rogue that is killing other vamps and that task is one that may just kill Jane.

Skinwalker is the first in a new series by Faith Hunter and it’s a decent book. I personally think the series gets better as it goes and the characters much more complex and nuanced. In this first book, Jane heads into New Orleans to work for the Master of the City and gets entangled in the politics of the vampires. It’s an interesting plot for sure that involves part mystery, figuring out who the rogue vampire is and how to find/kill him, part romance with two potential love interests, and lets the reader get to know the narrator, Jane. I liked the plot quite a bit and found the actual sleuthing aspect interesting. It takes some real work and doesn’t happen overnight though it happens within a short amount of time. The near constant action helps keep the pages turning even when the investigation aspect slows some. I wouldn’t call this a mystery but it’s classic urban fantasy that involves some mystery components. The world building is decent, since it’s based on modern day with magic, it’s very familiar and one UF fans will likely enjoy.

I had a love/hate relationship with Jane. She’s a very classic female lead – badass motorcycle mama that can kill almost anything, mouth off to all authority, and since she’s a skinwalker that lives with the soul of a puma within her, she can’t really die and heals almost any injury when she shifts to her cat. I tire of this cliché, but the character is given enough nuances that I could get through the book. She’s torn about her Cherokee heritage and has some deep-seated problems that slowly come to light over the course of the series. In this first book she’s a little cold and snarky but I found her an entertaining narrator. Her two potential love interests are also good characters and there are enough secondary characters that have weight to give a solid cast. The end resolution is also well done and not as easy as I expected.

The writing is pretty good; though the author takes pains to ensure the readers go where she wants them to go. By this I mean that Jane doesn’t always say, think, or feel things that are true to her character. Instead she’ll change or shift, subtly and always with extensive rationalizing, to suit the narrative. If the author doesn’t want Jane to be angry or afraid of someone, then there are several reasons why she won’t be, even if the character’s natural responses would be opposite. I found this to be somewhat annoying but it happened so infrequently I could get over it. Overall this is a decent to good first outing of the series. I do recommend it to urban fantasy fans. It’s not necessarily that new but the lead is entertaining and engaging most of the time.

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