CRIMSON VEIL, book fifteen in Yasmine Galenorn's convoluted
yet vastly entertaining Otherworld series is told
from Menolly's point of view. Galenorn's device of telling
each book from a different sister in turn helps keep each
book in the series fresh, while remaining true to the
central narrative carried throughout the series. This, in my
opinion, makes the Otherworld series one of
Galenorn's best. (She also writes the Indigo Court and Fly
by Night series, and wrote the now-complete Chintz n' China
and Bath and Body series.)
With their father missing, war rampant in the Otherworld
and more problems from a powerful demon Earth-side, the
D'Artigo sisters barely have time to breath between scenes,
as usual. This frenetic pace is broken here and there with
time at home with extended family and there is also a lovely
bit of growth within Menolly's relationship with Camilla to
add to the pleasure of a new book in a favorite series. It
is very much worth backtracking if you have not read earlier
books, even though there are a staggering fourteen previous
installments because the full pleasure comes from watching
the stories of the sisters and their loved ones unfold, book
by book.
Yasmine Galenorn just doesn't miss. CRIMSON VEIL adds to the
intensity without shortchanging the overarching story lines
previously explored in the Otherworld series' earlier
books, bringing a reader just as much escape with its scenes
of kick-ass fighting against immeasurable odds, while still
exploring more of the relationships between characters we
have grown to love. Book sixteen, Priestess Dreaming is due
out in September 2014.
We're the D'Artigo sisters: savvy half-human, half-Fae
ex-
operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister
Camille is a wicked good witch with three gorgeous husbands.
Delilah is a two-faced werecat and a Death Maiden. And me?
I'm Menolly, a vampire married to a scorching hot werepuma.
And right now, we're facing enemies on all sides...
It's
been a long and devastating week. Back in Otherworld, war
has decimated the elfin city of Elqaneve, our father has
gone missing, and Shadow Wing has managed to obtain another
spirit seal. On the home front, somebody burned down my bar,
the Wayfarer, killing eight people, including a friend.
To make matters worse, we still haven't found a way to
stop Lowestar Radcliff-the daemon in charge of a
supernatural corporate power grab. He's attempting to awaken
Suvika, the lord of vice and corrupt businessmen, and we
have to stop him. Our enemies are closing in on all sides,
and this time, there's no place to hide...