"Rescue Medium Faces Off Against a Soul Eater in the Unusual Urban Fantasy"
Reviewed by Diana Troldahl
Posted December 1, 2012
Fantasy
Rachel Miller is a rescue medium, a member in good standing
of the Order of Rescue Mediums, her purpose to cross over
those stubborn spirits who hang around being a nuisance, or
worse, a danger to those still living.
A recent job for The Order has resulted in a new roommate,
Kit Ekeles, a rodach who is a young Snowboard entrepreneur
except when he wraiths out into a barely corporeal being.
New to his powers he is depending on Rachel's guidance to
find his way among the other supernatural beings out there
without becoming a danger to himself or others.
Then a new job with echoes in Rachel's past is front and
center, a reaper is ripping living souls out of its victims,
devouring them and denying them any chance of life after
death. This reaper is particular, however, not just any soul
will do, it must come from another supernatural creature.
Rachel's job is clear; find the reaper and destroy it before
it can take another victim, especially one close to her
heart. Natasha Hoar has created some interesting twists in her
Lost Souls series; her world is populated with more
kinds of beings than the standard vampires and weres, each
of them fully realized and made understandable to the
readers without obscuring the main storyline. Rachel and her
kind fall a bit between the cracks in this world, not human
enough to be easily slotted into non-combatant roles, yet
containing subtle powers that make them a bit weak in the
eyes of the more hardcore species. I love this. It makes an
already enjoyable series that much more complex and nuanced.
THE RAVENOUS DEAD is the second book in the series (after
The Stubborn Dead). Book three is still in process and is
much anticipated by Hoar's fans. There are a few very minor
editing snafus (use of the word 'taught' for 'taut' for
example) but even in my own persnickety world that is
superseded by the skill and strength of Natasha Hoar's
storytelling.
SUMMARY
Rachel Miller doesn't just see dead people, she rescues
them. As a member of The Order of Rescue Mediums, she
spends
most of her time helping stubborn spirits move on from the
world. But after she learns the details of three brutal
murders, she knows the culprit can only be a reaper, an
undead monster that relentlessly stalks its victims to feed
on their souls. A reaper once consumed the soul of Rachel's mentor as she
watched frozen in fear. Now, Rachel is in the role of
teacher to Kit Elkeles, a rodach just learning to control
his wraithlike powers. After Kit and Rachel rescue a half-
vampire, they work to protect him while searching for a way
to stop the reaper. But when Rachel realizes who the
monster
is really after—and just what kind of dark magic she'll
need
to stop it—will she be able to do what is necessary before
it devours one of her friends…or even herself?
ExcerptRachel Miller brought the sharpened tip of the Italian
rapier's blade to rest in front of Kit's Adam's apple just
as Jon Bon Jovi began hollering the first line of "You Give
Love a Bad Name." Her heart beginning to beat a little
faster, she held her position and stared at him, waiting
for him to make a move.
Kit dove backward, snickering like a schoolboy.
Rachel sighed, lowering the sword slightly. "How old are
you?"
"I'm sorry." He tried to stifle his glee, his "aw
shucks, ma'am" good looks in full effect. "I just can't
take you seriously with that thing."
"How is it you can't take me seriously when I'm wielding
a live weapon?"
"I don't know." He rubbed the back of his head and
shrugged. "I mean, I guess it's a bit of a girlie sword. If
you had something with a significant blade on it, like a
long sword, I might feel threatened. But then you'd look
even sillier––"
Rachel spun around and speared the punching bag hanging
from the ceiling in one elegant lunge. She recovered
immediately and turned on Kit before he had time to fully
comprehend that the blade had pushed clean through the bag
as though it had been made of tissue paper.
"What the––?" He stepped back.
She lunged at him, aiming for his head.
Kit ducked with millimeters to spare. Rachel didn't
hesitate, going after him again and again, using the music
to maintain an aggressive tempo. Years of competitive
swordplay and dodging violent entities for a living allowed
her to anticipate and counteract his movements with little
effort.
It wasn't enough.
Opening her heightened sense of empathy, she could pick
up that Kit was perturbed but not afraid. They both knew
he "wraithed–out" when he was mad. Mention his
back–stabbing sister who'd tried to have him killed
while he was stuck in his wraith form, and Kit just about
transformed on the spot. Rachel had a solid hunch that he
would shape shift in reaction to other strong primal
emotions, such as fear. If they could nail down the range
of emotions that caused uncontrolled shifts, they'd know
what frames of mind to tap for controlled changes.
First things first.
"Rachel––what the hell?"
She feigned a strike one way and then sliced from the
other. This time she made no effort to miss him. The blade
tip nipped across the flesh of his cheek. Blood immediately
beaded along the wound.
"Holy shit! Stop it!"
He tried to dive for a nearby dumbbell. She blocked him,
her blade seeking out and opening up the softer flesh on
top of his reaching hand.
Confusion finally gave way to fear.
The room temperature dipped dramatically.
One more push.
Kit's back slammed against the wall, his hands raised in
a surrender position on either side of his head. A small,
red smear bloomed on the wall as the back of his wounded
hand swiped across the dusty wallpaper. At the last moment
he made an attempt to escape.
Rachel brought the sword to within millimeters of his
face in what to her was a very controlled lunge. Kit,
though, must have seen his life pass before his eyes.
Human–Kit literally poofed into wraith–Kit.
Or at least he came close. Rachel could have sworn she
saw him transform, his body elongating, darkening, edges
blurring as he replaced his human body with the
otherworldly, cowl–like visage of the wraith. But
just as quickly as it started, the transformation reversed,
leaving a panting, sweating, wide–eyed
human–Kit glaring at her.
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