I love these two books. You may know the writer under pen name Vathara, Queen of Crossovers. She respects both source materials when writing and she loves fixing plot holes.
Characters are interesting and fun to follow, the dialogue is hilarious, magic has a deeply thought out system and the events take you on a ride that does not stop once it starts. World is recognizably modern. Except for the classic horror monsters living next door.
I do not like religion, but even die hard atheist like me enjoyed greatly this book despite heavy inspiration in christianity. And clear dislike of islam, which is mentioned maybe three times alltogether. But the book uses it mostly as a setting and does not waste time preaching.
Second book follows closely the events of first one. Give it a try I think you will not regret it.
A Net of Dawn and Bones
Blood rituals, black magic, and broken masquerades. Names to run away from really fast. And maybe the end of the world….
Welcome to Intrepid, North Carolina. Where autumn brings leaf season, tourists, and bloody sacrifice.
Twenty years have passed since the Dark Day brought creatures of horror onto the evening news. Now vampires run nightclubs, alchemists deal potions on the street corners, and werewolf gangs lay claim to shady alleys. The honest cops of Intrepid enforce human laws on supernatural evil, and pray. Because the turn of the leaves brings Halloween, tourists… and the return of a serial killer who’s plagued Intrepid for over two decades.
Yet the night holds darker secrets than even the best detectives have unearthed. Somewhere in Intrepid, a demonic sorcerer plans to bring Hell on earth. And the Demongate is almost complete.
In the midst of a stakeout gone wrong, two mysterious wanderers drop into Detective Church’s life. Aidan, who moves like flames and holds secrets in his shadows… and Myrrh, a holy warrior born of ancient Alexandria. Enchantress. Heretic. Hell-raider.
Welcome to Intrepid.
Evil’s in for a hell of a night….
———
This book was written because I couldn’t find anything like it on the shelves.
…No, seriously. After the umpteenth time picking up yet another urban fantasy that looked promising but on closer skimming had the Designated Protagonist choosing the Sexier Evil, I kind of snapped.
Part of the fun of any story is putting yourself in the character’s shoes. But these shoes I not only didn’t want to slip into, I wanted to set them on fire. Where were the good guys? The honest cops? The ordinary people choosing to do the Right Thing, no matter how hard it was? Where was the belief that there is a Right Thing; that there is Good, and Evil, and you pick the side you’re going to fight for, even if the heavens fall?
In short – where were the heroes?
I assure you, if I were in on ground zero of a vampire versus werewolf blood war, my thoughts would not be centered on, omigod the two main supernatural guys are so darkly yummy in their hellspawn black leather. They would be, stake, silver – where are they and how fast can I reload?
So here they are: an honest cop, a half-demon, and an ancient heretic who just might be a saint. Out to kick butt, save lives, and hopefully save souls.
Welcome to Intrepid, North Carolina.
I’m hoping to stay awhile.
Seeds Of Blood
Over two decades of bloody murder, Steven Savonarola carved a sorcerous Demongate into the heart of his own hometown. With less than two weeks to disarm it before Halloween, Detective Church and the IPD are running out of time.
Lucky for them, they have an edge: Myrrh, a hell-raider with over a thousand years’ experience shattering dark magic, and Aidan, a half-demon fire mage with a very personal grudge against evil.
The plan is simple: Find the tainted sites. Purify them. Try not to die.
They’ll need all the help they can get. Steven may be gone, but shadows in the mountains are determined to see the Demongate open – even if they have to slaughter half the city to do it. And when it comes to killing shadows, even hell-raiders don’t know everything.
If they’re going to make it to All Saint’s Day, they’re going to need hot lead, cold mead, and a weapon that’s out of this world.
And a little praying wouldn’t hurt….
Welcome to Intrepid. It’s a hell of a Halloween.
——–
Like A Net of Dawn and Bones, Seeds of Blood covers more of what I wish I could find in urban fantasies on the shelf. Lone heroes holding back the dark makes fun reading, but if society as a whole has to deal with magic and monsters?
There would be laws. There would be training for law enforcement. There would be some interesting discussions on how to properly restrain supernatural suspects. The ACLU would stick their oar in. The politics would be a nightmare….I suspect our heroes will prefer dealing with the monsters. At least they can shoot the monsters.
…If they can demonstrate it’s self defense. Or in defense of others. Thank god for cameras.
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