RITES OF WINTER

Armed with supernatural skills and new allies, a man sets out to rescue his lover from the land of the dead in this sixth volume of an urban fantasy series.

After surviving a harrowing ordeal, Laurence Riley and Quentin d’Arcy decide to leave London for sunny San Diego, where they first met. But Quentin’s psychokinesis turns his recurring nightmares into rather destructive affairs. To ease his stress, the couple first take a shorter flight to New York City and grab a hotel just as a blizzard hits. The West Coast can wait; they’ll just enjoy themselves and each other until the weather lets up. But when the two men briefly separate, a shadowy monster suddenly attacks and devours Quentin, who winds up in Otherworld—the land of the dead. Getting back to his lover necessitates Quentin making a bargain with Arawn, the God of the Dead. Arawn merely wants Quentin to kill fairy king Gwyn ap Nudd, something that the deity, for whatever reason, can’t do. Arawn pairs Quentin with a Hunter to guide him; surprisingly, it’s Eric, Laurence’s deceased father, who’s capable of magic like his son. Back in the real world, Laurence’s psychic vision shows him Quentin’s apparent demise. Luckily, Laurence has just made some new friends, including a necromancer, who have the know-how to glean where Quentin is and devise a plan for bringing him home. But even if they can make their way to Otherworld, they’ll still likely have to face Gwyn, whose power may be greater than whatever Laurence, Quentin, and the others can throw at him.

While Faulkner introduces new threats for each installment, numerous story threads flow throughout this series. In previous entries, for example, Quentin’s wicked father has been a central character. In this book, Quentin is tormented by the man’s past abuse, and he fears that he has darkness in himself as well. The highlighted romance likewise progresses, as the two lovers become more comfortable with each other and their increasing sexual appetites. While a generally somber tone blankets this series, Book 6 sports a more comedic approach, though it’s markedly understated. For starters, Quentin must suffer Eric’s string of delightfully banal dad jokes, including why two elephants can’t go for a swim together: “Because they’ve only got one pair of trunks!” But the main plot comes across as a frenzied, almost haphazard plan to defeat Gwyn and save Quentin. The scheme entails ever changing theories; someone’s power that no one can adequately explain (“He can, like…I dunno. Kill himself at will, kinda”); and Eric’s strategy that he derives from “Dungeons & Dragons.” The peril nevertheless takes center stage as the good guys face off against a formidable foe and his dark, vicious army and a few characters are not what they appear to be. Best of all, Laurence and Quentin’s passionate relationship continues to drive the series, showcasing a profound, unwavering love even if the former seems perpetually primed for sex. The final act is a superpowered battle resulting in deaths and near deaths, culminating in an ending that once again teases the next volume.

A sprightly, engaging paranormal series installment with magic-infused action and character evolution.