An absorbing paranormal sequel with a striking hero.
A man gathers his allies in a fight against a soul-eating force threatening the world in this second installment of a supernatural series.
Thirty-six-year-old Steven Carpenter is one of the last few members of a dying organization. The Ordo Solis, created long ago by the Roman Catholic Church, has kept its eyes out for the return of Bane, an entity that devours people’s souls. None of the group’s branches in America, Europe, and Asia are faring well, but Steven and his only fellow Solis American believe they have video evidence proving Bane—or, as the protagonist dubs it, the Soulstealer—is coming back. Not everyone buys their story, as it’s the first sign of this evil being in close to a millennium. But Steven is sure he’s on the right track once the Soulstealer’s savage, cultlike followers the Raptors enter the fray. They threaten both Steven and his old love, former Solis American Raeleigh, demanding all copies of the reputed evidence. Surprisingly, the Soulstealer’s teenage human vessel, Nythan, seems to yearn for a peaceful resolution between the Ordo Solis and the Raptors (as well as cults in Europe and Asia). Meanwhile, Steven scours for help wherever he can find it, from the Freemasons to United States government agencies. If they can somehow legitimize the Ordo Solis and convince the public that the Soulstealer is a genuine menace, they may have the muscle to take out the entity. If those peace talks don’t work out, the terrifying soul-eater may kill millions.
Boulware describes this sequel as a “companion novel” to his earlier, Nythan-centric book. Both stories take place at the same time, and some scenes in the first volume play out again from Steven’s perspective in the second. It’s an intriguing and effective approach, as the once-sympathetic Nythan is now more ambiguous and a potential villain. But there’s plenty of new material, as Steven teams up with Ordo Solis member and “German fireball” Adeline Faehrmann and they travel to places like the Solis Commandery in Dietzenbach, Germany. The first half of the author’s taut narrative delivers plenty of action; it is filled with shocking deaths, unexpected turns, and scenes of Steven dodging Raptors atop his ultra-cool motorcycle. This leads to a slower latter half, as Steven and Adeline plot their course in getting the word out. These scenes nevertheless teem with suspense; there’s distrust among members of the global organization, and the public is already skeptical thanks to a false alarm about the Soulstealer’s return (a Raptor hoax several years ago). Steven is an appealing lead character who reluctantly takes the hero role, as he initially planned to leave the Ordo Solis. He endures losing a friend or two and still harbors feelings for Raeleigh, notwithstanding her engagement to someone else. Steven’s tenacity drives the plot, and it often seems as if he alone is trying to convince the world of the Soulstealer’s existence. While those who have read the first installment will know some details about the ending, this story’s denouement is still memorable.
An absorbing paranormal sequel with a striking hero.Pub Date: May 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-73470-637-6
Page Count: 286
Publisher: THEORYbee
Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Although it lacks the surgical precision of Slaughter’s very best nightmares, this one richly earns its title.
More than a decade after a Georgia man is convicted of a monstrous double murder, an uncomfortably similar crime frees him and resets the search for the guilty party.
In Clifton County, home to the Rich Cliftons and the other Cliftons, the disappearance of teens Madison Dalrymple and Cheyenne Baker during the Halloween festivities hits everyone in North Falls hard. Working with her father, Sheriff Gerald Clifton, Deputy Emmy Lou Clifton hears the clock ticking down as she races frantically to get leads on the two friends, who’d been secretly plotting to take off for Atlanta after some undisclosed big score. As a longtime friend of Madison’s mother, Hannah, Emmy hopes against hope to find the missing teens before they’re both dead. By the time Emmy’s hopes are dashed, two unpleasantly likely suspects with strong attachments to underage sex partners have emerged, and one of them ends up in prison. In a bold move, Slaughter jumps over the next 12 years to the case of Paisley Walker, a 14-year-old whose disappearance catches the eye of retiring FBI criminal psychologist Jude Archer, who promptly crosses the country to come to Clifton County and take charge—um, that is, consult—on this heartrending new investigation. Emmy, suddenly and shockingly deprived of counsel from the parents who’ve supported her all her life, doesn’t get along any better with Jude than with the larger circle of Cliftons and the Clifton-Cliftons. But together they identify one new suspect, then another, before a shootout that arrives so early you just know there are still more surprises to come.
Although it lacks the surgical precision of Slaughter’s very best nightmares, this one richly earns its title.Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9780063336773
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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