Book Review: Omens by Kelley Armstrong

Pros: interesting premise, fast-paced mystery, good set up for series

Cons: protagonists show little emotion, paranormal elements are light

Twenty-four year old socialite Olivia Taylor-Jones's life is turned upside down when she discovers that not only is she adopted, her birth parents are notorious serial killers.  Running to avoid the media and protect her mother and fiancee, Olivia ends up in Cainsville, a small town outside Chicago.  While trying to get by on her own she starts investigating the murder case that put her parents behind bars.  And her superstition about omens seems to be giving her good guidance lately.

There's a lot going on in this novel.  There's Olivia's coming of age, as she's forced from her home and social expectations and allowed to find what she wants out of life.  There's the murder mystery, long gone cold with few leads that haven't been followed by others.  And there's the town, with it's unique mixture of people, many of whom have some connection to Britain's folkloric past - though Olivia's mostly unaware of this and the reader's only given hints.  This book is primarily grounding for the new series.  We're introduced to the main players, including the town itself, with its numerous gargoyles and mysterious happenings.  

I loved the plot, that this girl discovers she's the kid of serial killers and how she deals with it.  And she deals with it remarkably well.  Despite the many things she learns, sees and does, she never breaks down.  Which is surprising, because she sees and does some horrific things.  It was strange not seeing her deal with the grief and shock that would have accompanied some of what she does/encounters.  But it certainly set her up as a strong character - much like Ripley from the Alien franchise.  Kick-ass and capable, but not always right.  In many ways she's well complemented by Gabriel Walsh, the lawyer who offers his aid - for a fee - who also displays little emotion.  I liked that the groundwork of a romance between them was set up, but that it's being allowed to develop naturally - assuming that's the direction the author is taking their relationship.

It's a quick, entertaining read and a good set up for what sounds like an interesting series.

Out August 20th.

Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld Series Comes to an End

In 2001 Kelley Armstrong published Bitten, the first book of her Otherworld series.  Today, the final book in the series (book 13) is being released, appropriately titled Thirteen.

If you haven't read the series, now's the time to start.  Here's the synopsis for Bitten, to whet your appetite (taken from Armstrong's website):

Elena Michaels is the world’s only female werewolf. And she’s tired of it. Tired of a life spent hiding and protecting, a life where her most important job is hunting down rogue werewolves. Tired of a world that not only accepts the worst in her–her temper, her violence–but requires it. Worst of all, she realizes she’s growing content with that life, with being that person.

So she left the Pack and returned to Toronto where she’s trying to live as a human. When the Pack leader calls asking for her help fighting a sudden uprising, she only agrees because she owes him. Once this is over, she’ll be squared with the Pack and free to live life as a human. Which is what she wants. Really.

Genre News

I've had some interesting notifications recently, which I thought I'd pass on.

First up, Angry Robot Books has opened their online bookstore, the Robot Trading Company, to other publishers (in ebook format, DRM free).  Currently those other publishers are Anarchy Books and Infinity Plus Books.

What we hope to do long-term is stock ebooks from as many genre fiction (and non-fiction) publishers as we possibly can. And we'll only be stocking genre-interest titles; no mainstream literary stuff, no chick-lit rom-coms, no home-gourmet cook books and definitely no z-list celebrity biogs. In short: we're aiming for an independent genre-only ebook webstore, run by genre fans, for genre fans.

They're asking for help spreading the word by:

1) Visiting www.robottradingcompany.com and browsing our catalogue to see what catches your eye or takes your fancy…
2) Signing up for the Robot Trading Company Mailing List, so we can keep you up-to-date with details of new releases, special offers, competitions and more.
3) Liking the Robot Trading Company on Facebook or following the Robot Trading Company Twitter Feed.
4) Telling your quality-genre-fiction-loving friends about us, too. 

In other news, Kelley Armstrong is releasing her first eSpecial in honour of publishing her final Otherworld book, Thirteen.  The eSpecial, available tomorrow for $1.99, includes two short stories, "Stalked" and "Off-Duty Angel", and an exclusive look at what's to come in Thirteen.  From the press release:

Most honeymoons are all strawberries and champagne, Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers, two of the most powerful the world, a run-of-the-mill romantic retreat is out of the Stalked, Elena and Clay are the picture of a classic honeymoon when a non-pack werewolf appears on the scene, clearly tracking intention of letting him spoil their vacation, even if that means on his own. Originally part of an anthology of supernatural the perfect action-packed interlude for fans not quite ready to say goodbye to the two characters who started it all.

Off-Duty Angel is an original new story, exclusive to this eSpecial, that features dark witch,
half-demon, and afterlife angel Eve Levine. Desperate for entertainment while her lover, Kristof Nash, is detained in court, Eve stumbles upon a mission of her own—to trail a shaman that might prove useful in Kristof’s court case. Following her target is a breeze at first, but when he inadvertently steers Eve into a secret alternate dimension, she stumbles upon a far more enticing puzzle—one with a much greater danger lurking at the end. Packed with suspense and surprising twists, Off-Duty Angel reveals fascinating insight into a beloved character.

Finally, THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED will leave readers with just a taste of what’s to come in Thirteen, with an exclusive excerpt from the grand finale. Once again, Kelley Armstrong reminds us all that even thirteen novels in the Otherworld just isn’t enough.

Waking the Witch, Book Review

by: Kelley Armstrong
Publishing date: August 3

Pros: fast paced, good dialogue, a fair bit of action

Cons: last 30 pages rely more heavily on previous books for climax and denouement and contain spoilers for the earlier books (only a problem if you haven't read those books)

Savannah Levine's running her guardian's P.I. agency while they're on vacation. When another P.I., Jesse Aanes, drops a murder case that has hints of occult activity in her lap, she's ready to prove she can solve a case solo. So off she goes to Columbus, a small town that now boasts 3 murders. With two obvious suspects and several people offering help (including the brother of one of the victims, an out of town detective), it seems like an easy case. But nothing's as it seems and when someone else dies Savannah realizes that going solo isn't as fun as she thought it would be.

Savannah's an interesting character. She's got a lot of streetsmarts and a no nonsense attitude. She's not quite the kick ass character urban fantasy is known for, but not far off either. Magic is her first line of offense, though she knows some martial arts too. She avoids being a Mary Sue by asking for help from a senior member of the P.I. agency and by occasionally making potentially stupid decisions (like meeting a possible suspect alone without telling anyone where she's going).

This is the first Otherworld book by Armstrong that I've read. I assumed Savannah was a minor character in the other books so the first book dedicated to her would be a good place to jump into the series. There were occasional references to her past throughout the book that were easy to understand until 30 pages to the end. Suddenly someone from her past who was never mentioned in this book shows up. The climax's 'ah ha' moment was more of a 'what?' moment for me. Since I didn't know who this character was I had no idea what was coming. The ending wasn't ruined by this. Armstrong explained enough about who the character was that a new reader could follow along. But I knew I'd missed the real surprise of the scene.

Still, it was a fun, quick read. And, from what Armstrong tells about Savannah's past, those who have followed the series will likely enjoy seeing Savannah grown up.

Kelley Armstrong & Marjorie M. Liu Talk Comics and More

Guest Post by Elena Stokes of Wunderkind PR.


Introduction: Kelley Armstrong and Marjorie M. Liu talk to each other about writing novels and comics and writing strong characters―male and female. For the latest from these two urban fantasy greats, check out the synopses below. Kelley’s new novel, WAKING THE WITCH, and Marjorie’s latest novel, A WILD LIGHT both hit stores Tuesday, July 27th!

Marjorie: Kelley, in addition to your novels, you write comics too. How did that happen for you, what do you enjoy about it...and what was the transition like for you? Has it affected the way you look at your novels? Or do you think writing novels helps write comics? What's your next project?

Kelley: I was asked to write a 5 issue story for Joss Whedon's Angel. The series ended with a cliffhanger in season 5. Season 6 was then in comics, and I was contributing to that. Before that, I'd done the script for an online graphic novella for my website, and I can say that writing my own characters is MUCH easier. I've never done fanfic or anything with another person's creations. As much as I love the Buffy/Angel universe, I quickly realized I wouldn't ever know enough to be an authority on it, and I felt like I should be if I was writing in it. So it was a great experience, but part of what I took from it is that I'm much more comfortable sticking to reading about other people's worlds and writing only my own.

My next project, not surprisingly, is a 4 issue comic story set in my universe. It's an original script I wrote for Dabel Brothers and Dynamite Entertainment. Forbidden is a Clay and Elena story and is due to start late this year.

I love writing comics because it really forces me to focus on showing instead of telling. My writing is already more action and dialogue focused, but writing scripts shows me that I still fall back on the crutch of telling far too often!

Marjorie, why don’t you tell me a little bit about your current comics projects? And do you find one form, novels or comics, easier to write?

Marjorie: At the moment I'm working on Black Widow, Dark Wolverine, and X-23. My hands are full! But I love writing comics -- because of the stories I get to tell, but also because of the medium. Collaborating with artists who can bring a story to life is incredibly exciting.

As for the rest, I'll always be a novelist first -- but I don't find writing comics to be that much easier. You still have to focus on telling the best story possible. I haven't found it all that difficult, either, to slip into the minds of the Marvel characters that I've been writing for the past couple years. The key, for me, is to find something really interesting about them, and then go from there. Luckily, these are characters that are quite complex in both history and personality, so getting excited about the adventures I can take them on hasn't been difficult.

Kelley, I have another question for you -- one of the most frequent craft-related questions I get asked by aspiring comic book writers is: "How do I write an interesting female character?" It doesn't matter how often I hear that question, it ALWAYS takes me off-guard. My gut response is, "Just write an interesting PERSON, and don't worry about gender." But I don't always know if that's the best answer. How would you (or how do you) respond to questions like that?”

Kelley: Well, I know I've had that question and tried a similar answer, and had the writer excitedly reply "So I can just take one of my guy characters and give him a woman's name?" Um, no. It's a little more complicated than that... The problem is that writers make it too complicated and tie themselves in knots worrying about sounding authentic. Guys will ask how they can create a female character if they themselves don't share similar experiences, like enjoying shopping and wearing high heels. I tell them I hate shopping and can't wear heels. In other words, drop the stereotypes, relax and just write characters the way you see them, male or female. Then get some beta readers of both genders to tell you when you go horribly awry!

Interested? Here are teasers for their new releases:

WAKING THE WITCH, by Kelley Armstrong:

Golden girl of the supernatural world, orphaned daughter of a dark witch and a conniving sorcerer, Savannah Levine has nothing to lose and everything to prove on her first solo case as a paranormal investigator.

She’s got a wide arsenal of spells at her fingertips, many that only she knows.
She’s got a tough-as-nails attitude and an even sharper wit.
She’s got one problem though . . . no one thinks she can handle this on her own.

Savannah has the power . . . and she’s not afraid to use it.


A WILD LIGHT, by Marjorie M. Liu:

Obsidian shadows of the flesh…tattoos with hearts, minds, and dreams. By day, they are my armor. By night, they unwind from my body to take on forms of their own—demons of the flesh, turned into flesh.

For too long Maxine Kiss has felt an inexplicable darkness around her—a force she channels into hunting the demons bent on destroying the human race. But when she finds herself covered in blood and crouched beside her grandfather’s dead body with no memory of what happened or of the man she loves, Maxine begins to fear that the darkness has finally consumed her.

With blood on her hands and her sanity in question, Maxine must face the truth about who she really is and embrace the love of the only man who can help her—before she loses what she cares about most: her family.

Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead, World's Biggest Bookstore Signing

Friday April 9th, at 7 pm, the World's Biggest Bookstore in Toronto will be hosting a booksigning for the EDGE horror anthology, Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead. If you're in the area, come on in!

There's even a website for the book: www.vampires-evolve.com/

Several of the contributing authors will be on hand for the signing:
Kelley Armstrong
Claude Lalumiere
Rio Youers
Sandra Kasturi
Gemma Files
Jerome Stueart
Natasha Beaulieu
Kevin Nunn
and the anthology's editor, Nancy Kilpatrick

The Summoning - Kelley Armstrong

As an adult it took me a while to get into the first person narrative of 15 year old Chloe Saunders, but once I was there this urban fantasy was a delightful read. It starts slow, with the protagonist freaking out when she sees the ghost of a janitor at her school. She's quickly carted off to Lyle House - a group home for troubled teens. But she's not the only one with a special ability that her psychological assessment can't explain. Still, she doesn't care about ghosts, which she doesn't believe in anyway, she just wants to get better and get back to her normal life. If only that choice were in her hands...

Part mystery, part coming of age story, this novel exmines many of the issues teens face. Oh, and beware the cliffhanger ending. The first in a trilogy teens (and adults) will eat it up.