MacKayla is a beautiful and pampered young woman, the product of a happy childhood in comfortable Ashford, Georgia.  Her world is comprised of doting parents and older sister, handsome young men at parties, clothes and shopping and the perfect pink nail polish.  Then the unthinkable happens; her sister travels to Dublin to study and is murdered a few months later.  Mac's world falls apart as she listens to Alina's last frantic phone message before her death, to a sister who's frightened and calling on Mac to help her.  Wracked by guilt she decides to go to Ireland to discover what really happened and to harangue the local police until they find the killer.

But Ireland is not what Mac expects.  Not only have the police proven to do everything they can, but Alina's life turns out to be full of mystery and oddities.  Clearly Alina had changed over the months and now Mac must delve into her life not only to solve the murder but to understand her sister's erratic behavior.  As she searches for clues, Mac begins to see strange things; a Dublin full of magic and mystery, strange creatures only she can see, vast deserted areas where people no longer live but nobody seems to notice, and powerul beings who can kill with a thought.  When Mac runs for her life she stumbles in to an amazing bookstore owned by the handsome and enigmatic Jericho Barrons, but his answers only cause the mysteries to deepen and Mac doesn't know where to turn to find her sister's killer.

Kitty and the Midnight Hour

Most of us have at one time or another listened to what we thought was a slightly strange radio call-in show, usually late at night, usually with a supposed expert on their subject, and usually full of weird and possibly wacky callers.  Kitty's Midnight Hour is one of those shows.  But although Kitty isn't an expert, she really is a werewolf, and while many of her callers are wacky, quite a few are the real deal; were-creatures of some kind or another, vampires, or various other flavor of supernatural, all looking for others of their kind, a friendly ear, or advice.

Kitty knows firsthand that there are no paranormal handbooks given to those newly changed; people suffering from fear and violent trauma, often left for dead.  While Kitty tries to help and educate her callers and brings light into some strange arenas, many supernatural beings want to stay in the dark and bring an end to the show, by any means necessary.  Now Kitty must avoid the man hired to kill her while helping the police solve a puzzling murder case, plus show the community of the dark that her show poses no threat and actually helps their secret world.

Kitty Norville is a strong, smart-alecky, and engaging young woman with a love for her work and a passion for helping all the other confused supernatural beings who populate Denver.  This is the first in an action packed urban fantasy series full of quirky and often dangerous characters.  Many have their own agendas, but some are true and loyal friends.

I read a fair amount of fantasy growing up, but as an "older person," haven't often been grabbed by the genre.  When it was first published in 2006, Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora sucked me in big time, and it's by far the best fantasy novel I've read in a long time (Lynch has a second book out now, but they should be read in order).

It might be more of a guy book, but I don't think so - if any gals have read and liked it (or not), please consider leaving a comment.

The plot is based on a band of orphan thieves, purchased/enslaved by a blind priest master-thief autocrat, who teaches his fledglings the art of his trade.  They steal for him and he protects and provides (sort of) for them.  Locke Lamora is a slight, runt of a thief, but clever and extremely adept.  As he leads a band of co-thieves on increasingly bold and successful raids, the authorities label him the Thorn of Camorr, and want his head.  A powerful, evil magician is also out for Locke, and rival thieves would like nothing more than to see him fall.  Scott Lynch throws in lots of fun, skin-of-his-teeth adventures, with really great writing, and some unpredictable plot turns.

I'm not sure why this book never made bigger waves - it did get on some "best books" lists.  I mentioned it to co-workers and they all loved it (including a few gals).  Scott Lynch now has a broad fan base, and I read that a studio has purchased the movie rights.  So give it a try, read 20 or 30 pages, and if you're not hooked, money back guarantee (library books only).

Mystic and Rider

King Baryn rules over Gillengaria, a land in turmoil.  Barely tolerated before, mystics hide their gifts as persecution escalates, distrust of magic increasing after the rumor spreads that the King's new wife has snared him by magical means.  As ill feeling toward magic users increases, Baryn sends an unlikely group of travelers to assess the danger to him, his kingdom, and his family.  Senneth is a powerful fire mystic in her own right, who has given her loyalty to the King who welcomed her when shunned by her noble House.  Quicksilver Kirra and her servant, Donnel, are shape shifters from one of the ruling Twelve Houses.  Tayse is the leader of the King's Riders, an elite fighting force specially chosen by the King, and who doubts mystics on principal but will defend Baryn unto death.  And Justin is another Rider, young, quick tempered and also distrustful of magic users, but who follows Tayse without question.

The companions cross the land visiting small towns and noble houses searching out magic, treachery, and pockets of loyalty to the King.  They must learn to work together and trust each other in order to fight the tyranny of a dangerously growing fanatical cult bent on the death of all mystics, and an increasing sense that some of the Twelve Houses are intent on overthrowing the King and his mysterious wife.

This is the first in a wonderful series rich in courtly intrigue, a complex world history, and a fascinating magical system.  It is also a tale of tolerance, love, growing friendship, and fiercely won trust.  Sharon Shinn is one of my favorite authors and I gladly return to the worlds she creates.

New Blood by Gail Dayton

If you judged this book by the title or cover, you might think this is yet another one of those vampire romances that are so popular. Or perhaps a horror story. What you probably wouldn't think is that this is a Steampunk romance.

What exactly is Steampunk? It's defined as a sub-genre of fantasy and speculative fiction that is set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used. Most often, the setting is the Victorian period, or a fantasy world that closely resembles that period. There is a growing interest in Steampunk, and there are now "cons" held around the county, with fashion, music and of course, books.

New Blood begins with the magically bound servant, Jax, finally fulfilling his over two hundred year old mission to find the next blood sorceress. Unfortunately, the magically talented Amanusa doesn't believe him. When she finally uses her magic to exact revenge on a group of rebels who killed her family and held her prisoner, she learns being a powerful sorceress comes with a huge cost to her conscience.

As Jax and Amanusa are pursued across Europe, they discover areas that are competely dead and inhabited only by strange mechanical creatures. They also discover a powerful attraction to each other, and yet Jax is a servant - captured, mistreated and magically bound to the previous blood sorceress, Yvaine. Will he be able to trust Amanusa enough to be honest with her? And will Amanusa learn to control her powerful magic and earn her place in the International Magician's Conclave?

This combination of a unique world, with familiar elements, magic and romance should satisfy fans of multiple genres. It's the first book in a series set around the International Magician's Conclave, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series coming out in 2010. 

Twenty years ago genetically altered tomotoes created an epidemic which almost wiped out the human race.  During the resulting chaos several supernatural species frightened humans by revealing themselves in order to hold society together; since then humans and Inderlanders have developed an uneasy truce as they learn to live with each other.

Rachel Morgan is a witch and an Inderland Security Runner, a bounty hunter charged with bringing in rogue werewolves, Brimstone drug dealers, and tax-evading leprechauns, to name a few.  Disgusted that her superiors are giving her increasingly mundane and petty cases, she decides to leave the I.S. and start her own runner service. Unfortunately, nobody who's left the I.S. has lived more than a few days, especially when they take two of the best agents with them.  Now Rachel must rely on her own spelling talents and the unique abilities of her new partners, a living vampire afraid of losing her soul and an annoying pixie who hates fairies, in order to stay alive and discover who wants her dead.

Harrison has created a rich and wonderful world in modern Cincinnati after the Turn, as the killer tomato era is called, and populated it with well thought out magical species, complete with legal systems, hidden agendas, and human-seeming foibles.  This is the first in a series packed with adventure, mystery, love, friendship, and smart aleck fun.

All in all, I found Darwin's Children to have more action than Darwin's Radio, which at times felt a little bogged down with scientific detail. This helps the plot move along at a brisk pace, though there is still a great deal of technical jargon, debate, and hypothesizing. This is not a criticism, though. By repeatedly demonstrating his familiarity and understanding of complex scientific theories and their possible or even probable outcomes, Greg Bear creates a story that you realize could actually happen in the real world, and this is both compelling and terrifying.

Whether or not you buy into the "virus theory of evolution," the author's depiction of humanity's reaction to these new children is completely believable and terribly ominous. The description of the schools reminded me very much of descriptions of government-run Indian Schools from the late-19th and early-20th century. Those schools, likethe schools in this novel, were attempts by the majority to create conformity among the children of a feared and hated minority, thereby stamping out their sense of identity and rendering them impotent. It didn't work in real-life and it doesn't work in this novel, either, though it did create great suffering and resentment amongst both the children and their beleaguered parents. This in turn creates a backlash. Art imitates life.

You may find you appreciate Darwin's Children more if you read Darwin's Radio first. So much of this book is an extention of the developments of its predecessor that you might be confused if you pick it up cold. But by all means, pick it up, for Darwin's Children is science fiction at it's best. Check it out!