Review of Eileen Wilks' Death Magic

Title: Death Magic (World of the Lupi #8)

Author: Eileen Wilks

Publisher: Berkley Sensation

Format: Mass Market Paperback & eBook

Source: Purchased

Publication Date: November 1, 2011

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Eileen Wilks’ World of the Lupi is one of my favorite series, and I believe that it’s seriously underappreciated among fans of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. The heroine, Lily Yu, is the only female protagonist of Asian descent that I can think of in paranormal romance (if you know of any others, I’d love to hear about it!), and she is one tough chick. I love her relationship with werewolf Rule Turner, and if you’re a fan of J.D. Robb’s In Death series and its longstanding couple Eve Dallas and Roarke, I think you will enjoy Ms. Wilks’ series as well. With the exception of Night Season (book 4), which focuses on another couple, the series is devoted to Lily and Rule.

If you are new to the series, I highly recommend that you not begin with Death Magic. While you could probably follow along easily enough, you would be missing so much of the back story that I think it worthwhile to recommend that you start with book 1, Tempting Danger. (This review will contain spoilers for earlier books in the series, so consider yourself forewarned.) Watching Rule and Lily meet and fall in love is too much fun to miss, and Tempting Danger is one that I find myself re-reading frequently. Another favorite is book 5, Mortal Sins, because we get to see Rule interact with his charming 9 year old son, Toby, but my absolute favorite in the series was Book 7 – Blood Challenge. That said, Death Magic was an outstanding addition to the series, and I highly recommend it.

Death Magic deals with the beginning of the Lupi’s war against their enemy, the female goddess referred to only as the Great Bitch, and as such the novel is darker in tone than many of the others. Rule and Lily are back in Washington D.C., because they are testifying at Senate hearings. Lily is conflicted about her job, because Ruben Brooks, her superior at the FBI, informs her that he’s heading up an extra governmental organization to fight their enemy and invites her to join. Lily’s torn, because this organization violates all her beliefs about rule of law, but Ruben’s precognition has sent him visions of an apocalyptic future if they don’t manage to stop their enemy. Lily and Rule have had previous run-ins with this enemy, since she tends to operate throuth the anti-magic group Humans First. When the Senator questioning Rule and Lily at the hearings is discovered murdered and a witness places Ruben Brooks at the scene, Lily joins the official investigation. But just as the case becomes more involved, Lily begins to experience mysterious migraines and stroke-like symptoms. Can she continue the investigation while fighting a more formidable enemy?

Ms. Wilks’ novels are always complex and feature tight writing, and Death Magic is no exception. The world building in her books blows me away, particularly this one, since we learn more about the rules governing magic. How she manages to keep track of them all, much less invent said rules, never fails to astonish me. The secondary character of Cullen Seabourne, sorcerer and lupus, serves as our main source for this information, but I like that we learn about the world gradually through give and take with Cullen and other characters so there’s never an infodump.

The pacing of the novel is also well done. We have several plotlines running simultaneously with no confusion on the reader’s part. The threat hanging over all the characters of a possible apocalypse maintains the tension throughout the novel, but the last fourth of the novel really takes off with a white-knuckled race to the finish. While I was able to identify the traitor Lily and the others were looking for fairly early, I was surprised by the plot twist concerning Ruben. I did NOT expect that at all, and kudos to Ms. Wilks for a clever resolution to that situation.

My main complaint about Death Magic has more to do with my affection for certain secondary characters in the series than any flaws in the writing, which is stellar as usual. Cullen is one of my favorite characters, but because of the darker tone of this novel, we see less of his charm than usual. Also, neither Toby nor Benedict makes an appearance, and the absence of Lily’s Grandmother is very much felt. I’m not sure that their presence is necessary to advance the story, but as a fan of the series I missed them.

Overall this is an outstanding addition to the series. I enjoyed the deepening relationship between Lily and Rule, and I thought that the anger and resentment Rule felt towards the lupi’s Lady because of Lily’s health was an interesting development in his character. If you’re a fan of werewolves in any form, I highly recommend Death Magic and the World of the Lupi.

Short Summer Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Reads

After yesterday’s rant about the weather in the Midwest, today is absolutely lovely, with temperatures in the 70s and lots of sunshine. If the weather were like this more often, I’d be thrilled. Great summer weather leads to thoughts of summer vacations, and there are lots of new releases out right now to take with you. I think publishers plan book releases around the end of school so we readers can take our paperbacks or e-readers with us to enjoy by the pool, but if you’re busy seeing the sights on your vacation, you probably don’t have time to read an entire novel. A great way to enjoy good writing without having to invest a lot of time is to read an anthology.

I like anthologies, because it gives me a chance to read new authors without a huge time investment. I usually only purchase anthologies with novellas by authors I like, but invariably those books include someone I’ve never heard of. I’ve discovered some really great new authors that way. Unfortunately, one downside to anthologies is that there are almost always two great novellas and two not-so-great ones. A great exception is the new release, Hexed. I was excited to read it, since it features two of my favorite authors, Ilona Andrews and Allyson James. I thought I’d do a quick review of Hexed, then tell you a little bit about some of my all-time favorite Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy anthologies.

Hexed

“Magic Dreams” by Ilona Andrews was by far the best entry in the anthology. The novella is part of Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, and features the romance between Cat Shifter Alpha Jim and blind-as-a-bat white tiger shifter Dali. This would actually be a great introduction to the series, as there’s a short description of how the magical shift caused drastic changes in Atlanta. The romance between the kick butt mercenary Jim and the insecure but loveable Dali is a hoot. Definitely an A in my book.

“Ice Shards” by Yasmine Galenorn is the second entry in the collection and is part of her Otherworld series. I haven’t read any of the novels in this series, but I was able to follow along fairly easily. Unfortunately I just didn’t find the narrator Lady Iris, a sprite, all that intriguing. The story revolves around her returning to her world with friends to discover if she truly is guilty of a crime she was accused of centuries ago. While not a bad story, it didn’t really interest me. C-

“Double Hexed” by Allyson James is the third novella in the book and I really liked it. It takes place in the Stormwalker universe and features stormwalker Janet Begay and her dragon lover, Mick. The plumbing in Janet’s hotel starts spewing blood, and she and several other characters are trapped in the hotel because of a hex. I’ve read the first two novels in James’ Stormwalker series, and this was a fun addition. I think you would still enjoy the story even if you haven’t read any of the novels. B+

“Blood Debt” by Jeanne C. Stein was the last novella in the collection and enjoyable, if not inspired. I had never read anything by this author, but I like the protagonist, a bounty hunter recently turned vampire. The narrator has to face a trial over killing a witch, which occurred in an earlier book, but it’s easy enough to follow what happens in the novella. Oddly enough, I was a couple pages into the story before I could figure out if the protagonist was male or female. B

Must Love Hellhounds This anthology is my all-time favorite. It features 3 outstanding novellas by authors I love, and you just can’t go wrong with this one. The first entry, “The Britlingens Go to Hell,” is a bizarre story by Charlaine Harris that I recommend you skip. It’s not worth reading. The following three, however, are gold. The second novella, “Angels’ Judgment,” is by Nalini Singh and is part of her Guild Hunters series. We learn how the Guild Director, Sara, meets her hottie husband, Deacon. The third story is “Magic Mourns,” by Ilona Andrews, and was just released separately as an e-novella. It’s part of Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, and was my first introduction to this author. The fourth entry is “Blind Spot,” by Meljean Brook, and is part of her Guardian series. I’ve only read one of the Guardian novels, and was underwhelmed, but this novella is short and sweet. Sir Pup (the hellhound) is a hoot.

Inked is another favorite anthology with three great novellas by favorite authors. The first novella, “Skin Deep,” is by Karen Chance. Chance writes the Cassandra Palmer series, which I’m not a huge fan of, but this is a lot of fun. It takes place in the Palmer universe and features half-werewolf and mage Lia and her Harley riding hunk Cyrus. The second entry is Marjorie M. Liu’s “Armor of Roses,” which is the darkest novella in the book. It’s part of her Hunter Kiss series, and I’m not sure you can just jump right in without having read previous installments. However, I’m a huge fan of Ms. Liu’s writing and this is an outstanding addition to her series. “Etched in Silver” by Yasmine Galenorn is the third novella and my least favorite. Just like her entry in Hexed, this takes place in the world of her Otherworld series. I felt a bit lost when reading it, so I usually skip it. The final entry is Eileen Wilks’ “Human Nature” and it’s fabulous. If you haven’t read any of Wilks’ World of the Lupi books, you should, because the characters are complex and the books are action-packed. This novella is no exception.

Unlike the previously mentioned anthologies, in Burning Up there are really only two strong novellas, but I find myself re-reading those two frequently. The first novella is “Whisper of Sin” by Nalini Singh, and it’s part of her Psy-Changeling series. We learn how human Ria meets leopard shifter Emmitt. Great story and a fun prequel to Singh’s series. The second entry is Angela Knight’s “Blood and Roses,” and you can easily follow along without having read any of her other books. Unfortunately, it just didn’t hold my interest, and the romance felt rushed, which happens frequently with a story of this length. “Shifting Sea” by Virginia Kantra is the third novella of the collection. It’s both historical and fantasy, since the story is about a mermaid and a soldier returning home from the war on the Peninsula. Well-written, but not my favorite. The final entry, Meljean Brook’s “Here There Be Monsters,” is outstanding. It’s the prequel to her steampunk novel The Iron Duke, and I couldn’t wait to read the novel after reading this novella. I highly recommend it.