Review - Darker Angels (Black Sun's Daughter #2) by M.L.N. Hanover

(source: www.scifiguy.ca)

Welcome to Urban Fantasy School

Here you will learn:

1) How to create a super cool, but smart-alecy heroine.

• Also, learn to make a geeky hero/heroine seem cool.

2) How to create the best trampstamp (and incorporate it into the story seamlessly).

(very manly)

3) How to add a love interest to add just the right amount of sexy...if you didn't get enough with that trampstamp.

4) How to pose for the cover. In fact, if you want to specialize, author Jim C. Hines' has a masters program.

5) How to end all threads but possibly one. Gotta keep 'em coming back...for at least 20 more books!

6) Third person, second person, omniscience? Never heard of them, and you won't need them either!

Also, check out out our college of one-liners! All we do is listen to this guy every day.



Review:

It wouldn't really be UF if it didn't have the components mentioned above would it? I think we can all admit that there's a certain formula to Urban Fantasy and I'm not even saying that's a bad thing. What I am saying, however, is that it's one of the reasons I'm not completely sold on it either, for the same reason I'm not sold on crime procedurals on TV.

I tend to prefer my fantasy of the epic style (which does NOT involve anything formulaic), but like I said in my review for the first book in this series, when I do read Urban Fantasy, this series has been perfect for that itch.

Darker Angels [US] [UK] [Kindle] is book two in MLN Hanover/Daniel Abraham's Urban Fantasy series, The Black Sun's Daughter. While I make fun (because it's so very easy), this series is a great one. This book takes up right after Unclean Spirits, where Jayné Heller and her crew of demon-fighters are busier than ever checking out all the properties Jayné inherited from her deceased uncle, Eric. They quickly get a job that leads them to New Orleans where the interesting concept of demons "riding" humans (essentially taking them over) is applied to the voodoo located in that area.

Being located in New Orleans, the author does an amazing job setting the seen of the city post-Katrina. Not that I have any experience in Louisiana, Hanover/Abraham presents the plight of the city's inhabitants after the destruction in a very real way while portraying the action and adventure that are actually the focus of the story. It was not only impressive, but I felt it helped me understand what people have had to go through since that time.

Jayné is a great urban fantasy heroine, smart but actually very unlike the list above in that she doesn't bat you over the head with one-liners that honestly get a tad old (I'm looking at you Harry). She's vulnerable and lacks confidence in herself, which I think is something we call all relate to. And most importantly, she's very real. On top of that, it's really hard not to like her. Darker Angels is definitely worth your time.

3.5 out of 5 Stars (Recommended)

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher

Updates

As you've surely noticed, things have gotten a bit slow around here lately. I thought I'd add another update to let you know what's going on.

I'm in the midst of bar studying, a measly 10 hours a day of multiple choice questions, lectures, memorization, etc. Luckily this is the last test I will ever take (hopefully). Although depending on who you talk to, everything seems to be a test for a lawyer...and mostly, it's just the test not to act like a lawyer... :)

You may have heard that my wife's having twins in a couple months (another hopefully - that they don't arrive sooner), but she's been put on bed rest. We have a two-year-old, so that makes things a bit difficult and we decided to move in with family. This will help with bar studying in the long run, but right now it's a bit stressful.

As far as reading goes, I've actually finished a few and I'm almost done with one more. They would be:

(Love this cover)

• Darker Angels by M.L.N. Hanover (finished)
• The Long Walk by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman (finished)
• The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King (Dark Tower 4.5) (almost finished)

As soon as I get some time, I'll get some reviews up for these. I hope to have at least one done this week if possible. This summer will continue to be pretty sparse and I appologise, but at the same time, I really really don't want to have to sit for the bar again.

Review - Unclean Spirits (Black Sun's Daughter #1) by M.L.N. Hanover

I don't read a lot of Urban Fantasy, but when I do, I read the Dresden Files.

Now, I read The Black Sun's Daughter as well.

Unclean Spirits [US - only $6.00] [UK] [Kindle] is the first of M.L.N. Hanover's Black Sun's Daughter series. As you may or may not know, M.L.N. Hanover is the pseudonym of the author Daniel Abraham (Abraham talks about his many pseudonyms here). I find he does a great job separating his different writing interests (Abraham - epic fantasy, Hanover - urban fantasy, Half of James S.A. Corey - science fiction) by using the whole pseudonym scheme, letting his readers know what they're in for.

Anyway, Unclean Spirits follows Jayné Heller, a twenty-something girl who inherits everything from her uncle, the black sheep of the family, who has recently died. Jayné quickly finds out that her uncle, Eric, was involved in not only some very dangerous, but highly unbelievable (i.e., supernatural) dealings, which she has now inherited as well.

Jayné quickly meets up with Aubrey, a male friend of Eric's whom she had thought was his lover, who later develops into a love interest. She also learns of of Eric's other friends who are immediately called in to help when she is attacked checking out her newly inherited condo. This after just meeting a walking dead guy (not quite zombie), another of Eric's "friends."

In this urban fantasy, the supernatural exists as demons who "ride" humans, essentially taking them over for their own, usually evil, purposes. Jayné finds out she has some type of power of her own, although I'm looking forward to finding out more about this. We only get a small glimpse in this installment.

Hanover/Abraham quickly dives you into the story, even introducing our main protagonist in a clever way - she arrives to find someone waiting with a sign - and helps us pronounce her often mispronounced name. We're then plunged into the thick of things quite speedily and yet completely logically - nothing happens just to provide more action.

Unclean Spirits is a hard book to put down, not only because of the seamless action and plot development, but also because his prose is clever and compelling. It even helps that the print is quite large, the pages almost turn themselves.

Having known that Hanover is indeed a man, as I mentioned earlier, it was a bit odd at first reading about the thoughts of this first-person narrated female character, Jayné. I'm sorry if I ruin that for you here. Once I got into the swing of things, however, it's not bad at all and for a guy reading this, it worked well. I'm sure it was completely my own preconceptions that were getting in the way of my enjoyment. I'm very curious to know if women find this difficult at all.

The one thing I didn't love, because honestly everything else was spot-on, was the love interest between Jayné and Aubrey. They're in a very intense situation, trying to keep themselves alive and probably many others, and yet they start to fancy each other. This, in itself, is quite normal and often used, but they even go so far as to go out on a date while they're trying to stay protected and undercover. The complications that develop are great, but I as I said, I didn't love this part, but that means I didn't completely hate it either.

If you're an Urban Fantasy fan, Unclean Spirits is a series not to miss. If you're not an Urban Fantasy fan, maybe now's the time to become one. As the intro to this review says, I don't read a lot of Urban Fantasy, but I really enjoyed my time in Jayné's world. It's fun and full of action, lots of great characters and ideas and a pace that doesn't let up.

And just remember, stay tramp-stampy my friends.

3.5 out of 5 Stars (Really liked it)

The author's website can be found here.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher

Giveaway Winner: The Black Sun's Daughter, Books 1-4 by M.L.N. Hanover

Hope you're getting some great deals this Black Friday. This is also the day you're finally allowed to start playing Christmas music - no sooner...or something very bad will happen...possibly even to your mother.

Wait, it's Black Friday...there was something I was supposed to do today... something to do with a giveaway with a similar name... Okay, I'll stop being coy. Here's our giveaway winner for The Black Sun's Daughter Series, books 1-4, which happens to be announced on Black Friday for no other reason than it's another day of the week.

The winner of the Black Sun's Daughter, books 1-4 is:

Connor Sullivan

Congrats to the winner and thanks to all who participated.

We had a bit of snark I have to mention (one from the winner himself even). Keep in mind the subject line for this giveaway was "Black Friday's Daughter keeps trying to sell me stuff":

• Would Black Friday's Daughter involve some hot ultra-low-price everything-must-go cut-to-the-bone sale action between the legendary post-Thanksgiving shopping holiday and, like, Boxing Day in the UK? What other occasion of ludicrously excessive consumerism could possibly presume to mate and spawn with Black Friday? And what would it look like? Best Buy and JC Penny screwing in a parking lot? (Connor Sullivan)

• I generally steer clear of fantasy books with a tough looking woman with a visible belly button on the cover, but I hear that MLN Hanover is like Daniel Abraham's biggest fan or something. (Josh Wertheimer)

Each will receive two free entries into the next giveaway of their choice. I know, some people just get everything.

Giveaway: The Black Sun's Daughter Series by M.L.N. Hanover

With the release of the fourth volume of M.L.N. Hanover's urban fantasy series, Black Sun's Daughter, Simon and Schuster is offering a set of all four books, including the yet to be released, Killing Rites.

This giveaway will be announced on Black Friday, November 25th. See what we did there? With the Black Sun's Daughter series?

Killing Rites will be released November 29, 2011 and by the way we've planned it, the winner should hopefully receive his or her copies just around the release date.

I'm really looking forward to this series especially as Daniel Abraham (I don't think he's hiding that) is one of my favorite authors, I just need more time in the day. Anyone have any to spare?

Giveaway Rules

If you are interested in getting your hands on the entire Black Sun's Daughter series (up to this point), then follow the exceedingly simple instructions below.

E-mail me your name and address at onlythebestsff@[removethis]gmail.com, with "Black Friday's Daughter Keeps Trying to Sell Me Stuff" as the subject of the email (or at least something that lets me know what the email is about). This goes without saying, but double emails get you disqualified.

Snarky comments increase your chances of winning and win bonus entries for future giveaways. Open in the US only (sorry yet again) as long as delivery doesn't require the mounting of an expedition into remote wilderness.