The Angel Within is the published work of author Della Boynton, which was released under her pseudonym of “Kracken”. Kracken has been a long-time, not to mention well known, member of the fan fiction¹ community and has contributed a number of stories to multiple subjects. The majority of which fall under the Yaoi² and Angst genres.

Kracken’s The Angel Within tells the story of Sunnie of Truheart clan, a native of the planet Geranto, and a boy who just isn’t able to conform to the expectations of his community. From conception to adulthood, Sunnie remains different and apart from his fellows. Sunnie was born into his family at a time when the majority of his siblings were already considered young adults by the community’s standard or already had families of their own. Because society viewed sex as a necessary sin only undertaken to sire children, Sunnie’s father found himself having to explain exactly why he felt the need to have yet another child so late in his life to the strict and hard-nosed priests. This marked the first of many times that Sunnie did not meet the standards of his strict and highly religious community.

Sunnie, despite his best efforts, completely fails to be stoic and pious like his dark skinned and haired brothers. Instead this bright-eyed, blond haired youth always has a smile on his face and never fails to lighten the moods of those around him. In this austere society, where a religion that is comprised of the more extreme aspects of modern-day religions, such as Type IV FGM,³ Sunnie’s inability to smother the “angel within” him brings him nothing but pain, misery, and ultimately leads to his banishment.

Kracken does do a rather good job of allowing Sunnie’s actions, and the happenings around him, to describe and add depth to his character rather than implicitly dictating the character’s actions and thoughts. Likewise, the antagonist Scott Rohan, whose cunning and duplicity is abhorrent, is handled in the same manner. Sadly though, the main love interest of the story, Rhani Jhai, is handled in a much less skillful way which results in a rather flat and unbelievable hero.

A rather common trait of fan fiction writers is the assumption that all readers of the works are fans who are very well-versed in the subject’s canonical universe. As a result, fan fiction writers may not delve too deeply into character design, the mechanics of the setting and universe, or any other factors which may be perceived as a “given”. This is not to say that fan fiction writers are inept or lacking; in fact one has to agree that, in these instances, to do otherwise may very well border on the redundant. With regards to original fiction however, these are very important elements that simply cannot be ignored or skimmed over.

Kracken’s style of writing in this novel leans more towards a fan fiction-based style of writing. The Angel Within is the only source of a reader’s knowledge of the world (or rather worlds) that Sunnie and the others reside in. Readers do not have prior knowledge of the technology used, the characters and their background, or the political and governmental structures. While Kracken does take the time to explain most aspects, there still remain a number of times where no explanation is given and readers are left fumbling to picture just how it fits and looks in their heads. The most prominent example of this is Dr. Rhani Jhai.

Jhai plays a pivotal role in the story, as he is the source of the protagonist’s rescue and salvation, and yet very little depth is given to the character. Indeed, as a reader, I had an easier time connecting and understanding the natives of the planet Kevare, who are introduced towards the end of chapter eighteen, and make brief appearances in chapters twenty-one and twenty-two. A handful of pages were used to introduce Raul Aganaren and Aranit Tyreya Kri, of which only Kri makes a second and third appearance, and yet I found myself connecting with and understanding these two characters in a way that was simply not possible with Jhai’s character. Ironically enough, despite my understanding and sympathizing with these characters, they provide yet another example where the author took the reader’s ability to understand the inner machinations of the author’s universe for granted.

When the Kevarians are first introduced Sunnie comments on their appearances and notes that five veiled Kevarian council members are present. Readers are informed through Sunnie’s recollections that the purpose of the veils is to give the council members anonymity so that they may remain impartial. In the same mental-breath however Sunnie refers to Aganaren as the Chi’ n’Chi of the High Chi Family and Kri as Soldier of Kri. These are clearly titles of some importance since, after the initial introduction, Aganaren is only referred to as “the Chi’ n’Chi” and yet no detail or explanation of these titles and their importance is given. In fact, with the exception of the council, the Kevarian’s ruling structure is completely unknown. Because the Kevarians help provide a pivotal turning point one would expect a little more attention to be given to them. In the end, the Kevarian subplot is shunted to the side and wrapped up far too quickly. Blink and you’ll miss it.

Another aspect I found disappointing was the rushed and subsequently unbelievable romance between Sunnie and Jhai. Sunnie is a horribly confused man-child from a backwards planet who has been uprooted from his home after having been banished for committing sins he didn’t commit by a man who sees Sunnie and something to dominate and own. The knowledge of the worlds he possesses, the new confidence he has in himself, and security of loving relationship have all been given to him by the very man who stole him away from his previous home, Scott Rohan. It’s easy to see that Rohan is Sunnie’s everything. He rescued him from a home that wasn’t a home, he gave him everything he has, and loves him. When this loving relationship falls apart and turns into an abusive one it is easy to understand how Sunnie wouldn’t be able to leave. In fact, given his upbringing and insecurities, it makes a great deal of sense that leaving would make no sense at all in Sunnie’s mind because he “deserves” it and it is all he knows. This is seen every day in abusive relationships.

Despite this, Jhai manages to convince Sunnie to not only leave Rohan but attempt to turn him in to authorities and he does this all in one conversation. It should also be noted that at this point of time Sunnie has had very limited contact with Jhai – they are little more than acquaintances. On top of this, Sunnie and Jhai’s relationship develops into a sexual one with a budding romance and it occurs within a very short time frame to boot. I have a very hard time believing that anyone who has been sexually, mentally, and physically abused over a lengthy time can not only leave their abuser but also enter into a healthy romantic relationship in the span of a few weeks. It just doesn’t fly. At this point any credibility the characters had is completely shot.

The story is not all bad however, The Angel Within does boast an interesting and intriguing premise while subtly raising questions and challenging aspects of society and religion as a whole. The first half of the book also has a steady build up that slowly but surely grasps the reader and keeps them turning pages. However the flatness of prominent characters, the confusing and oft unexplained aspects of the world that the characters move in, and the hurried romance and healing of Sunnie and Jhai will leave readers feeling as though they missed several somethings and incapable of truly connecting with the story. Frankly, the most captivating part of the story revolved around Sunnie’s time on his home planet and initial life with Rohan, and the Kevarians. Loved the Kevarians.

Joana’s Rating: (2 out of 5 stars)

1. Fan fiction (alternately referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF, or fic) is a broadly-defined term used to describe stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work’s owner, creator, or publisher; also, they are almost never professionally published. Fan fiction, therefore, is defined by being both related to its subject’s canonical fictional universe and simultaneously existing outside the canon of that universe. Most fan fiction writers assume that their work is read primarily by other fans, and therefore tend to presume that their readers have knowledge of the canon universe (created by a professional writer) in which their works are based. -Wikipedia
2. Yaoi is a popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by female authors. Originally referring to a specific type of doujinshi (self-published works) parody of mainstream anime and manga works, yaoi came to be used as a generic term for female-oriented manga, anime, dating sims, novels and d?jinshi featuring idealized homosexual male relationships. -Wikipedia It should also be noted that not all manga and novels are billed as “Yaoi”. The term “Yaoi” is beginning to become a catch-all phrase for stories that revolve around homoerotic and homoromantic fiction. However, traditionalists do still make the distinction that “Yaoi” references material that revolves around fiction that focuses on the erotic content while “Boys Love” (also known as “Shounen-ai”) contains works that give more focus on the relationship of the characters that may contain little to no erotic content.
3. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is defined by the World Health Organization as: all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural, religious or other non-therapeutic reasons. -Wikipedia

In the year 2025, the event that teenagers are eagerly awaiting for is their seventeenth birthday, but it’s not for the reasons you might think. Their seventeenth birthday marks the day that they can get their own bar code tattoo. The tattoo is the epitome of efficiency and convenience. Each bar code is unique to the individual who wears it and it is tattooed, via laser, onto the right arm of the individual. The tattoo has all of your personal information just a scan away.

No need to worry about not having your identification on you in the case of an accident, all the police or doctors need to do is scan your bar code and they’ll know who you are, medical history, status of funds, place of residence – the whole shebang. Even shopping is made easier, as the cashier can scan your bar code at the checkout and computers will automatically withdraw the correct amount from your account; completely making the e-card (the replacement of credit and check cards) look obsolete.

Naturally you have your alarmists, who see conspiracy theories at every turn, speaking out against the tattoo and demanding that folks maintain the right to choose between the tattoo or other means. The tattoo violates the constitutional freedoms guaranteed to all citizens of the United States, argues those against the tattoo, a movement known as Decode. It [the tattoo] allows the government to literally track a person’s every movement and delve into their personal lives. But hey, if you’ve got nothing to hide then there’s no reason not to get the tattoo and conform. Right?

Meet Kayla Marie Reed, a sixteen year old high school student whose only concern is how to get into the art school of her choice when her computer grades, grades she was never informed would be an important deciding factor for art schools, are less than stellar. She’s a talented artist, but in this day and age, all that matters is what you can get a computer to do. Artists like her, who can actually draw, paint, and sculpt are being replaced. Money is tight in her family, ever since her father got tattooed things had been going downhill for them. Her only chance to go to college now is on a scholarship, one she’s told she’ll never get. Kayla firmly believes her life is over and it couldn’t possibly get any worse.

She’s completely wrong of course, over the course of a few months Kayla Reed goes from being an average high school student, to being a member of Decode, and eventually to being a fugitive on the run.

Over the course of the book, it is revealed that there is much more to the bar code tattoo than what the government is willing to disclose. Included in each person’s file is information that could mark one upstanding citizen as desirable and another as undesirable. It’s not some dark and hidden secret of the individual either, it’s something that can’t be helped – their genes. In a time where the world itself is being monopolized by a single company, known as Global, (whose CEO is even the current President of the United States) it’s ultimately up to this corporate power to dictate the future of the world.

Now I seem to recall that, a few years back, the movement that many insurance companies and businesses were taking to better their chances of not having to shell out thousands of dollars each year in medical benefits to employees. It kicked up a lot of fuss as well since, basically, it all boiled down to being denied benefits or job positions due to a choice in lifestyle: smoking. Some businesses and occupations began to deny jobs to those who smoked and began giving current employees the choice to either quit smoking or quit their jobs. Some health care polices refused to cover those who smoked. It was a right mess and raised the issue of infringing on the rights of individuals in order to save a buck.

In The Bar Code Tattoo Weyn takes the idea of a world where everyone citizen is nothing more than a number, where the undesirables are culled from the populace through ostracism, and runs with it. Perfectly good families fall on hard times after having been tattooed for seemingly no reason at all. The Thorn family is a prime example of this. The family was upper middle class, upstanding citizens, and fairly well off. They were in the process of moving into a new house and had sold their own home when something went wrong. The bank handling the purchase of their new home suddenly denied them, when previously all had been well, and no matter where they went, when the Thorn’s bar codes were scanned they were denied again. Soon they were without a home and then finally both parents had lost their jobs. There was something wrong with their bar codes, but what it was, they didn’t know. In the end Kayla’s best friend, Amber Thorn, and her parents were forced to move away to live with a relative in Nevada.

The Thorn family wasn’t the only one seeing things like this. All over the country, folks were rising up in their workplace’s hierarchy while others were finding themselves in hard times, all for seemingly no reason. The truth of the matter is revealed, midway, when Kayla at last views her father’s FBI file and gets her mother to speak out about what she knew from her time as a nurse. In every person’s file a “barcode” of their DNA is taken and analyzed. Those who are not found to be “superior” or have the potential for future health problems are being culled from society. At the same time, steps are being taken to ensure that babies who might have illnesses or problems in their lives never make it home; experiments are being conducted to better individual’s genes during and after birth; and those over eighty, who have the misfortune of being hospitalized, never leave the hospital. It’s all part of a plan to build a superior race of humans, and it’s being hidden from the public’s eyes. Those who speak out are painted as criminals and hunted down.

The Bar Code Tattoo touches upon key arguments that have been raised across the country since ease of access and availability became priorities. Where do the lines of privacy and security blur? Do we have the right to choose how we live or is conformity the only option anymore? While the story takes place in the not-so-distant future, readers will be easily able to draw parallels between the story’s fictional setting and our own very real one. Despite the futuristic slang, changing governmental structure, and advanced technology, Kayla’s world remains very similar to ours and the possibility of a future like Kayla’s is both eerily possible and frightening.

There were several glaring inconsistencies and miscellaneous errors that the author used to move the story along in the direction she intended rather than allowing it to arrive at it’s destination at it’s own pace. For example: rather than taking the time to have Kayla interact with the resistance members and also build on the characters in this group, the author sums up the events and happenings during Kayla’s time with the resistance through a lengthy email that Kayla sends to her friend Amber in chapter twenty-six. Never mind the fact that in chapter eighteen, Kayla had a startling realization that police could track her through her emails, especially if the parents of one of the recipients of her email were to report her. Why then, knowing this, would Kayla compromise the security of the resistance’s hideout to send a message to a friend who has not sent her any return correspondence in months?

Then there is the fact that the resistance’s location was compromised long before that email was even sent, yet Kayla never said a word to anyone about it. On her way to the resistance’s base she is discovered by two former schoolmates, Nedra and Zekeal, who are also members of Tattoo Generation a radical movement to enforce and support the bar code tattoo. Zekeal reveals that he knew to come look for her in this area because he recalled, during his time as a spy in Decode, that Kayla had mentioned meeting Eutonah, the leader of the resistance, and that Eutonah had instructed her to “remember the white face”. Zekeal states that later he realized that the ambiguous statement was a reference to Whiteface Mountain. Although she manages to elude them, it’s fairly obvious that both Nedra and Zekeal know the general location and direction of the base. Kayla never mentions this to Eutonah and everyone continues on as if life is just peachy. I find it very hard to believe that upon barely escaping your pursuers, a person would not mention to their saviors that the reason they were hiding was because the enemy is close and knows the location of their base.

Another detracting factor in this story lies in the flatness of its characters and the complete unbelievability of the romantic relationship between Kayla and Zekeal, and later, Kayla and Mfumbe. Initially Zekeal and Mfumbe were much alike in personality, demeanor, and speech. There were actually points where I was confused as to which was speaking. Likewise, the other members of Decode, Allyson and August, came across more as just flat one dimensional characters meant to fill up background space. With the start of Zekeal and Kayla’s relationship, more defining characteristics became apparent. This development was, however, overshadowed by the fact that Zekeal and Kayla’s budding relationship was flat and about as exciting as a slug crawling on the ground. The interactions between the two lacked any sort of romantic feeling which made instances where the two expressed their feelings for one another laughable. The same trend followed when Kayla and Mfumbe’s relationship began.

Ultimately, The Bar Code Tattoo is a fun and enjoyable read for young adults. More mature audiences will likely cringe at the obvious manipulations of the author to make everything fall perfectly into place for our heroine. Throughout Kayla’s journey the reader never truly fears for her safety. After all, whenever things get tough, she will come across people who also mistrust the tattoo and who are more than willing to save her. They’ll even make sudden appearances out of thin air and save the day just when she needs them. In short, while the premise is definitely intriguing, and the machinations of this story’s antagonists will keep readers biting their nails, the weaknesses of the story are enough to keep this book from ever being more than just “interesting” and “okay”.

Joana’s Rating: (3 out of 5 stars)

As fun as the holiday season is you can’t deny that the drop in temperature does have the tendency to make you want to run and hide under your nice warm blankets. And honestly, if you’re all snuggled up and warm, why not pick up a good book while you’re at it?

To get you in that festive cheer you may want pick up Holidays Are Hell, an anthology featuring a collection of holiday tales from four New York Times Bestselling Authors. To get the holiday-ball rolling, Kim Harrison opens up the anthology with her tale Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel. The story itself can be read as a complete stand-alone if you like, but fans of Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series will be pleased to see another short story from her set before the series begins. The story opens up with Rachel applying to join the Inderland Security (I.S.) as a runner. It hasn’t been long since her father died, doing the exact same thing she’s hoping to do, and the disease that should have killed is still faintly visible.

Considering her father died doing his job as an I.S. runner it’s not surprising that Rachel’s brother and mother are none too pleased with her career choice. Within the first couple of pages it becomes clear that Rachel’s penchant for trouble runs in the family when her brother (Robbie) agrees to sign Rachel’s I.S. form, since he is her legal guardian, if she can successfully cast an eighth level earth-spell to call up her father who was wrongfully dead (read murdered) and get his permission. Oh yes, trouble runs in this family’s blood. Not too surprisingly, Rachel manages to successfully cast the spell. Not only does she give her ghost full substance, instead of the expected misty form, but she summons a spirit from purgatory instead of her father. Seems her dad has already passed on and is at rest. But a young girl is missing and the spirit that Rachel accidentally summoned was killed in pursuit of the vampire who just might be responsible for her disappearance.

It’s always great to see a character mature as the series progresses, but Harrisons’ Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel allows the reader the interesting chance to travel back in time to see a side of Rachel we never really saw before. We are granted with a chance to see a much more vulnerable young woman overcoming numerous obstacles in pursuit of her goal, such as her weak body and her over protective family. We also get to see all of the flaws that Rachel slowly over comes in the series come rushing back tenfold without the wisdom and jadedness that the character in the series possess to balance them out, which makes for a very interesting and different outlook on the events. I was particularly impressed with the story’s ending as it nicely concluded the story’s events but left the time from the end of the story to Ivy’s story, and later where the series picks up to the reader’s discretion. Nicely done.

Following Harrison’s tale was Lynsay Sands’ Run, Run, Rudolph. Such a hectic way to spend the holidays and it was, essentially, the result of a troublesome toddler. Children are definitely trouble. This tale follows the misadventures of Jill, the owner of a clothing store, who just wants to finish babysitting her brother’s toddler before hurrying off to play Mrs. Claus to a very sexy Mr. Claus in the town’s Christmas Parade as planned. Unfortunately for her, an old colleague of her brother’s is back in town and looking to finish the project that was called off and in his rather twisted mind, Jill will be the perfect lab rat for him to conduct his experiments on. Years back, Jill’s brother Kyle and his wife Claire were working on creating a molecular destabilizer, and had essentially completed it when a fellow colleague, John Heathcliffe, decided to turn the machine on Kyle’s wife so that they might have a human specimen to study. While attempting to rescue her from the beam of the molecular destabilizer, Kyle was also zapped in the process.

The project was ultimately scrapped, and in an attempt to protect his wife and child, as well as himself, Kyle stated the project was a failure, because in all likely hood his family would have been locked away as specimens if the truth had come out. You see, it turns out that when a person is hit with the beam they gain a pretty handy ability, the ability to change their body and shape into whatever they will it to be. Claire stumbled onto this ability by chance when she found herself one day looking at a magazine and wishing that she could look more like the model featured. Her body changed to match that of the model’s appearance, including the model’s clothes.

While watching over Claire and Kyle’s daughter Beth, Jill is lured into the basement where Kyle has been reconstructing the molecular destabilizer in an attempt to better understand the changes and possible side affects of their condition. While attempting to grab Beth, who had crawled behind the machine, Jill is hit with the beam and knocked unconscious. As she’s leaving her brother’s house Jill finds out that the events were orchestrated by John Heathcliffe himself who wants to take Jill away for further study. What results is a comical and exciting chase through the city as a shape shifting Jill and her “Mr. Claus” Nick, who is kindly gifted with the moniker of “Mr. Gay Shoes” by Jill’s brother, attempt to allude and escape this mad loon while their own relationship continues to build.

The tale is exceptionally well written and executed flawlessly, but one thing bothered me greatly about this story which kept me from enjoying it fully. What on earth was it doing in this collection? Holidays Are Hell is supposed to be a collection of horror stories by renown paranormal romance authors. A holiday treat of witches, goblins, vampires, and other things that go bump in the night. So what is a Sci-Fi tale doing alongside these works? If I tuned in for a television marathon of the best episodes from comedic horror sitcoms I certainly would not expect to see episodes of The Bionic Woman nestled alongside episodes of The Munsters and The Addams Family. Why was this tale included in this anthology? Yes, Jill is a shape shifter, however this ability is gained from purely scientific means without any other mention or allusion to the paranormal. Mystique, a comic book character from the X-Men universe, shares the same ability as Jill and yet no one would think a story revolving around Mystique belonged in the horror section alongside Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series or Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series.

The story was exciting and entertaining, no doubt about that, but it simply did not belong in this collection.

Next in the anthology was Majorie M. Liu’s Six. Although I had heard and read good reviews about Liu’s work I had never actually read anything by the author until today. Liu’s tale made purchasing this anthology well worth it. Indeed I enjoyed Harrison’s contribution, and would have bought this book for her short story regardless, and even though I did enjoy the contributions of Sands and to an extent Pettersson, Liu’s Six was the real eye opener of this collection. An amazing short tale that left me wanting more, more adventures from the characters and more of the author’s signature style.

The tale revolves around Six, a proud woman and a member of the prestigious and downright scary squad 12. She has been trained, since a young age, in combat and weaponry, so that fighting would be as natural as breathing for her. Six is a part of the Chinese military and works to bring down terrorists and other nasty crime figures. Her strong sense of duty combined with the freedom of action that government officials have in China has given Six an abundant amount of confidence in her abilities, as well as the others working alongside her, to bring down whoever stands in their way.

This proud and strong warrior is thrown for quite the loop when an undercover operation blows up in her face and her target turns into a vampire of all things. Liu’s story only gets better at this point, instead of your typical “good looking and insanely powerful” vampires that the fiction world has begun to assume is the norm, Liu delivers a different sort of monster that borrow from Asian folklore more than Western which results in vampires that are very much as powerful as they are scary looking and blood curdling. To top it all off, Six herself becomes infected.

After the first couple of pages of this story I had high expectations for the heroine, a strong female character on a path of self discovery who did not feel the need to whine incessantly or deny what was right in front of her face (very refreshing!) and Liu did not disappoint me in the least. Necromancers, vampires, and terrorist cells all teaming up to throw a country into chaos. This is an action packed tale that will keep you ensnared until the very last page has been turned and the last word read. I strongly recommend picking up this anthology, this tale alone will make it well worth your while.

Wrapping up the collection was Vicki Pettersson’s The Harvest, which is set in the same universe as her “Sign of the Zodiac” series but is a prequel to the series’ main story. The story is told from the point of view of Zoe, Joanna Archer’s mother. At the age of sixteen, Joanna was assaulted and left to die in the desert of Nevada. In this story we are given the chance to see the events that followed immediately after she was forced to give up her baby and all from the point of view of her mother.

Despite this rare chance, I found myself disinterested with the story after the first ten pages and then quickly skimming over the rest. While the story itself held promise and an interesting plot, the author just failed at drawing in her reader’s interest and holding it. This is the exact same problem I’ve been faced with when reading her Zodiac series. An interesting and exciting plot, but the writing style of the author takes away from the story itself and leaves reading, what should by all rights be a fantastic tale, feeling like a chore. I had hoped that this would not be the case with her short story, but alas I was wrong.

If you’re a fan of Petterssons’ Zodiac series I recommend you still read it as it does give interesting insight into Zoe’s actions and sets the pace for the series, but this contribution was definately the weakest of the four.

Over all, this anthology is probably one of the better ones I’ve read lately. The stories share a common thread, and aside from Pettersson’s, they all forced me to set things aside until the last page of the individual tales had been turned. The only reason I didn’t get this review out sooner, was sadly, because of Pettersson’s The Harvest I just could not get into that story at all and eventually had to resort to skimming to get through it.

Joana’s rating: (3 out of 5 stars)

Upon completion of this novel I was sorely tempted to dangle my copy above some candles and watch it burst into flame. I suspect that would have been more entertaining than reading it proved to be. The pyromaniac temptation, no doubt, was inspired by the candle pictured on the cover. I’m really not sure what the other item on the cover is supposed to be however. A cat paw maybe? The ambiguity of the second item is reminiscent to how I felt when I thought about what the author’s purpose in writing this book might have been.

Cat Toy revolves around four characters, primarily Yai (John) a human space pilot who crashed on a planet inhabited by Cat People, of which the population seems to be made up primarily of men. Tryl is the cat man who found John, named him Yai, and took him as his slave.

A human male, a pilot, unsure of his place in the world and unsure of what he wants in life. What happens when one lone man crashes on a planet inhabited by men very different?

He learns that cats are playful, aggressive creatures who value their toys a great deal.

Initially, the story’s synopsis sounds promising. Science fiction meets romance, right? While there is space travel, planets inhabited by strange creatures, and some interesting technology, by way of the shuttles and the translating devices, that’s about it for the science fiction aspect of it. There is no real character exploration, no real discernible plot, and a complete lack of depth. The story itself is roughly eighty-plus pages in length; the author could have really used another eighty pages to flesh out her characters and plot.

By the end of the book I was just absolutely stunned at the complete lack of believability and realism in this book. Yes, it’s a work of fiction, however, as a reader I should feel as though the characters themselves are real. I should feel as though I had come to know them and their actions and thoughts should have been realistic to me. Instead I’m torn between laughing or cringing at the absurdity of the characters in this book.

Yai is a human who has crashed upon this strange planet inhabited by cat people. He spends days holed up in his shuttle with no memory of how he got there let alone who he is and what to do now. Eventually he is found by a poacher and later rescued by Tyrl, the leader of the cat people. Tyrl claims Yai as his slave, and Yai makes no protest to this and succumbs happily and readily enough.

Wait, back that up. Let’s read over the book’s summary, does Yai sound like the same pilot described on the cover? No, not really. On top of this, when Yai is captured by the poacher and Tryl intervenes he is granted a moment to escape, which he takes. Tryl catches him and pins him to the ground. After a fruitless struggle to break free from Tryl’s hold, Yai bares his throat and chooses to “die like a man”. Then through the course of the book Yai follows Tryl around like a little lost dog and succumbs to Tryl’s every wish.

Maybe there is something in the air on this planet that robs people of their will and sense of freedom? That has to be it, because I have a really hard time believing that a person, who would choose to “die like a man” and who has essentially been a man who has enjoyed his freedom, would readily submit to becoming another’s slave and sex toy at the drop of a hat. I just don’t buy it. After a period of time where he got to know more about his “Master” and had time for self-discovery? Okay, that sounds more likely. But in less than a day? No, I’m sorry, I just can’t believe that. I do however have bridge to sell you. On top of that, within pages Yai becomes a completely submissive being prone to tearing up at the slightest provocation.

Think I’m exaggerating? My second case in point: Karl, a fellow pilot and a friend of John (Yai) who is captured while trying to rescue his friend, who by the way, does not want to be rescued. Karl is captured by Mank, one of Tryl’s subordinates who has been searching for a new slave. After his capture and being carted off to his captor’s room, Karl proceeds to conduct himself as any person would expect. Instead of answering his captor’s questions with answers, he merely repeats his name and rank. When Mank drags his canines over Karl’s jugular, as though he might rip out his throat, Karl understandably has a bowel movement. After Mank rips Karl’s clothes off and douses him with a pitcher of water, that seemingly appears out of thin air, Karl is most understandably scared and embarrassed. But in the next second he is straddling his captor’s lap, begging for his touches, and telling Mank his life story. Yes, I can really see that happening.

On top of the unbelievability of the characters there is the fact that, aside from the immediate (and I mean very immediate) vicinity where the characters are, no detail is given about the planet and the scene around them. The complete lack of detail to the world around the characters robs the author of the chance to give more depth to her characters by way of allowing the readers to draw inferences about them and step into the world. The lack of detail also adds to the unbelievability of the story as nothing seems to connect.

After reading this book, the only things I could tell you about this world is that it has a ruling class of cat people that enslave other cat people and off worlders who they view as inferior to them. They have some technology and technical know how which seems at odds with the barbaric society and culture. They don’t have beds, but sleep on piles of furs, and the shower room has a waterfall and a drain pool to do your business in. So detailed isn’t it?

In short, this author is completely incapable of writing a world that the reader can step into, understand, and believe in. Her characters are flighty and whimsical at best due to the fact that the reader can see the author’s metaphorical hands forcing characters to dance to her tune, whether it fits with their individual personalities or not, and the world that these characters exist in gets so little attention that, for all intents and purposes, it’s not there for the reader. The only character the author seemed capable of making realistic and managed to keep “in character” was Tryl, and I highly suspect that it’s because he’s two dimensional at best.

I’m all for more books out there where the main couple, or one of the main couples are of the same sex. But it seems as though the tendency for authors is to try too hard and tip the scale to one extreme or another. The tendency is to either write the novel geared to the intellectual with too much emphasis placed on metaphors and the abstract, or to turn the novel into the perfect script for a porno flick. Let’s try for some realism instead okay?

Joana’s rating:

In a not too far off future, aliens from galaxies the universe over have invited themselves to Earth. Some are big brutes with more strength than brains and others are deceptively harmless. Some can even control your thoughts, move at the speed of light, and regenerate before your eyes. Unfortunately not all of them are very benevolent towards humans. In an attempt to counteract the threat posed to humanity a new task force was created – the Alien Investigation and Removal team (A.I.R). These agents are highly trained, equipped with the latest technology and granted authority that supersedes law enforcement and basic civil liberties. If an alien is judged a threat to humanity they are hereby authorized to kill upon sight without need to ask questions, before or after the fact.

Their best hunter is Mia Snow, a tough as nails agent who has proven time and time again that a female is more than capable of being a damn good A.I.R agent. Hell, they even use her for the training films and material! Her appearance tends to misleads her prey, as who would think that a petite china doll of a woman could be the fearsome Mia Snow? Of course a good book is never so clear cut and I am rather pleased, and dare I admit, surprised to see that Showalter’s Awaken Me Darkly does not disappoint in that aspect.

Truth be told, after sampling other works by Showalter, namely The Nymph King and her contribution to the Berkley Sensation anthology Mysteria I was rather leery of even giving this book a shot. I was not overly impressed with her previous attempts at romantic fiction and really did not desire to waste my time yet again. With the Alien Huntress series however I believe that Showalter has found her niche and now just needs to fine tune it, for clearly this woman’s talents lie more in Science fiction than in fantasy. That is not to say however that this book was absolutely perfect, far from it in fact, but in comparison to her other works it was a shinning gem.

Showalter has created an interesting future for the reader to delve into though admittedly I was disappointed that she didn’t give a little bit more back story and information about the world that her characters live in. Perhaps in future books more will be disclosed? One can certainly hope. Some things did jump out at me, which in the long run seem inconsequential, but could have the potential to better explain the world and thus the motivations of the characters in it. Chocolate is a commodity of the rich since the cocoa plant is almost extinct, as for showering, why chemical powders do what water once did. Both of these could have been further elaborated, why was the cocoa plant almost destroyed completely? Foolish poisoning of the Earth’s atmosphere by humans, alien interference? Just simple things that could have given the reader a bet grasp of the world that were ignored.

As for the actual romance in the book, well there was one scene in the book that summed up how I felt about it best:

“Enough” a female voice said from the doorway. “You are making me sick.” (p 330)

Lilla en Arr, the hero’s sister, made this biting but very accurate observation after hearing her brother’s romantic declarations to Mia Snow. And really, with lines like “You are beautiful when you laugh. Like a goddess of love come to enchant all who gaze upon you” (p 330) can you blame her for wanting to gag? And she, unlike the reader, was only subjected to the romantic lines and didn’t actually have to fight a severe case of the giggles during their sex scenes.

The seduction scenes were enticing but it’s clear that Showalter’s talent does not lay in writing romantic scenes let alone full-blown sexcapades. Rather than finding myself intrigued or turned on by the interactions between Kyrin en Arr and Mia Snow I was trying my best not to hurt myself from laughing so hard. The interactions and scenes are just far too comical and corny to be taken seriously. I will admit this however, Showalter does an excellent job of blending genres together. Unlike other authors, I doubt I need to name names, who seem unable to take an action filled romp and dress it up with a sensual relationship without turning it into misplaced softcore porn. Showalter did a commendable job of taking a tense and action packed sequence and transitioning it beautifully into a seductive encounter.

Her only failing is when Showalter attempted to take it beyond a simple seduction or make the scene into a relaxed encounter where the hero whispers sweet nothings into our heroine’s ear. At those points I found it ridiculously hard not to laugh or roll my eyes.

Humans with similar physical characteristics are popping up dead and as Mia and her team work hard to find the pattern and track down the real killer I was suitably impressed that Mia stayed true to character. This is a strong female character with a trace of femininity and I expected at anytime for this character to jump out of bounds or just slowly unravel, especially given how Showalter’s TNK turned out. Now while Mia stayed true to form I did find her trust and her immediate disclosure to her team of all of her secrets to be odd. In character, in a sense, but just overly odd. I don’t want to spoil the book, but given what her uncovered secrets entailed self preservation should have dictated that she withheld the more juicy tidbits.

My final critique, while Mia, her partner Dallas (and to an extent Jaxon), Lilla, and Kyrin were fleshed out I had a hard time truly despising or even believing in the villain. As for Mia’s boss, her father, even her other teammates, they were exceptionally flat and definately not real to me. When it came time for the confrontation between father and daughter I couldn’t help but feel disappointed and stiffed. The lines were there, but the emotion and weight behind them were lacking which resulted in a passage that should have been rife with emotional turmoil that instead became flat and too contrived.

While this novel was definately much better than the author’s previous works that I have read I cannot say it still fell short of the finish line. There were some high points granted, such as a strong and and admirable female lead, but there were enough pitfalls to detract from what could have otherwise been an astounding read.

Joana’s rating:

The term “Stepford Wife” has become a staple of American pop culture. Everyone knows what a Stepford wife is even if they do not know or understand the exact origin of the term. With this in mind I decided to review this classic psychological/science fiction thriller in hopes of luring new readers to this piece.

I myself had not read this book until recently. I confess to being a fan of the 1975 film, and no I have not seen the remake, but I really never had gotten around to reading this book until last week. I am immensely glad that I did read it though.

The story takes place in the fictitious town of Stepford, Connecticut. Joanna Eberhart, the heroine of the story, has just recently moved in to the idealistic and peaceful town with her husband Walter and their two children. The first hint you get that something is not quite right is the blatant refusal of the citizens of the town to address women by their names, only as So-and-so’s wife or Mrs. Blank. If that doesn’t tip you off that things are a bit off then the women’s interest in nothing but cleaning and staying home should. Really, who waxes the floors while their husband is out boozing? Something the reader needs to remember is that this work of fiction is set during a much earlier time. Women were lobbying for fair and equal treatment as well as the right to vote. So the determination of the women of Stepford to cling to these patterns during the changing times is both odd but not completely way out there.

I have heard people say that this book’s ending was poorly done and too many questions were left unanswered. I disagree completely. This book is not meant to be a clear cut piece that tells a tale in just twelve easy steps. This is not the AAA people. Levin’s goal was to provoke emotion and thought, which is the goal of any thriller, and he did so magnificently. This book pushes the lines of one’s comfort level and makes the reader question not only themselves but society as well.

What is it we really seek to attain in life? What is the ideal and what is reality? Those are but a few of the questions that this book brings up and forces us to ask. But don’t think that the focus of this book is the housewives or that the emphasis is placed upon the perfection of these women. That is just the tip of the iceberg my friend and you must read and look deeper to catch Levin’s true meanings. This book has been acclaimed as a satirical piece as well for it satires the genre that it was written for. Keep that in mind while reading this.

The style that Levin uses to write this masterpiece is simple and flowing. Levin does not waste time in detailing the scenery and characters beyond the necessary. Instead the emphasis is placed upon the words and actions of the characters and there are no cluttering or flowery effects to detract from this. I have heard critics cite this style of writing as amateurish and lacking. Here’s a newsflash, it’s not. Rather the style of writing utilized by Levin adds to the story and makes the tale’s climatic scenes and haunting cliffhangers that much more poignant.

Have you only watched the movie, as was my case? If so you’re doing this tale a great disservice. I advice all readers to go out and pick up a copy today. You will place it among your favorite works upon completion.

Joana’s rating: