Review: A Wild Light

A Wild Light
Marjorie M. Liu
Urban Fantasy
Hunter Kiss/Book 6 (3 novellas)
Ace/August 2010

From the back cover ~

Obsidian shadows of the flesh... tattoos with hearts, minds, and dreams. By day, they are my armor. By night, they unwind from y 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 inside 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, 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.

Happy Birthday Maxine! To celebrate Maxine and her odd assortment of family members get together for cake. But in Maxine's world a simple birthday party can turn to something dark and dangerous. This time it's a family member who is the victim. Maxine must figure out what happened and why she has no memories of the man she loves.

Why do I not hear more about this series? Liu is an amazing author with the gift of bringing her world alive for the reader. And why haven't I started her Dirk & Steele series? I have the first 6 or 7 books, seriously need to start that series. If it's anything like the Hunter Kiss series, I will be one happy reader.

Maxine Kiss is the kick ass heroine who sports tattoos all over her body, at least during the day. At night those same tattoos come alive in the form of Zee, Raw, Aaz, Dek and Mal. I adore these guys! The boys are well developed characters with their own unique characteristics, even though Zee, the leader, is the only one that talks and he is stingy with words. I love how Maxine interacts with "her boys", treating them as family, trusting them completely and loving them as only a parent can.

The boys are demons who help Maxine hunt zombies. These zombie are not your risen from the dead type but humans who are possessed by demons. Maxine exorcises the zombie out of the humans and the boys eat it. In fact, the boys pretty much eat anything. In A Wild Light we find out more background on the boys and Maxine's. The plot is fast paced with a complex world that Liu keeps in check with her ability to make the complex flow in a logical path, while still maintaining that uniqueness that sets it apart from other urban fantasy worlds.

The heart of the story is Maxine, Grant and family. After the murder, Maxine's memories of Grant are buried deep, leaving Maxine to question her ability to trust him. Grant shows his patience and intelligence when confronted with Maxine's memory loss. He continues to reassure her of his love, even while we see it hurts him that she doesn't remember him. Maxine gets to experience some of her "firsts" with Grant all over again. Still, she is unsure of herself and her reactions to Grant. It was sweet and touching, showing a side to Maxine we don't see often. If there was ever any doubt that these two belong together, it was laid to rest. They are, despite their differences, a solid couple that work well together.

The family of misfits all have their strengths and Maxine needs their help. In learning why Jack, her grandfather, was killed, Maxine discovers more about her ancestors and the boys. The pieces of the puzzle start coming together and Maxine is put in a tenuous position of making a decision with far reaching consequences. One of the things I like about this series is that everything isn't always black and white. There are many shades of gray and Maxine is aware that she could slip into that gray area, that she might have to if only to keep the darkness within her from taking control.

The series is different from many UF series in that it has a very lyrical feel to it. Liu has an ability of describing the characters and world in such vivid imagery, giving them life in a way only a gifted author could. I would say this is heavier on the fantasy, with characters moving through time and space, facing creatures that are not of our world no matter how much they want to be. Definitely a series I recommend.

Rating: A

DIK Review: Darkness Calls

Darkness Calls
Marjorie M. Liu
Urban Fantasy
ACE/July 2009
Hunter Kiss/Book 2 (Plus 2 novellas)
Purchased

From the back cover ~

They are the obsidian shadows of my flesh - tattoos with minds, hearts, and dreams. By day, they protect me. But when night calls to them, they leave my body, dissolving into their true form - as demons…

Nomad born and bred, demon hunter Maxine Kiss has always relied upon herself to fight the darkness that surrounds her, the predators-human, zombie, and otherwise - who threaten the earth. But one man has penetrated her lonely life: Grant, the last of his kind. With music he is able to control any living creature…including demons. And now his life is in danger.

Haunted by the past, determined to change the future, Maxine soon understands that to save Grant, she has only one choice-to lose control, and release her own powers of darkness…


My first DIK Challenge review and my pick is from Aymless' list. I read the first book in this series, The Iron Hunt and enjoyed it so it was easy to choose Darkness Calls. An added bonus - it was already on my tbr pile. :)


First off there is a lot going on in Darkness Calls. Familiar characters along with some new ones are added to the mix. Could it be read w/o first reading The Iron Hunt? Yes... but I would recommend reading the series in order. There are a number of threads going through the story as well as the continuing relationship between Maxine and Grant. IMO, by reading the series in order you get a full view of the world and characters that Liu has created. She does do a good job with catching the reader up with previous events from the past books, so if you have a short memory like me it's easy to get right back into Maxine's world.

Darkness Calls starts off with Maxine and the boys, as Maxine calls them, hunting zombies. The zombies in Maxine's world are demons who take possession of human bodies and it's Maxine's job to exercise the evil demon and save the host. The boys are what you could call Maxine's guardian demons. While they are separate beings they are very much a part of Maxine and who she is. Even when they sleep, she is aware of them.

By day Maxine is covered in tattoos and by night those tattoos become demons that hunt with Maxine and help protect her. If she dies, they die. Unless she has a daughter to take her place. Liu has given these demons very distinct personalities. Zee is the leader of the five and he's the only one who speaks to Maxine. There's Raw and Aaz who I think of as scouts and soldiers. They, along with Zee, take to the shadows, looking for their target. And there's Dek and Mal. They tend to stay close to Maxine. Dek and Mal also like to hum songs that are oddly appropriate to the situation. All of the boys speak "demon" among themselves. They are thousands of years old with intelligence and ruthlessness on their side. They will do whatever it takes to keep her alive.

I shuddered, unable to control myself. It was almost sunset, and I pushed up my sleeve, revealing tattoos that glimmered in the air with strikes of silver light; scales, claws, red, glinting eyes shining like chips of rubies; and though the boys were not yet smoke, they were close, so close that when they surged upon my skin, I saw them ripple; and I knew the men saw, too. I slid a knife over my arm, sharpening the blade. Feeding steel to the boys. Sparks lit the dim air. The men flinched, and choking hunger bubbled up my throat, making my heart break open like the cloud of a burning storm. page 73

I love the visual Liu gives of the moments right before sunset, right before the boys are freed from Maxine's skin.

Maxine isn't the only one with special abilities. Grant Cooperon is a former priest and a man who can save souls with his music. He is also Maxine's lover. They live together at the shelter Grant runs, The Coop. This shelter is different from others because it not only shelters humans but also the occasional zombie. The zombies that come to the shelter come in the hope of being saved by Grant. This doesn't sit well with Maxine, in her mind the demons that inhabit the zombies are to be killed. Period. It's something that she's had to deal with since falling in love with Grant.

I love the way their relationship is evolving. Maxine isn't used to staying in one place but for Grant, she's willing to try. She does feel guilt over this because as far as she knows, she's the only one of her kind. To settle in one place means the other places go unguarded and she was taught to stay on the move, not to form any bonds with anyone. Grant is a complex character that Liu does a good job making him alpha when he needs to be but he never overshadows Maxine. Grant's gift is different in that he heals where Maxine kills. They are an odd couple that work surprisingly well together. It's the respect that they have for each other that makes them believable as a couple.

Throughout the story I found myself fascinated by the way Liu wove the different players into the finale. The different worlds come together for the battle of good vs. evil. Maxine and Grant are not up against everyday demons but against something far more sinister, more evil than anything they have experienced. With help from some unusual sources, they are able to keep from being killed by the big bad that stalks them. What surprised me about the plot is that I had no problem following along. It's complex and told from Maxine's POV so the reader only knows what Maxine knows but it's written well and the logic holds it together. In the end there are still things we don't understand because Maxine doesn't have all the answers yet.

Darkness Calls sets a fast pace with Maxine and Grant sometimes being the hunters, searching for answers, at other times being the hunted. The times when they were able to have a few moments of peace they revealed how strong their love for each other is. How no matter what, it will survive. Overall an exceptional addition to the series. Next up in the series is the novella, Armor of Roses in the anthology Inked, released this month.

Rating: A