Overall Rating
3
out of 5
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Top 100 Contributor
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Enjoyable Enough
Date: November 10, 2009
This review is for the
Print
format.
"Persephone Alcmedi is by no means a professional assassin, but she did kill a guy once. Now her secret is no longer safe, and a High Priestess offers to pay Seph mucho moolah to kill Goliath Kane. Who's a vampire. However, vampire-wizard Menessos is more dangerous, and if he's going to die, Seph's going down with him.
A friend in need is a friend indeed, and now Seph's gone from a quiet home to sharing with six others. Sometimes more. Witches, wærewolves and vampires don't seem a gratuitous number at first, but as Seph gains more power, she edges closer to Mary Sue territory - and being a "chosen one" of sorts (Lustrata) only confirms that. Beverley is a precocious child, and grandmother Demeter...well, similarities to Janet Evanovich's character Grandma Mazur are inevitable. While Demeter may be here for comic relief and occasional knowledge, I don't quite feel that she's believable or realistic. On the other hand, my grandmothers have a lot more health problems, so I don't really have another elderly female with whom to compare her.
Then there's the sub-plot involving Seph's friends from...high school or college; I don't remember. One of them's found religion, which makes things awkward for everyone else. Actually, this sub-plot doesn't seem to have anything to do with the main plot, and thus could/should have been deleted. Unless Nancy plays a major part in the next book.
The group shares a great rapport, which makes their friendship believable, but my favourite character far and beyond is Amenemhab, a jackal who delivers wisdom during Seph's meditations. The novel is enjoyable enough, but I was never really in a rush to get back to it, though likely the Melbourne heatwave has robbed me of enthusiasm. I'm still interested in reading HALLOWED CIRCLE and FATAL CIRCLE, though."
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