Debut Graduate Review: In the Blood by Adrian Phoenix

In the Blood (Amazon USA, UK, Canada)
by Adrian Phoenix
Trade Paperback - $15
Pocket Books
Excerpt

Excerpt from publisher's blurb:

FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace now knows the extent of the Bureau corruption that surrounds her, but worries she is losing the battle. And when Dante and his band Inferno come to Seattle on tour, Heather can't help but be drawn back to the beautiful, dangerous nightkind. But what Heather and Dante don't know is that new enemies lurk in the shadows, closer than they think...and even deadlier than they fear.

Shadowy government forces have pledged to eliminate all loose ends from Project Bad Seed -- and Heather and Dante are at the top of the list. Elsewhere, the Fallen gather in Gehenna, intent on finding their long-awaited savior, the True Blood nightkind whom Lucien DeNoir would die to protect. And a damaged and desperate adversary, with powers as strange and perilous as Dante's own, plots to use Dante as a pawn in a violent scheme for revenge. But only one of these lethal forces holds the key to Dante's past -- a key that could finally unlock the secret of his birth and the truth of his existence...or destroy him completely.

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Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing Adrian Phoenix's debut novel, A Rush of Wings. In the Blood is her follow-up novel. Here's a link to all the previous Adrian Phoenix posts on Fantasy Debut.

Unfortunately I found In the Blood disappointing. I have a theory that if a debut novel is basically stand-alone, as A Rush of Wings was, it's difficult to make the sequel (or second novel in the series) equally compelling. I think this is because the story feels finished, and anything additional seems like an attempt to add onto something that doesn't really need more.

In the case of In the Blood, I felt the story was retreading the same ground that had already been covered in A Rush of Wings. The major storyline that appeared to have been resolved in A Rush of Wings turned out not to have been resolved after all, so the characters spent most of this novel trying to resolve it. Little new ground was broken in terms of story or character development. Ideally this book should have delved deeper into the characters to show us how they would grow beyond what we saw in the first book. But that didn't happen. The characters repeated approximately the same journey as in the previous book, except that we'd already seen it. As a result, In the Blood lacked the edge-of-your-seat tension that I loved in A Rush of Wings.

I had other quibbles as well. In A Rush of Wings I really enjoyed the various characters' distinctive voices. In In the Blood I didn't get the same sense of each character's worldview and background being reflected in his or her narrative voice and dialogue. I also felt the new characters, including the villains, weren't fully developed. And there were so many new characters that it was difficult to keep them all straight.

In the Blood does reveal a little more about the mixed heritage of the central character, Dante, who is half vampire and half fallen angel. But I didn't feel emotionally invested in what was going on among the fallen angels. Their characters weren't rounded enough for me to either hate them or love them (most of them are villains, so I assume I was supposed to hate them). Also, readers should be aware that Phoenix's angelic mythology could be offensive to some.

So what did I like about In the Blood? Dante was still fun to read. He has a great voice, and I have a soft spot for emotionally wounded characters. But overall I felt this book didn't deliver the compelling story and emotional punch of its predecessor.

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Read another opinion on Darque Reviews.

One Year Later - Adrian Phoenix - Plus Contest!

Adrian Phoenix is the author of A Rush of Wings and In the Blood. This year has been very active for her, and as you will read below, quite exciting! Adrian has a few things to give away for the readers of Fantasy Debut; the details are after her post.

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ONE YEAR (OR SO) LATER

January 8, 2008, my debut novel, A Rush of Wings, hit the bookshelves at book stores and online retailers. The moment was exciting, seemed unreal, but somehow so right all at the same time. That evening, I went out to dinner with friends and family to celebrate the book’s release. I was giddy and proud and happy.

Then Entertainment Weekly reviewed the book (I was stunned, then terrified. Smelling salts might’ve been handy. LOL.) and they gave it a B+ and a wonderful review.

Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times, Fantasy Debut, authors like Jenna Black, Marjorie Liu, Jeaniene Frost, Barb Hendee, and Jeri Smith-Ready all enjoyed Rush. With each new review I felt lit up inside, warm. It all seemed incredible. (Still does!) But best of all were the people I’ve met who’ve loved and promoted Rush – people like Tia and Raven – including my readers. They’ve moved me more than I can say by their devotion and enthusiasm in spreading the word. I owe so much to each one!

A few weeks later, I had my first signing and, even though I was so nervous my hands were shaking while I signed books, the time blurred past. It was scary and amazing and something I’ll never repeat – my very first signing. I celebrated by seeing Cloverfield with my movie buddy. AWESOME movie!

The year streaked past. I finished and turned in the manuscript for the sequel, In the Blood, saw the cover art (YAY!) and sold two more books in the series to my editor at Pocket – Jennifer Heddle. I love working with Jen. She knows my strengths and weaknesses as a writer and never pulls her punches. (Okay, she does pad the punches with humor, something I appreciate.)

We decided it was time to name the series. So after lobbing dozens of possible titles at Jen like a baseball-spitting batting machine, we settled on The Maker’s Song.

It was around this time, or maybe a month or so earlier, that I learned Rush would be re-released in mass-market paperback February 24, 2009. I pogoed all around my house, freaking out my pets who worried Mommy was deranged (well…more deranged).

Around November 2008, advance reviews for In the Blood started appearing. PW, Romantic Times, The Library Journal, all were great, calling it a paranormal thriller. Giddy time again! I also learned that In the Blood was going to be a January featured title in the Barnes and Noble online paranormal/urban fantasy book club. Let’s make it delirious time!

One of the most surreal things happened the day before In the Blood was released – our local newspaper, The Register-Guard, interviewed me. I met the journalist, Finn John, at the local Barnes and Noble and we talked over coffee. The next day, a photographer from The Register-Guard showed up at my house to take photos of me in my office. Working.

“Just write and I’ll take photos.” Um. Okay. Gibberish fills the monitor. LOL.

When In the Blood was released in trade paper on December 30, 2008, it dawned on me that I’d had two books come out during an amazing year, a year that raced past, never to be recaptured.

But I realize each book is a unique and fulfilling experience – from pouring the story onto the page to revisions, copy-edit, page proofs, then release and, hopefully, into the hands of eager readers. Each book and the world held between its covers, will be opened, spilling light onto the pages and into the hearts of its readers. As it has been with every book ever written. Every story ever told.

I’m honored to be a part of that – as a reader, a writer, a dreamer. I’m looking forward to all the books to come.

What’s up ahead? Well, at the end of August 2009, In the Blood will be re-released in mass-market paperback. The third book in the series, Beneath the Skin, will be released in mass-market paperback from the get-go (YAY!), January 2010.

Also, I’ve just sold the first two books in a new urban fantasy series to my editor at Pocket, so now I’ll have two series going! I imagine the books will be released six months apart, one from each series. My dream continues to blossom into reality. Excited doesn’t even cut it – maybe bliss. We’ll see how blissful I feel when I’m running up against two deadlines. A problem I’m looking forward to.

I count my blessings every day. I know how lucky I am. Thank you, Tia, for allowing me this opportunity!

~*~

Giveaway!

Everyone who leaves a comment will be automatically entered in a giveaway! One winner will receive a mass market paperback copy of A Rush of Wings, and another winner will receive the current trade paperback of In the Blood. I'm not sure when she'll close the contest and pick a winner, so hurry up and enter!

A RUSH OF WINGS: Final Review

Here is Raven's last installment of her as-she-reads-it review of A RUSH OF WINGS.

When I first started reading A RUSH OF WINGS, I was prepared to go either way. I was intrigued by the premise, but given who the main characters were (a wounded male rocker and a female FBI agent), I figured a romance was going to be central, and many stories that center around romances don't work for me. Well, the romance wasn't really central, and it was handled very naturally. The book as a whole was more than just a good read. It blew me away.

I did have a few small quibbles, so let me get those out of the way now. One or two things were set up but never referred to again. For instance, near the beginning Dante is summoned to appear before another New Orleans vampire, but that vampire never resurfaces. And on the level of story and believability, at two different points two different characters (both important to the story) escape death when I was fairly sure they wouldn't have been left alive. In one case the character who survives wonders why she wasn't killed, but she never gets an answer. In the other case, a justification is provided for letting the character live, but I didn't completely buy it. Also, one of the villains has murky motives which are never entirely clarified.

But an amazing book can be forgiven a flaw or two. I rarely gush about books because I rarely find one I absolutely love and can't put down, but with this book I found one.

Not all the story threads tie up at the end, which isn't surprising considering this is the first in a planned four-book series. But the main storyline does get resolved, resulting in a satisfying conclusion while still leaving enough open ends to lead into the next book. I think the main - and most interesting - questions involve Dante's past (and what his future will be). Dante is really the star of the book, with the strong, no-nonsense Heather as a terrific supporting character. Dante is full of contradictions, he's capable of being a creator and a destroyer, and Adrian Phoenix delves into his mind unflinchingly. As I mentioned previously, Phoenix doesn't pull her punches. Bad stuff happens to her characters. Lots of it. Dante takes it the worst, which gives Phoenix a chance to really show the reader who this character is. He's extremely compelling.

I loved the voices Phoenix created for her characters. Nearly everyone's speech has a distinctive flavor, which helped me keep the multiple viewpoints straight. Dante's voice is down-to-earth, slangy, a little foul-mouthed, and sprinkled with Cajun words and phrases. Heather, the put-together FBI agent, is slightly more formal and sounds very authoritative and professional when she's in agent mode. The incredibly creepy villain known as E has the habit of assigning nicknames to the people he's dealing with. His voice was part of what made him so creepy. He sounds friendly, almost loving, and yet his idea of love is to carve up living people while reading them poetry. He's so realistic that I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to read his scenes again. Most of them are pretty tough emotionally.

In general I found the good guys more compelling than the bad guys, probably because there were so many shades of gray in the good guys, particularly Dante. The main villains tended to be, well, villains, and they stayed that way.

Although I've never been to New Orleans, the New Orleans setting felt very real to me. I loved how Phoenix managed to infuse the book with a sense of place without hitting the reader over the head with it. She referred to street names, mentioned the muggy air, gave many of the characters French-derived names and sprinkled Cajun through their dialogue. It resulted in a sense that this particular story and these particular characters belonged in this setting.

The vampire lore is intriguing, and Phoenix has woven in religion and mythology. Any good vampire story has to include its own twist on the traditional lore, and I liked the direction Phoenix took this. I'm curious to know more, and I'm sure I'll get more details in the next three books.

The story itself is a fairly standard mystery, but Phoenix doles out suspense expertly, so the reader is always kept guessing. That and the superb characterization make this book what it is. In short, A RUSH OF WINGS is a keeper. I'll be finding a home for it on my bookshelf (books I don't like get carted off to the library), but I'm sure I'll be taking it down often to reread my favorite parts. I can't wait for the sequels.

Links!
All Adrian Phoenix posts
Original Debut Announcement (with even more links)
Adrian Phoenix website
A RUSH OF WINGS at Amazon USA, UK and Canada

An Interview With Adrian Phoenix!

Raven helped compile the questions for this interview with Adrian Phoenix. Enjoy!

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Please tell us something about your inspiration for A RUSH OF WINGS. Raven is very impressed with Heather, your protagonist. How did you come up with her? What about Dante? You seem to know the Goth scene quite well--were you part of it, or do you do great research?

First off, thanks so much for allowing me the opportunity to connect with your readers. I appreciate it.

As for my inspiration for A RUSH OF WINGS, gaming and music had a large hand as did my fascination with myth and religious history. Both Dante and Heather were initially created as RPG characters and I developed an adventure for the other players which took them into Club Hell and a deep, dark mystery – one that was completely different from the story in RUSH.

Music, NIN in particular, evokes intense emotions within me, and images – haunting images. That’s how Dante was born. From song lyrics brimming with rage and ragged with unvoiced pain; from the picture in my mind. Same with Heather. But I had to do FBI research (very interesting) for her. I wanted her to be strong, of course, and driven, but compassionate despite the soul-draining work of hunting killers and knowing there’ll always be more killers and more victims, their voices forever silenced. She has her own secrets – her mother’s murder, her sister’s illness, her FBI father. She and Dante are kindred souls, despite their differences.

With Lucien, I was able to explore my thoughts on Gnostic teachings (the God of the Old Testament was a fallen angel), and develop my own mythology.

I’ve been a part of the Goth scene (too busy, alas, lately to go out) and my closet is jam-packed with Goth outfits. I’ve always been Goth at heart – even before it was termed Goth. I still do my research though, just to keep up with everything. Fashion, hair, music, ideology, sexuality.

Your bio states that New Orleans is the "city of your heart". Can you tell us more about your connection to New Orleans?

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with New Orleans. I read books, studied its history, watched TV specials and movies, and wrote short stories that took place in New Orleans, and ran gaming adventures that also occurred in N’awlins. When I finally went to New Orleans, I dumped my luggage at the hotel (which was only blocks from the French Quarter), grabbed my friend and beelined for the Quarter. And I felt like I’d finally come home. I felt like I belonged, that I knew this place and it knew me – and I’d never felt that anywhere before. Or since. I hope to live in New Orleans someday. Since that moment, I’ve come to believe that if a person can have a soul-mate, then why not a soul-place? New Orleans is mine.

Did you write RUSH before or after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city? Did Hurricane Katrina impact your decision to set RUSH in New Orleans?

I finished it just before Katrina. In fact, I was supposed to return to New Orleans that October and spend Halloween there, attend Voodoo Fest. If anything, Katrina convinced me to keep the stories in New Orleans. Ironically, the sequel to RUSH takes place in Seattle. A few scenes are in New Orleans, but the majority of the story takes place in Portland and Seattle. In book three, I return to New Orleans. YAY!

Please tell is of the origins of your particular brand of vampire lore.

I’ve always been fascinated by vampires. Given that most cultures have vampire lore of some kind or another, I decided there must be an element of truth, one both romantic and savage. A living species. (As for the undead aspect, I’ll reveal my take on that in book 3) Vampires are predators, yes, but they also need mortals. Vampires – or nightkind, as Dante refers to them (think of the child who was trying to figure out why he was so different from the other kids) – can give death or immortality. Pain or sexual release. A symbiotic dance. And then there’s the Fallen...

Do you have a favorite scene or character in A RUSH OF WINGS?

It’s a small scene, but I love the scene where Heather serves her search warrant at dawn, dragging Dante from Sleep. Especially when he says, “Lucien doesn’t think much of you.” And Heather replies, “Good morning, by the way. Got that search warrant.” Take that, Mr.-I-gotta-do-it-the-hard-way. He lifts a hand and circles whoop-de-doo. LOL.

I like all the characters, but Dante’s my favorite. I also love Heather, Lucien and Von.

Which scene gave you the most trouble?

I didn’t have trouble, per se, with any of the scenes, but some were very hard to write, emotionally painful. I don’t want to say too much in case people seeing this haven’t yet read RUSH. I’ll put it this way – the scene in the slaughterhouse, the scene in the cathedral, the scenes in the van. Emotionally tough.

I understand that you have a four-book series planned. Can you give us a teaser about your sequel, IN THE BLOOD?

Four books for this story arc, anyway. Hopefully, there’ll be more later on. Deadly ripples from the “fall” of Bad Seed spread throughout the Bureau and the mysterious Shadow Branch. Dante falls into the hands of the man who helped design Bad Seed along with Johanna Moore, tumbling into a hell beyond imagination as his programming is triggered. Heather fighting forces from within the Bureau and her own family, falls into equally evil hands. She has to become a beacon for Dante, to guide him back from inner darkness while confronting her own. And Lucien fails in his desperate attempt to hide Dante from the Fallen...

Have you finished any other novels previous to A RUSH OF WINGS? If so, can we expect to see them in print, or are they permanently trunked?

This was my first novel, so I don’t have any trunked. I do have published short stories, some of which I’ll probably post on my website – especially “Sacrament” since it is a vampire story featuring Silver’s origins. I also plan to post short stories about Dante, Heather, Lucien and other characters from RUSH on my website revolving around events that happened just prior to RUSH. Hopefully, the stories will tide folks over until IN THE BLOOD is released next January. I’m also planning a Yahoo group called Dante’s Club Hell where people can discuss the book and my other stories and have scheduled chats with the characters – ask those burning questions!

Do you have a day job, or do you write full-time? If you work, how do you blend your writing life and your work life?

I have a day job, yes. I hope eventually to write fulltime, my head is so full of stories and characters, I worry about having enough time to write them all. I work at my day job Mon-Fri 8-5. I write every evening and on the weekends. I write every day, no matter if I’m tired, sick, or want to watch “Supernatural.” (That’s what the DVR is for. LOL.) My friends feel neglected from time to time (and so do my cats), so I make sure to thank them for their understanding and make time to go out to dinner and/or a movie. I definitely schedule playtime for my cats. So, right now, it’s like working two jobs.

Please share your publishing story and any writing advice you may have.

I was very lucky. I landed a great agent in New York and he sold RUSH a couple of months later. It’s all been like a dream – but do NOT pinch me! The important thing is to believe in yourself. Always follow your dreams. Never let anyone – not even yourself – talk you out of going for the thing you love. Always follow your heart. And, then, work. Write every day. Read – study the work of authors you like. See what works and learn from what doesn’t. Network with other writers, everyone can use some support and a cheering squad. But I can’t stress enough the two main things: Believe in yourself and write every single day. Work for your dream – you’ll get it. I firmly believe that.

Thank you!!

Merci beaucoup!

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Kimberly Swan has another interview with Adrian over at Darque Reviews.

A RUSH OF WINGS: Rushing Toward Conclusion

Here is Raven's latest installment of her as-she-reads it review of A RUSH OF WINGS.

I'm now more than three-quarters of the way through A RUSH OF WINGS. Tension is high, Dante's in more trouble than ever, and everything is converging toward the ultimate showdown.

One of the things I'm really enjoying about this book is that Adrian Phoenix doesn't pull her punches. If her characters walk into a bad situation, nobody bails them out. They have to rise to the occasion. And nobody gets spared anything. Basically, whatever the characters are desperately trying to avoid will happen to them. This is great for tension and creating emotional connection to the characters.

I still have absolutely no idea how the book is going to end. I know who the final confrontation will be with (unless the story takes an unexpected turn), but I still don't know the bad guy's complete motivation or the whole truth about Dante. Phoenix is good at doling out information bit by bit. At first when she jumped into the bad guys' viewpoints I was afraid she might give away too much too soon, but she's avoided that trap. She's keeping me guessing, and I can't wait for the conclusion.

A RUSH OF WINGS: Thoughts at Mid-Read

Raven has sent me two updates on her progress through A RUSH OF WINGS. Here is her first installment.

At 256 pages into A RUSH OF WINGS, I find the story has grown deeper and more complex, but the solution to the mystery remains just as far off.

I literally cannot put this book down. Heather is trying to find out exactly what all the bad guys want from Dante, but meanwhile Dante himself is struggling with the dark secrets of his past, and Adrian Phoenix does a great job of making the reader feel how wounded he is and how much he's hurting.

To make matters worse, Heather and Dante have each developed doubts about certain people they used to trust, so right now they're both operating without much backup. Of course, this puts them in even more danger as they try to stay alive and solve the mystery. Incidentally, the reader finds out some of what's going on before Heather and Dante do, because we're privy to what the other viewpoint characters are thinking and doing.

But the central mystery of who Dante really is and what his true identity means for him and for everyone remains, well, a mystery. I can't wait to see how Adrian Phoenix resolves it.

A RUSH OF WINGS: Initial Impressions

Raven is providing her as-she-reads-it impressions of A RUSH OF WINGS.

I'm really enjoying A RUSH OF WINGS so far. I'm about 70 pages in (the book is approximately 400 pages long), and I'm hooked.

I'm loving Heather Wallace. She's not one of those heroines who suddenly starts acting like a wimpy twelve-year-old anytime the hero shows up or is mentioned. I can't stand heroines like that. Supposedly they're sharp, mature professionals, but you'd never know it once Mr. Right comes on the scene. But not Heather. She really is sharp, mature, and professional, at least so far. In one amazing scene where she gives the hero, Dante, his comeuppance, I was grinning in delight and cheering her on.

Although the back cover gives the impression that this is going to be a mystery, the mystery is really more about why than who. That's okay. I have a feeling those whys are going to be pretty riveting.

So far I have only two minor quibbles. The first is that there are so many viewpoint characters. In just 70 pages Adrian Phoenix has already plunged us into the minds of at least seven different people. It's a few too many for me, especially since I don't find the villains as compelling as I find Heather and Dante and their associates. Phoenix does it well, though, and I haven't had any problems keeping everyone straight.

The other quibble (presumably not Phoenix's fault) is that the glossary is located at the back of the book. Phoenix has adapted or invented non-English terminology to use for some of the non-human types of characters in her story, and I have no problem with that, but the terms are presented in the text without definitions, and with the glossary being at the back of the book, readers might not find it until they're done reading. I only discovered it by accident.

But I'm impressed so far, and I can't wait to read more.

New Featured Debut - A RUSH OF WINGS

Although I'm still reading and enjoying Across the Face of the World (see the post below), I may not finish it before Wednesday or so. In the meantime, since Raven is enjoying A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix so much, I am making that novel the Featured Debut, and I'll post her initial impressions later today. Over the next week or so, I'll intrude from time to time with a few debut shout-outs (I still have two from ClassOf2K8 to post) and miscellaneous announcements. Next weekend, I'll post my final impressions of Across the Face of the World, plus hopefully an interview with the author, Russell Kirkpatrick.