PARANORMAL
ROMANCE
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Chimera (composed
of multiple animal parts) on a Apulian plate, ca 350-340 BCE
(Musée du Louvre)
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Gothic Painting in
Gothem kyrka ( Gotland )
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BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Merrimon Book Reviews
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The Wild Road
by Marjorie M. Liu
Beautiful
contrast between forgotten and modern worlds
Once dead, Karr awakes to another world. Chained and caged,
physically and mentally, he speaks a language no one else
remembers. Communication is impossible. Dirk and Steele
must investigate and determine whether this enraged beast poses a
danger. Soria has a gift with languages that enables her to speak
any language. Perhaps she can bridge the gap between the two
worlds, a world of time and a world of species. At once lion and
also dragon, Karr's memory of the past torments him. Anger
enrages him as he awakens from the cave, a dark cave in which his
murdered body was sealed in a time forgotten or unknown to current
beings. Soria's past haunts her and the scars of violence mark
her body. As she encounters the strange beast, danger threatens
her at every corner, but is Karr the only danger? She feels
strangely protected by his powerful body but can she trust him?
Battling those determined to kill him, Soria must thread a careful
path, protecting Karr and also protecting herself as she seeks to
unlock the secrets of this strange new creature. As she reaches
down into the depths of his despair, Soria opens a door within Karr's
heart. Alone and lost in this new world, will Soria teach him a
new language, the language of love?
Marjorie Liu's paranormal romance THE
FIRE KING develops a new and different dimension to the Dirk and
Steele series. Building upon the legendary themes at the end of THE WILD ROAD, Marjorie Liu takes
legend one step further as she brings an ancient creature into the
modern world and pairs him with a feisty, intelligent woman with the
power of language to bridge the gaps. In a world overflowing with
people, new cities, and technology galore, Karr's plaintive spirit
strikes an emotional chord. Perhaps the sole remnant left of
an entire race now forgotten, Karr is alone in a way modern humanity
never experiences. Likewise, Soria's missing arm and violent past
separate her from others. Language forms the core of this
romance. Beautiful passages describe the power of words and
communication. Words gain a sensuality and sex conveys the power
of communication to reach to the depths and transform the hero and
heroine from within. Majorie Liu brings romance to two wounded
and isolated individuals, empowering them to look into and beyond their
past.
Marjorie Liu's THE FIRE KING
is quite different than the previous Dirk and Steele novel, THE WILD ROAD. Do not pick up
this book expecting to find a carbon copy of the her previous
works. THE FIRE KING is
an entirely different book and shows the author's ability to expand the
dimensions of the series, not only with a new tale of shapeshifters,
but also to reach out to new and exciting developments for paranormal
readers who crave something new and mind-expanding. Soria's past
role within the agency is not quite fleshed out in this book, although
her relationship with Roland definitely leaves a reader wanting more
knowledge of the history of this character and her past.
Personally, the lack of those details did not phase me because their
inclusion within this novel would have distracted from the intensity of
the portrait of Karr and relationship to Soria, but I would love to
read more novels about the earlier history of these characters and the
Dirk and Steele Agency itself. The narrative structure of the
romance is somewhat edgier than previous romances I have read by the
author, a quality I most appreciate because it brings a newness and
sense of exploration to my reading of a series. Every detail of
the presentation of Karr's solitude creates a wonderful pathos that I
have not experienced since reading the Old English poems "The Wanderer"
and "The Seafarer." Kudos to Marjorie Liu for these absolutely
beautiful, stunning images and for bringing this dynamic of solitude
into a new, modern world so at odds with those sentiments. Kudos
to Marjorie Liu for bringing a sense of magical, legendary history into
a modern, cutting edge romance!
Publisher: Love Spell
(August 2009)
Series: Dirk and Steele
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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