"A Great beginning to an intriguing Fantasy series, each to involve a romance as well"
The Immortals are five brothers, sons of one aspect of the
Goddess and mortal priests. Their mission to keep life magic
and death magic in balance, for if one should become
stronger than the other the world would become unmade. It is
their charge to answer "the calling" when needed, to restore
that balance. But the calling had not been heard in seven
hundred years, not since Tain had been taken. Adrian was the oldest of the brothers, born in ancient Egypt
to the mother Goddess aspect of Isis. He had not seen any of
his brother in all of those years since Tain had
disappeared. It was Tain, the youngest who he had felt the
closest to and it was his fault Tain had been captured.
Adian had gone off to fight the Unseelies alone. Tain had
fallen in love with a woman and had chosen to stay with her.
While Adrian was gone she had slain the humans and taken
Tain. She was a demon, an "Old One" filled with powerful
death magic. He had not found a trace of Tain in seven
centuries but he heard him crying for help, bemoaning his
brother's betrayal in his dreams. It had happened again but this time the demon had followed
the dream back to Adrian. Adrian had been prepared for the
battle but then a woman's cry had distracted the demon and
it had followed her instead. Four months later, Adrian traces the cry to a warehouse in
Seattle. There he finds Amber Silverthorne, a young,
beautiful, and courageous witch taking refuge in a circle of
protection as the demon attacks. His dream had not been of
her but of her sister Susan, a powerful white witch who had
summoned the demon four months earlier and been killed for
the effort. A grieving Amber had attempted to retrace her
steps hoping to find a clue that would reveal the murderer.
It had worked a little too well. And then the warrior had
arrived..... After dispatching the demon temporarily, Adrian follows
Amber home hoping to find clues to his brother's
whereabouts. In one of Susan's journal they find ancient
writings that once translated could provide the necessary
clue. The demon distracts them by sending his minions to
attach her home. Susan's tampering with death magic had
weakened generations of wards on the house and the two flee
to Adrian's home in LA. There they call on Adrian's associates for assistance. These
include an Ancient vampire, Septimus who like all undead are
death magic creatures and a dragon Valerian. Amber's best
friend Sabina, a werewolf (light magic creatures) follows to
look after her friend. The demon follows them there,
confronting Amber in Septimus' club. Adrian dispatches it
once again but not before Amber's truth spell wrenches a
clue from it. Ice. At last Amber decodes the script in Susan's journal, taking
them to the frozen north and a cave deep beneath the ice.
Tain had been there, trapped for hundreds of years. Adrian
and Amber can feel his pain. They now realize that they've
been lured into a trap, that the demon had killed Susan and
brought them together for a purpose. Adrian had fallen for
Amber hard, just as he had planned. The demon had one
Immortal and now he wanted two. He would force Adrian to
make an impossible choice, his brother or the woman he
loved. But the together the pair is strong and the Goddess
has plans of her own. The demon is strong as well and has Tain in its' thrall.
Tain only wants to end his pain, even if it means destroying
the world along with him. The pair now realizes that they
need help from all the Immortals. But the calling hasn't
been used in seven hundred years and has all but been
forgotten. Somehow they must find the words and on a night
of power summon Adrian's brothers to them. But would they
answer THE CALLING? This story is not for the faint of heart. Tain is well and
truly ensorcelled by the demon who he both loves and hates.
He willingly submits to unthinkable torture and lives only
to end his pain. He will betray anyone to do so, even his
brother. He hopes by forcing his brother to feel that pain,
loving and losing Amber, that Adrian will help him to unmake
the world, so that he can finally die. The Immortals is an
ongoing series written by four different authors. The next
three titles involve Adrian's brothers Darius, Kalen and
Hunter. These are THE DARKENING, THE AWAKENING, and THE
GATHERING.
A second four book series will begin with Tain's story THE
REDEEMING coming in September 2008. THE CALLING definitely does its job, pulling the reader into
the pair's love story while giving them enough of a glimpse
of the big picture to entice them to read on and see how the
other brothers come in to play. I can't wait to see how they
garner the reader's sympathy for Tain who at the moment is
not the least bit sympathetic, and that is saying something
considering that what the demon is doing to him is so
dreadful we really should feel badly for him, but don't. This story is an excellent blend of fantasy and romance, and
makes vampires, demons, werewolves, dragons, vampires and
the Coven of Light (hereditary witches) seem like a natural
part of the contemporary world. The quest continues.
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted August 13, 2008
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