In 2007, Orbit released Lilith Saintcrow's Dante Valentine series, reprinting books 1&2 and releasing books 3, 4, & 5. And they were SO good!Since then, Saintcrow's gone on to release four books in the Jill Kismet series and two books in her Strange Angels series for young adults. She's a hit. And she has a slew of backlist titles and anthology contributions still available as well.
The Dante Valentine books are dark and stormy with a dark and stormy heroine. And I knew from the beginning of Working for the Devil that they were going to stick out.
First off, the series takes place in a future world that is not unlike ours, but has some pretty interesting technological advancements. Second, Dante is a necromancer who is hired by the devil to do his dirty work. For five books, the series continues at a relentless pace and Dante is put through the ringer.
Saintcrow effectively melds dark fantasy with mystery to create a series that works on so many different levels. There's a romantic aspect, lots of mythology, and so much intrigue that I just couldn't wait to get my hands on each new title. But I was so sad to see Dante go, too. I keep hoping that Saintcrow will return to this world, possibly to follow new characters, but we'll just have to see. She has released a couple of short stories that does revisit this world, however. One is in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance and the other is in Hotter Than Hell.
In Working for the Devil, readers are introduced to Dante Valentine as she's hired by the devil himself to track down and kill another demon. Fortunately for Dante, the demon in question is on her list already. But signing on with the devil in order to get her revenge is not the best idea, but unfortunately it's one job that Dante can't refuse.
So check it out. Add it to your wish lists (along with the rest of the series, because if you're like me, you'll be dying to know what comes next). Or run out and buy it with one of those nifty holiday coupons that are making the rounds this week. But don't expect this to be quite like anything else you've read in the genre. I find her pretty stand-out with characters that are anything but run of the mill.
3 comments:
I added this series to my wish list. I can download all but book one on my Sony Reader!
I finally have the first one in the series. My friend, Jenna, went to hewgah book signing up in her neck of PNW and had Lilith sign the first copy for me and also got me a copy of Devon Monk's first book signed to me. It's cool to have good book buddies.
I have eyed this series but haven't read any of them. ow I will have to.
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