A Mankind Witch by Dave Freer
The 3rd in the ‘Heirs of Alexandria’ series is much shorter and streamlined. Various characters have adventures in the Pagan Norseland of Telemark. An outcast princess is branded a witch, a thief and a murderess - can she be saved? This is a wonderful exploration of the Norse lands, culture and religion of this alternate world.
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Warpaint by Holly Lisle
This is the long-delayed sequel to ‘Hunting The Corrigan’s Blood’ from the author who also gave us ‘Sympathy For The Devil’, ‘The Devil and Dan Cooley’, ‘Minerva Wakes’, ‘Diplomacy of Wolves’ and ‘Mall, Mayhem and Magic’. Cadence Drake is aware of the profane threat the vampires pose to humanity. The rich, the sadistic and the power hungry have gene-engineered themselves into predators and monsters now the bellicose Cadence and her allies fight them. But they learn they have greatly underestimated the extent of the threat they face and that the price for saving humanity is a high one.
This long-awaited sequel is an excellent page turning sci-fi adventure. Lisle states in an afterword that she has planned 9 novels in this series. So hopefully the wait for the 3rd novel won’t be as long as the wait for this one.
Best Lines:
“Everything you are not and can never be.”
“Crying slows me down.”
“All humanity, all civilization, all thought will be gone for good.”
“My dreams run in those lines. So most of the time I decide not to sleep.”