"Brilliant Debut Novel!"
Having read Day of Fire by Kathleen Nance and The Legend
of
Banzai Maguire by Susan Grant, I immediately pre-ordered
Shadow Chasers by Liz Maverick, Grant's finale to
Dorchester's 2176 series, The Scarlet Empress, and the
fifth in the series,The Power of Two by Patti O'Shea. While
I ordered, I noticed I had somehow missed O'Shea's debut
book Ravyn's Flight, so I had to have it. If this is a
preview of her style of writing, I cannot wait to get to
her book in the 2176 series. This novel is amazing. There
is such great talent in the Futuristic Romance genre, Robin
D. Owen, C.J. Barry, Susan Grant, but these new voices such
as
Robin T. Popp and Patti O'Shea are sounding like they are a
force that is here to stay. I just finished Popp's Too
Close To The Sun and she blew me away. After reading such a
great book as that, it's harder to come on the heels and
impress me as much. Yet from page one that is precisely
what O'Shea's book did! It's a strong story with such great
female characters, but the males are just as vividly
created, formed with such insight and emotion. The main story centers on Ravyn Vedier. She is the
communication expert on a team of 20 CAT specials - they go
in and investigate if a planet is inhabitable. They were
sent to Jarved Nine, which is strangely like Earth in
terrain, air etc. The only thing keeping this planet from
being labeled a prime target for human habitation is the
Old City. A town for about 20,000 to 50,000 people, perfect
in every way, but no people. When Ravyn visited the Old
City, she found it in pristine condition, just as if the
people walked off. The intriguing riddle soon takes second
place in her mind as she faces mind-bending horror. She is
down in the subbasement of the CAT facility no more than 45
minutes, and returns to find her 19 CAT mates slaughter in
a gruesome fashion and grotesquely arrange in the pattern of
a flower. Damon Brody and his team of six Special Ops force are on
the other side of the Jarved Nine when the distress call
comes from the CAT team. They arrive, discovers the
slaughter and fear all are dead. Damon finds a terrified
Ravyn covered in blood and hiding under her bed. He sets
his men to secure to building while he tries to get answers
out of Ravyn. Damon makes her a cup of tea and finally gets
a few shaky replies from her, immediately going on alert
when Ravyn insists she did not set off the emergency
distress beacon. They rush to find his men, and come upon
what Damon fears. His team slaughtered in the same fashion
as the other 19, this time arranged like a lightning bolt.
Grabbing what they can carry to survive, they are left on
their own to survive for three weeks until a military
rescue mission is launched to find them. The only place
left for protection is the Old City. They have to get there
before the killer stalking them runs them to ground. It's
their growing to trust of the other, which makes the
grueling pace bearable. Colonel Alex Sullivan is Ravyn's stepbrother. He raised
her
after their parents were killed. He knows something is bad
wrong on Jarved Nine and he is determined to lead a team
into rescue his sister...if she is still alive. He is
satisfied with the members of his team, except the
communications expert. Stacey is a CAT member, like his
sister; in fact, she is Ravyn's best friend. Alex sees
Stacey as a liability to his team. She is non-military. His
gut tells him something terrible has occurred on this
distant planet and Stacey's not trained to follow orders,
not trained to defend herself, so he is going to push
her during the weeks long voyage to Jarved Nine, trying to
see she stays alive. Stacey has been in love with Alex
since she met him at Ravyn's and her graduation years
before, so working under the harsh taskmaster is disturbing
in more ways that one. The secondary story of Alex and Stacey could make a
novel on its own, but under the skillful talent of O'Shea,
she weaves both tales into a breathtaking pace. The world
of Jarved Nine is vividly created, the characters achingly
real. You will care for Damon and Ravyn, and the secondary
Alex and Stacey. She starts with the first couple running
for their lives and the second desperately rushing to their
rescue, in a breakneck pace for the reader that never lags,
never fails to mesmerize. Be warned, this is a book once you pick you won't be
able to put down. I was looking forward to the Power of Two
before I read Ravyn's Flight, now I desperately looking
forward to it!
Reviewed by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Posted July 6, 2004
RAVYN'S FLIGHT will be reissued in August 2006, concurrent
to the spin-off ETERNAL NIGHTS.
SummaryRavyn Verdier is on a mission to test the habitability of
Jarved Nine. Damon Brody is sent to rescue her when the
rest of her team is mysteriously killed. Trapped on a
planet that harbors an unimaginable evil, they have only
each other.
An abandoned city holds the key to their survival, but what
they find behind its ancient walls defies all their
preconceived notions and tests the limits of the bond that
has formed between them. To succeed, they will have to cast
aside their doubts and listen to their hearts. For only
when they are linked body and soul—when they realize love
is their greatest weapon—will they be able to defeat the
force bent on destroying all life.
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