 |
| Needs more cowbell. |
Eric Lahti’s urban fantasy “Arise (Henchmen Book 2)” continues the tale of Steven,
Eve, Jessica and the rest of the surviving characters from “Henchmen Awaken”
with the same passion, joy, humor, and of course “bad guy” violence. While readers will certainly understand the
characters and their relationships better if they read the first book, Lahti is
such a strong storyteller that “Arise” can be read on its own.
Lahti’s
story focuses on Steven, who provides his sardonic, first person account in
the aftermath of the Dreamer’s freedom from US Government (black ops of course)
control. While Steven himself originally
had no powers, he is surrounded by those who are connected with the
otherworldly, especially in his former boss Eve, a seven foot tall blonde with
surprising strength and healing. Lahti
beefs up his cast of character with the addition of Wilford Saxton, who should,
by all rights, be dead. The mystery of
his continued survival is a wonderful part of this new story.
What’s
makes “Arise” so excellent isn’t just the jokes sprinkled throughout the
wonderfully wrought action. Lahti also
makes time for the relationship that readers have been waiting for between
Steven and Jessica. Lahti’s extra layer
of this potential love story fully engages the reader.
In
“Arise (Henchmen Book 2)” Lahti crafts an urban fantasy with thrilling action,
wonderful humor, and relationships around very real characters to create a fun
treat for genre-readers. I’m pleased to
report that this addition to the story doesn’t suffer from the usual
middle-child issues. It stands on its
own as a complete story, but it also nicely sets the stage for several more
chapters.
No comments:
Post a Comment