Pandora’s Daughter by Iris Johansen

Pandora’s Daughter by Iris Johansen — 9780312368043 — ***

Genre: Thriller
Time to Read: 3 Days

Megan Blair is a successful young ER doctor with a shocking secret that has been blocked from her memory since her mother’s death. As a child and then as a teen, Megan heard voices. Now, the voices are threatening to return and take over her life, but she isn’t crazy. The voices aren’t just in her head. They are the whispers of dead coming to her from beyond the grave. Now, she must learn to control them, and discover the memories and the psychic powers that have been dormant inside of her since she was a young teen.

With the help of a handsome and mysterious man named Neal Grady, Megan begins to uncover her forgotten past and discover the magical world that thrives in this one. But can she and Grady unlock the secrets of her abilities before she is destroyed by the man who blames her mother for his son’s death and who, in turn, wants Megan and all those who are like her to suffer as he eradicates them from this wold?

This is the first book I have ever read by Iris Johansen, and I have to say that I am happy that I picked it up. It is an exciting thriller with enough mysticism to interest a fantasy reader, enough action to capture a thrill seeker, and enough passion to enthrall a romantic. In Pandora’s Daughter, magic exists as a subculture in our own world. It is a genetic anomaly that has captured the attention of many over the years. Of course, different people have seen it in different ways. Some have wanted to use it, others have tried to destroy it, and those who possess these abilities have always done all they could to keep their gifts out of covetous hands.

I like the characters in this novel, I enjoyed the plot, the antagonist is wonderfully mad and the four most important characters in the story are lovable, but in some ways hatable. I did, however, run into a few things that didn’t appeal to me. All of the characters seem to use the expression “Damn it,” repeatedly. I’m not one to complain about “bad” language, but it just becomes old and redundant. They say “damn it!” when they’re in trouble. She says “damn it” when she’s angry at him, and he often says “I want you, damn it!” I just wish she had limited it to one character’s favorite expression, or found some synonyms that would express the same things. Then, perhaps it wouldn’t have gotten so old, damn it!

The sexuality in this book runs a little too rough for my tastes in some situations, too. A little…crude? “I want you (damn it), and I know you want me, and one of these days I’m going to stop resisting…” blah, blah, blah. The main male character says something of that nature a lot. Starting around the early-middle of the book, and going until the end. There isn’t any erotic content, it’s just a little uncomfortable to me. The “I won’t take no for an answer because I know you really want me, too” attitude he occasionally displays doesn’t sit well with me (In my opinion, even if a man is magically linked to a woman and he knows exactly how she feels about him, he has to take “no” for an answer. It would be wrong not to.). That, and he threatens not to take no for an answer for a long time, but doesn’t act until she says yes, so it’s an empty, pointless threat. Just a way to create sexual tension between the characters. Redundantly. I think she could have done better by changing it up a bit every now and again.

Over all, I really did enjoy Pandora’s Daughter. It was an exciting book that kept me reading to find out what would happen next. I am tempted to rate the book higher, but those elements that I dislike were too strong for me to do so. I expect that I will read more of Iris Johansen’s books in the future. Perhaps I’ll select one that is a little more popular among her titles (this one ranks somewhere toward the middle of her books when her titles are sorted by “best selling”) and hope for the best!

Check out Iris Johansen’s website here!

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The Altar of Bones by Philip Carter

The Altar of Bones by Philip Carter — 9781439199084 — ****

Genre: Thriller
Time to Read: About one week
Publication Date: 8 March 2011

Short Summary:
The Altar of Bones by Philip Carter is a story about a legend passed down through time. The Altar is said to be a fountain of youth that has been guarded by women of the same family for generations. The quest for the altar and its promise of unending youth has been the obsession of many. It has caused betrayal, heartbreak, assassination and conspiracy almost from the beginning. Now, a young woman has discovered that her bloodline flows from the generations of keepers of the Altar of Bones, and her estranged grandmother has tasked her with protecting it from covetous hands. Her quest takes her from America to Paris, then on to Budapest and beyond, running from the Russian mob, the KGB and an American “kingmaker,” all of whom covet the secret that she has been charged with keeping.

First off, I have to say that this is an amazing book! I must admit that it took a little while for me to really get into it, because it jumps around a bit in the beginning, from the present day to the 1930s and back again, changing characters and generations before seeming to settle on one character, then jumping again and finally introducing the main character. Once I got passed that point, however, I really got caught up in the story.

The Altar of Bones by Philip Carter is one of those books that are very difficult to put down. It is chalk-full of adventure and excitement. Car chases, gun battles, spies and betrayals. There is a crazy but beautiful female assassin (who somewhat reminded me of Xenia Onatopp from the James Bond movie GoldenEye), a greedy old mogul who has been declared an American Kingmaker, an assassination cover-up, and a race to find this fountain of youth in order to protect it from the Russian mob, the KGB, and other covetous hands. It also takes a few pages out of history, providing flashbacks to a presidential assassination, the tragic end of a doomed movie starlet, and a harrying escape from a Russian labor camp.

The two main characters are easy to admire. The friendship between them develops naturally throughout the story, instead of being forced upon them, and while they are both slightly “super” human, they aren’t so over-the-top that they seem fake. The “bad guys” have enough human traits to be realistic antagonists, instead of just purely evil villains. The magic behind the story feels like folklore, which I find gives it more believability than your typical magical sub-plot. When added together, this makes the entire story easy to get lost in, and to believe, at least on some level.

I would recommend this book to any fans of the genre. It is exciting, rock ‘em sock ‘em at its very best. There were a few points where I, as a woman, said to myself: “This is clearly written by a male author,” which isn’t something I generally run across (sometimes I find that a book is clearly written by a female, but generally books feel gender-neutral to me when written by either men or women), and some female readers may not enjoy this one, especially if they select it to give the genre a try for the very first time. Over all, however, Philip Carter’s The Alter of Bones is an exciting, mile-a-minute page turner that any action fan is bound to enjoy.

(I should note that this review is based on a proof copy of the book. It will be on store shelves on March 8, 2011. This is Philip Carter’s first novel, so I cannot refer you to any of his other works while you wait, but please add it to your list for the spring and keep on reading!)

Check out Philip Carter’s author site at Simon & Schuster!

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