Review: Young Dexter with feelings and a curse
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 5, 2014
I chose the title because in this dark urban fantasy (not for the faint of heart), the reader roots for a killer. Just like Dexter, Dimitri has no choice but to kill. Unlike Dexter, Dimitri has moral compunctions.Dimitri has a genie gene that binds him to an evil master. “This…I wish,” Karl says, and the twenty-three-year old boy has to go steal, burn, abduct, kill or else the hum in his head turns into unbearable pain that will eventually burn him from the inside. Of course, he cannot kill his master, and he cannot take his own life. Bummer. So he’s resigned to this non-life, trying to convince himself that his victims are all-evil (not easy when he has to kidnap a nine-year-old girl) but things get a lot more complicated when a one-night stand with Syd turns into something much deeper, and when Sylvia, the master’s daughter, feels it’s her turn to have Dimitri at her beck and call. And, compared to Sylvia, her daddy is the lesser evil. I have to say here that Sylvia commits an abomination that really tested my limits. I believe that this could have been omitted, and yes, it has affected my rating on Amazon.Overall, Summoned has a highly original storyline, expertly plotted and written. The story is told from Dimitri’s POV entirely, so don’t expect a read rife in angst. For the most part, Dimitri tries to add levity to suffocatingly sordid situations (it's a matter of survival to him), and that’s where the writer truly excels. The one-liners pack a punch, and I found myself inadvertently chuckling at times. The scenes follow a hot action-hot sex pattern (fulfill a wish, meet up with Syd-repeat), but towards the end the story moves forward at warp speed and the action just spirals out of control, making me speedread the book.As a reader (this is not my genre of choice, but I’ve read plenty of dark dark novels) I was involved all the way, but not being able to see a way out for Dimitri took away some of the reading pleasure, but then again that’s me; I want to know that the hero will find peace and happiness in the end. However, Rainy Kaye has a fantastic twist in store that tightens the noose even more, but offers a plausible solution to this seemingly impossible situation.Dark, intense, sexy, fast and very well written, Summoned is a great read for those who opt for a wild ride that tests their limits.