Review: A REMARKABLE STORY!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2013
If you are a reader of Maria Schneider's Urban Fantasy novels, your first reaction to 'Soul of the Desert' will likely be 'what'? I knew I was reading the right book, but I still clicked menu (Kindle) first just to be sure. If you are still reading only DTBs  (Dead Tree Books) all you have to do is flip the book closed so you can see the cover!Growing up in Miami, Florida, then working at a 2800 man maximum security facility as a nurse for eight years, I can say with confidence that everything she says about gangs is true, They are vicious, persistent and totally lacking a conscience. Ms. Schneider did her research well.But Soul of the Desert isn't solely about gangs, although their existence lurks in the background as a palpable presence to the very end. The characters are very well written. You get to know them, some of whom you would like to make go away! But then the book wouldn't be what it is! I got the feeling that Ms. Schneider was drawing from her memory for the New Mexico days. I fell in love with that state by reading her descriptions of life there, and I could almost feel the desert sand talking to me. I think I hear New Mexico calling me!The characters in New York and New Mexico are so real, I found myself 'talking to them' in my head. Trying to warn 'don't do that', or cheering them on when they've done well. Life on a cattle ranch wayyy out in the New Mexico boonies seems daunting to this transplanted city girl. I don't believe I could use almost everything I grew or raised in day-to-day life.  You will know when you get to that part!As I reluctantly read the last page of Soul of the Desert I immediately began thinking of a sequel. It is such a good book, and as you read it's almost as though you are there with the people. That you know them. But I realized how very difficult it would be to take on those characters again. To me, it seemed almost like giving birth without anesthesia. Every word is so perfect, you can feel Maria almost literally pulling them out of herself, one by one. I am very glad she wrote it, but it is perfect as a stand alone. No more need be said about Bobby.