Review: A genre-bending work of brilliance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 12, 2011
Review of  Poppet's Paranormal/Urban Fantasy:  DusanHaving some familiarity with Poppet's works in other genres, primarily erotica, I had high expectations. I was not disappointed.You hear a lot about `voice', how the narrative assumes a life-force of its own, when an author masters a rhythm and a cadence that is not only unique, but is pleasing to the eye and the inner ear. Perhaps pleasing is not sufficient to describe the effect.In music, when two or more voices form a composition built upon a single thematic element, and that theme is built on repetition at different pitches recurring throughout the work, it is referred to as a fugue. I take no credit for having superior knowledge of music theory. I wiki'ed `fugue' because throughout the book I was reminded of a singular piece of music: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony--the fourth movement, the choral, in particular. The triple fugue never fails to send chills up and down my spine, the experience rapturous, compelling. Poppet's `voice' is like that. She has a masterful command of the language that tilts the narrative structure onto a new playing field altogether. And interspersed with mind-boggling images, she laces the story with terse, effective dialog that serves to enhance the lush descriptive passages and inner thought processes--that taut emotional landscape--without resorting to false cleverness. There were passages that I would pause and reread, and think to myself `wow'.From the outset, Poppet invites us to not only suspend our disbelief, but to set aside our comfort level with the paranormal characters we think we know and understand. She sets an immediate challenge. Dusan, a soul-eater, has `saved' the soul of a child, a child brutalized in a way designed to make us cringe in horror. In turn, removing the life force of that child has saved him. Is this an act of mercy or of convenience? This is a question we will revisit time and again as events unfold.There are several things that make this book stand out as so unique that the words used to describe it are: mesmerizing, compelling, enthralling... Yes, a litany of gushy words that all boil down to "I can't put the damn thing down."Poppet's characters populate their `Verse using first person point of view--for almost all of them. This is uncommon and difficult to pull off for each character must have their own distinctive voice, perspective and thought process. Dusan's is a powerful, dominating, domineering presence. The object of his fascination and growing emotional attachment, Aine, has an otherness about her that is not easily explained. She is consistent with what we know, feel, to be `human' yet there exists an underlayer that tantalizes not only Dusan, but also the reader. Dusan's `assistant', Ashur; his brotherhood, of whom he is the youngest; a genuine Big Bad, Gregori, with an agenda that plants seeds of doubt about Aine and what her bonding with Dusan implies--all these characters are richly drawn.The second element that sets this story apart is the unusual twist given to conventional mythology, from the most ancient to the more modern Roman and Greek. Poppet gores quite a few oxen and in the process brings up some tantalizing observations on modern religious belief systems. Yet, while she may turn our conventional understanding on its ear, she never forsakes the need for rational underpinning and consistency.There are episodes of intense emotional conflict. There are big set pieces with high action, danger and imminent death, end-of-world consequences. The epic battle scene left me breathless, swept along to the point where I could barely click through the pages fast enough on my Kindle.And then there were the gems, where I sighed with respect. There was one scene that literally took my breath away because it illustrated how well-defined and in command of the character and his motivations and personality the author is. There was a scene of reconciliation where Aine apologizes and Dusan accepts. Yet he cannot and will not relinquish either his hurt feelings or sense of betrayal, even as he longs to overcome his own latent fears of inadequacy as compared with his brethren. Dusan is unrepentant in demanding the `respect due a god-like being', and in a willful display of dominance he voices the threat and its inherent manipulation to gain the advantage over Aine. This one scene alone sets this character far beyond the besotted lover category with which we are now too familiar in the paranormal romance genre.It's not often I can give an unreserved five stars to a book. Dusan by Poppet gave me everything I love about reading: entertainment, the ability to stretch my imagination, challenges to my own thinking and one additional element ... respect.