Review: Awesome book - Awesome series.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 5, 2014
Ms Hawk has fast become one of my favorite authors. Her writing is crisp and vivid. She is capable of creating characters and worlds in two very different series that have me holding my breath in anticipation awaiting the next installment. This review focuses on her SPECTR series. Since this is book Five, I would like to introduce to the series. I recommend reading the books in order as each book builds upon the previous one. (So bear with me - this is a bit long but if you are new to the series - this will give you some background)The setting for this series is in a world where people with paranormal abilities must register with the government and are expected to share this information as well as their registration number when asked for it. There is a fair amount of discrimination and fear of people with paranormal abilities by the non paranormal population. There are also supernatural creatures living among the humans that have the ability to inhabit the body of a human and wreak havoc. A special agency has been formed called the Strategic Paranormal Entity ConTRol or SPECTR which is comprised of individuals with varying paranormal abilities who work together to protect people and dispose of malicious non-human entities or NHE’s. In the beginning of the series we meet Caleb, an unregistered paranormal. Caleb has been living under the radar, so to speak, hoping to live a normal life. While attempting to avenge his brother’s death, Caleb ends up possessed by a drakul or more commonly known as a vampire. Normally these spirits only inhabit dead bodies but through a series of events, Gray ends up trapped in Caleb’s very much alive body. According to current belief if he is not exorcised in forty days, Gray, the drakul, will be a permanent part of Caleb, possibly even taking over Caleb completely. As a result of this possession, Caleb meets Special Agent John Starkweather, an exorcist from SPECTR. When John fails to exorcise the NHE from Caleb, he ends up taking Caleb home to stay with him until they can figure out how to remove the spirit. While working and living together they develop a friendship, their attraction for one another deepens and they fall in love. With Gray trapped in Caleb’s body, this presents an unusual situation. Not a ménage per se but think of having two spirits in one body, with Gray experiencing everything Caleb experiences. This is something Gray has never experienced before, having only had glimpses of lives from the memories of the dead he has inhabited. I love this concept. The author gives us a story where the characters trying to cope with these problems as well as their day-to-day lives in a world that is not always kind to people who are different, in a thought provoking manner. All the while providing us with an action packed tale filled with mystery, suspense, and romance.Note: For those that have cliffhanger issues, and I admit I am normally one of those people. This is a serialized series. Each book has a complete mystery solved but the longer arc continues to the next book. This is an awesome series and the wait is not long between books.Review of Book 5 Destroyer of Worlds:Eater of Lives, (SPECTR #4) left us with Caleb/Gray being taken to the SPECTR Research Division by Director Graham Forsyth. We are led to believe this is just for testing before they exorcise Gray. Something that John has not been able to do so far in the series. Caleb has never been one to trust authority and this time his instincts prove correct. When arriving at the facility, Gray smells other NHE’s. How can this be possible? Protocol states that all NHE’s are to be destroyed once removed from their host. The group known as Moth, that contacted Caleb in the last book about Exorcising Gray, contacts Caleb clandestinely in the secure compound. The information they give him drives his suspicions even higher that whatever plans SPECTR has for him and Gray will not end well.Caleb feels that John needs to know about what is going on at SPECTR RD, but will John believe him, trust him enough to wait and let Caleb/Gray try to find out what is going on. SPECTR is John’s life, his home when his own family turned their backs on him. How will he handle this betrayal? Will he even believe it? Time is running out for Caleb and Gray and they are in a grim situation. Moth has said they would perform the exorcism and make sure Gray escapes, but how will they get them out of the facility, can they really trust them? Who is this Moth organization anyway?There are mysteries and twists and turns to this book that had me saying things like “You did Not just do that!” and “No way!” and other variations of surprise and at one point, of great delight. We learn more about Gray (who has a much larger role in this book – Yes! for those Gray fans out there, myself included) and several other central characters. I loved it! I realize this is very vague but if you are already a fan of the series – you do Not want spoilers.I highly recommend this series and this book was everything I have come to expect from this series, and more.