Demon Bound, by Meljean Brook - Review

Note: this is the latest in a continuing series. Go here for my thoughts on the series thus far.

Another note: Arachnophobes, beware….

Like most of Meljean Brook’s fans, I’ve been waiting all summer for Demon Bound, to find out more about the mysterious Alice and “youngster” Guardian Jake. It must be a little nerve-wracking for popular authors, to live up to the expectations of their (possibly rabid) fans… but Ms. Brook should rest easy, because Demon Bound will satisfy the most demanding fan.

Brook creates the most unusual heroines. Really. I didn’t think she could top Lillith, a two-thousand year old demon, for pure out-there-ness, but Alice comes awfully close. She’s creepy, cold, aloof, and on a mission to kill one of the series’ most beloved characters. She has an extremely creepy affinity for spiders. If that scene in the second Harry Potter movie freaks you out, well. Prepare to be freaked out again. Did I mention that she’s creepy? She’s creepy, that’s definitely the word. At least, she seems that way at first. Developing this character into a strong but vulnerable, empathetic heroine seems pretty unlikely, and constitutes the best part of Demon Bound.

On second thought, maybe the best part of Demon Bound is Jake. He is awfully good. A youngster in the current pantheon of Guardians, his immaturity at a mere 60 years is something of a theme for his character. Now, you wouldn’t think that “immature” is the best starting point for an alpha hero, but somehow it works. Like all of Brook’s Guardians, Jake has a deep, immutable streak of honor that gives his cheeky, wisecracking, sometimes hesitant personality balance. It’s unrealistic to expect Jake to emerge at the end of the story with the—hmmm, I’m repeating myself—maturity of Ethan or Hugh or Colin, and he doesn’t, but his ebullience and desire to prove himself turn out to be the perfect foil for Alice’s somberness.

Ah, but wait, the best part of the book is the way they outwit the demon Tequon and the bargain that Alice made with him. I absolutely LOVE this kind of intricate puzzle with the AHA, I-love-it-when-a-plan-comes-together ending. (Those of you who only know of Paul Newman* from the salad dressing need to add The Sting to your Netflix queue.) Seriously, this book has the most deliciously perfect plot twist at the end.

Now, if you thought you knew everything there was to know about the delicate balance of humans, Guardians, demons, and other immortals in Brook’s universe, be prepared for more surprises and more revelations (really, the appearance of the nephilim in Demon Night should’ve taught you that lesson). I myself am ridiculously ignorant of biblical mythology, so after I finished this book I went on a little wikipedia safari and I have to hand it to Brook, her fictional world is beautifully created from—and is consistent with-- threads of existing lore. She’s not done building this world yet; each book brings another layer of intrigue and possibility.

Beyond the romance and intrigue that make up Demon Bound, there is another theme here that elevates it out of the category of fluff (not that there’s anything wrong with fluff): both Jake and Alice are able to achieve their Happily Ever After only by facing and overcoming their fears. Alice’s personal Sword of Damocles has informed every aspect of her life as a Guardian, and she has spent more than a century trying to figure out a way to avoid her final impossible choice. Only when forced to work through an active solution does she defeat her demons, literal and figurative. Jake, too, works through issues both trivial and profound in order to help Alice while still acting honorably as a Guardian. His subplot of coming to terms with the remaining threads of his former earthly life is tender and moving – although a relatively small part of the story, it may well be the best part.

Brook continues to deliver surprising characters, relationships, paranormal elements, and plot twists – the only thing that won’t surprise you is your total inability to put this book down.

For the series reading order, see my recent post.
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*RIP, Paul Newman. For a lovely tribute, see Stacy's latest post. Other than her failure to mention The Sting (heh), her thoughts are very similar to mine. We'll miss you, Paul Newman -- you were one of the good guys.

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Honey, I'm Home....

I'm back from my whirlwind tour of the Midwest... visiting grandparents, friends, and relatives in three states. I drove about 1,000 miles in the last week, and had hardly any time for reading, much less for the blogosphere.

While I was gone, J. Kaye did a spotlight on Alpha Heroes (thank you!!), several people picked up on the bloghopping challenge, and I won a copy of CL Wilson's King of Sword and Sky. Maybe I should neglect the blog more often.

....Nahhhh. Obviously, I have Amy's BBAW event to thank for the increased traffic.

Anyway, I'm home now, and napped the afternoon away, so I can expect to have the long-awaited Demon Bound review up sometime tomorrow.

That's the plan anyway!

The Chosen Sin

Anya Bast is running quite the contest over at her blog. Daily book giveaways, plus a grand prize involving a nice chunk of book money. Click here to enter The Chosen Sin Celebration contest.

The contest question: "If you were turned into a vampire today and were looking at immortality and a very, very, very long life, who would you turn to become your companion?" Hmmmm. I'm sure I should say "my husband." But as long as we're in the realm of fiction, I think I'm going to go with Cadeon Woede, a Kresley Cole character.

The Road To (You Know Where)....

I really did have good intentions.

I intended to post some upcoming release dates tonight.

I intended to post something pithy and wonderful about Demon Bound tomorrow.

And up until sometime yesterday, both of those things seemed to be within the realm of possibility.

Now? Not so much. I'm getting ready to take my kids cross-country tomorrow to visit family and I'm too fried to do any justice to either topic. Also, not sure how much access/time I'm going to have in the next week... so if you don't see me for a little while, don't worry, I'll be back--promise!

And the Winner Is.....................

Jackie!

Email me your snail mail addy, please!

Giveaway Deadline Approaching....

I'll take comments up to 2:00 pm today Pacific Time (that's about 3 more hours), and announce the winner at 2:30. Don't miss your chance!

Alpha Heroes’ First Challenge: Bloghopping

One of the things I like best about having entered the blogosphere is finding other cool and interesting bloggers. So this challenge is not specifically about books and book blogging, although you could keep that focus if you like.

Don’t we all love to find comments? Feedback is one of the things that keep us going. So here’s the challenge.

1. Starting here, find a linked blog that you’ve never been to before. It does not have to be book-related. If none of the links in my sidebar are new to you, hit the BBAW list and start there.


2. Go to the blog you’ve chosen and browse through the posts until you find something you find interesting. Leave a comment. Mention where you found the link. Mention of this challenge is optional.


3. Using the links in THAT blog, repeat. If you find yourself somewhere that does not have any new-to-you links, go back to the BBAW list. Be sure to leave a comment in each location, mentioning where you found their site linked.


4. Repeat until you have visited 10 new blogs.


5. Write a post on your blog showing your bloghopping trail. Content is up to you; you can highlight your favorites, critique the sites, or just post the list of 10. I recommend you open up a word document (or whatever you use) and list out the urls as you go. It's really REALLY easy to get distracted doing this and lose track of where you were.


6. I’d love it if you link back to this post.


7. Optional: add your favorites to your own sidebar, or temporarily put up a blogroll widget with the 10 sites you visited.


8. Optional: Come back here and leave a link to your post in comments.

Prize: your widened blogosphere horizons. Happy blog-hopping!

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Note to bloggers who would like to copy this post: You are more than welcome to repost the rules of this challenge on your own blog, and to have folks start with your own blogroll instead of mine. I would however still love to see a comment here at Alpha Heroes from folks who decide to try the challenge!

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OK, here's my trail:


Real Life is Over Rated chosen at random from the BBAW list. No links :(
Romancing the Desert – Sheikh Books chosen at random from the BBAW list
The Pink Heart Society lots of links but not to blogs :( this is harder than I thought!
Back to the BBAW list for the simply-titled The Book Blog
The Auchinleck Academy Library (hmmmm. Auchinleck? Whassat? Interesting…) I didn’t leave a comment here; it turns out to be a school-oriented website clearly targeted for school members & families…
Simply Romance Reviews chosen not-so-randomly from the BBAW list. Oooo. Giveaways. Lots! And from there to….
Lust in Time, a group author blog. How do you resist a blog name like that? LOL. And thence to
Risky Regencies Hee. Fun stuff, don’t miss the Rime of the Vulcan Mariner. Not too many blog links though, just Smart Bitches and this one:
Laurie Likes Books No, I didn’t know she was the AAR Laurie. But I have never been there before, so it counts! Final stop:
Alyssa’s Book Blog: Love it!

That was fun! I didn't love every blog out there, but that's OK. One of the great things about the blog world is how much personality the owner can give her blog, which makes for a more diverse and fascinating internet for us all! (Sorry. It's late. I wax maudlin sometimes.)