Garet James lives in New York, with an elderly father, money worries and a struggling business. She discovers an antique shop one day whilst out walking and that's when her problems intensify.
The old man in the shop asks her to use her skills as a jeweller to open an old silver box which has been sealed shut. She takes it home, opens the box, and a whole new parallel world.
Her destiny and history is revealed to her by a number of characters which make themselves known to her, and it becomes a race against time to close the box and capture the demons of Despair and Discord before the world is changed forever.
The story is filled with twists and turns, with plenty of new characters revealing themselves to Garet along the way. There is a hint of romance with a vampire, which felt like a token gesture relying on the current public favour for vamps, and this does distract from the underlying fantasy/mystery theme. However the scenes set by the author are at times breathtaking, and I found myself on tenterhooks to see whether Garet managed to battle the demons threatening the world. There are great references to mythology and literature, but as the authors are American there is an over-emphasis on the explanations of Shakespeare and his characters.
Good concept, slow start, but the story certainly developed after a few chapters. The 'author' is a husband and wife team - Carol Goodman and Lee Slonimsky which may be why the writing at times felt a little patched together
Overall a good enjoyable read particularly recommended to lovers of urban fantasy.
'I'm part of the Transworld book group!' and was sent this book to review by Transworld.
No comments:
Post a Comment