Rogue Oracle Review

Rogue Oracle

-          Alayna Williams

Publisher: Pocket Books

I recieved a copy from the author.

Tara Sheridan is the best criminal profiler around—and the most unconventional. Trained as a forensic psychologist, Tara also specializes in Tarot card reading. But she doesn’t need her divination skills to realize that the new assignment from her friend and sometime lover, Agent Harry Li, is a dangerous proposition in every way.
Former Cold War operatives, all linked to a top-secret operation tracking the disposal of nuclear weapons in Russia, are disappearing. There are no bodies, and no clues to their whereabouts. Harry suspects a conspiracy to sell arms to the highest bidder. The cards—and Tara’s increasingly ominous dreams—suggest something darker. Even as Tara sorts through her feelings for Harry and her fractured relationship with the mysterious order known as Delphi’s Daughters, a killer is growing more ruthless by the day. And a nightmare that began decades ago in Chernobyl will reach a terrifying endgame that not even Tara could have foreseen . . .

Tara and Harry are reunited a few months after the end of Dark Oracle in order to search for missing intelligent operatives. The book opens with an extremely creepy scene involving the disappearance of one of these operatives – it had me checking the back of my wardrobes before I went to bed! – and the action doesn’t stop. There is more emotion than in Dark Oracle with the relationship between Harry and Tara deepening. I really love the way Harry and Tara are equals throughout and complement each other despite having different world views. I think the relationship between them is one of my favourites in Urban Fantasy as it feels real, complete with banter, attraction but also nervousness and learning about each other. Yet, the relationship takes a backseat with the focus always on the investigation with some great action and the stakes continually being raised.

Once again there is a combination of science and mystical with Tara’s tarot cards vital to the investigation – even as the power itself mutates. There is more mysticism this time round with Cassie exploring her oracle powers as well. One of my favourite creations though is Galen – a troubled man who has some extraordinary abilities – which are fascinating and repulsive at the same time. Certainly a character that stays with you after you close the book! I enjoyed this more than Dark Oracle and I enjoyed Dark Oracle a lot! J

Recommended for fans of Ann Aguirre and Kelley Armstrong. 9 out of 10.

Alayna Williams - 30 Second Quiz!

Earlier today I reviewed Dark Oracle by Alayna Williams - and loved it. Today the sequel Rogue Oracle is released and to celebrate I have a 30 second quick quiz with the author herself. So please welcome Alayna William aka Laura Bickle!

-          Favourite Book you’ve read?

Robin McKinley's HERO AND THE CROWN

-          Favourite Book you’ve written?

They're all my children, and I love them in different ways. I loved EMBERS and SPARKS for the worldbuilding and Sparky, and I love the ORACLE books for the neat stuff I learned about particle accelerators, astrology, and genetics.

-          Favourite food?

Chocolate. Hands-down.

-          Favourite film?

LADYHAWKE. Yeah, Rutger Hauer in that film is my ideal of a romantic hero.

-          Favourite music?

Sting.

-          Favourite authors?

Robin McKinley, Ann Aguirre, Jeri Smith-Ready, Jessa Slade, M.L.N. Hanover

-          Any pets?

Four barely-reformed feral cats and two fish named after Star Wars characters. Just the fish named after Star Wars characters, I promise: Ackbar and Sullustan

-          Favourite saying/quote?

From The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: "No matter where you go, there you are."

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Dark Oracle Review

Dark Oracle

-       Alayna Williams

Kindle Book

As a criminal profiler, Tara used science and her intuitive skill at Tarot card divination to track down the dangerous and depraved, including the serial killer who left her scarred from head to toe. Since that savage attack, Tara has been a recluse. But now an ancient secret society known as Delphi’s Daughters has asked for her help in locating missing scientist Lowell Magnusson. And Tara, armed with her Tarot deck, her .38, and a stack of misgivings, agrees to try. Tara immediately senses there is far more at stake than one man’s life. At his government lab in the New Mexico desert, Magnusson had developed groundbreaking technology with terrifying potential. Working alongside the brusque but charismatic agent Harry Li, Tara discovers that Magnusson’s daughter, Cassie, has knowledge that makes her a target too. The more Tara sees into the future, the more there is to fear. She knows she has to protect Cassie. But there may be no way to protect herself—from the enemies circling around her, or from the long-buried powers stirring to life within...

A lot of Urban Fantasy books ignore or dismiss science in favour of the magical elements of their world. What strikes you from the start in Dark Oracle is that science is not only embraced but is a crucial plot point to the story. Not only are Tara and her partner Harry investigating an explosion at a particle accelerator lab, but both them and the bad guys are searching for the scientific research hidden by the lead scientist. While there is enough magical elements to keep this is in the Urban Fantasy genre, I liked that it flows from the story and rarely takes precedence. Tara reads tarot cards and even she admits it might not be magical but a method of tapping into her sub-conscience. I don’t really know much about tarot cards, but the way it’s explained here is like another puzzle as both Tara and the reader attempts to distinguish the meaning behind the spread.

However the best part of Dark Oracle, are the characters. Tara feels so real with likes, dislikes, passions, a haunted past and fears – right from the start she jumps off the page and makes you feel for her – even before you learn about her troubled history. Added to that Harry Li is one of the best male leads I’ve come across for a while. He has a distinct personality and doesn’t fall helplessly in love with Tara at first sight – it truly is her personality that intrigues him. I loved how naturally their relationship develops and how they trust each other – despite the differences between them. This was one of the most natural relationships I’ve read in Urban Fantasy and I really want to see what happens next between them. Even the other characters sparkle (I love Martin and Maggie!) and make the action pop. This is a very good Urban Fantasy that makes a pleasant change from vampires, were and other supernatural creatures. And luckily for me - the sequel Rogue Oracle is released today! :)

Recommended for fans of Diana Rowland and Ilona Andrews. 8 out of 10.

And stop by later on today for 60 second quick quiz with the author herself Alayna Williams aka Laura Bickle!

Author Interview: Laura Bickles

Today I have a real treat for you - an interview with the lovely Laura Bickle, author of Embers and Sparks (In fact Embers was my pick of the month in January - you can read my review here). But did you know Laura also writes as Alayna Williams with Dark Oracle out now and ROGUE ORACLE out tomorrow. So lets dive right in shall we? :)

First thanks for stopping by – I loved Embers and am enjoying Dark Oracle so far. Can I tax your brain ask a few questions?

Thanks so much for having me! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed my books. :-)

So tell us a little about yourself...

I've worked in criminal justice, information technology, and library science. Most writers I know keep a day job for the glamour and intrigue...just kidding. It pays the bills.

I ditched criminal justice recently to work in a library. I get to pet all the books and be surrounded by all kinds of ideas. It's a writer's dream career. 

I live in the Midwestern U.S., where my husband and I are owned by four semi-reformed feral cats. Cat owners know what that's like...

You write under two different names, Laura Bickle and Alayna Williams how did that come about?

My editor recommended that I use a pseudonym for the ORACLE books. My first book, EMBERS, came out in April, 2010. DARK ORACLE was scheduled for June of that year. We thought it would be confusing for readers to have two UF series going on under the same name, with alternating release dates. For that purpose, it made sense to create "Alayna." In that sense, it was a branding decision.

Building another personality was interesting. I used variations of my own middle name and my husband's, so that it would be a name that I'd react somewhat normally to at conventions. I think that much of that relies upon only hearing my middle name when I was a kid in trouble: "Laura Alayna, get into the house THIS INSTANT..."

But it does make for a very long name badge at conventions.

What’s the main difference between the different books?

They're both urban fantasy. My Laura Bickle books, EMBERS and SPARKS, are best described as "Ghostbusters in Detroit with dragons and arson." They follow the adventures of Anya Kalinczyk, who's an arson investigator and psychic medium. She spends her days working with as an arson investigator and her nights exterminating malicious spirits with an eccentric group of ghost hunters. She's joined by her faithful familiar, a feral fire salamander named Sparky.

My Alayna Williams books, DARK ORACLE and ROGUE ORACLE, are about a criminal profiler, Tara Sheridan, who uses Tarot cards to solve crimes. These books are a mashup of science and magic - similar to Fringe and the X-Files. Tara's a reluctant member of an ancient society of oracles tracing their lineage back to the Oracle of Delphi. In ROGUE ORACLE, Tara and her skeptic partner Harry Li are on the trail of a Chernobyl survivor who's selling nuclear secrets on the international black market.

Both books about the supernatural – have you ever had a supernatural experience yourself?

I go to the local Renaissance Festival every year and get my Tarot cards read by the same card reader. She's amazingly accurate...though she warns me that I need to decide to be done with karma this year. Still scratching my head on that one.

Supernatural is very popular theme at the moment for books, TV and films – what do you think draws us to ‘things that go bump in the night’?

I've always been intrigued by the idea of a hidden supernatural world existing beneath our own. Urban Fantasy allows me to explore the "what if's": What if a criminal profiler turned to Tarot card divination? What if the Oracle of Delphi survived into the modern day...and what would they have been up to? What if the future could be told through the use of magic...and how would we try to change what we saw?

I loved the atmosphere you created in Embers of a city on the edge and the descriptions of Detroit – is obvious you have a strong feeling for the city – what’s your favourite part of the city?

Ah...it would be tied between the salt mine beneath the city, which I turned into a dragon's lair for EMBERS...or Michigan Central Station, which is decomposing. I turned it into a way station for ghosts.

In Embers, Anya has a fire salamander called Sparky as a familiar. Sparky is a different type of being than usually seen in UF, what was the inspiration for the cutesy salamander? (I want a fire salamander of my own!)

Hee. I want a fire salamander, too. In this weather, I could

use someone to warm up the car!

Sparky is a composite of all the pets I've had. He's at turns, petulant, protective, and snarky. As a fire salamander, he can affect electrical fields and fire...he's been known to chew on cell phones, blow up microwaves, and set of sprinkler systems in the crime lab.

He has a favorite toy that he cuddles with at night...a Glow-Worm. I had a Glow-Worm toy as a child. I was terribly afraid of the dark, and it really helped. I still give them as gifts for baby showers.

In Dark Oracle tarot cards play an important part of the story - Have you ever had a tarot reading for yourself?

I read cards for myself for fun and use them for story prompts. The ORACLE books were written with a deck at hand. But I would never call myself an expert.

Finally what have you got coming up next?

I'm working on a couple of contemporary fantasy projects. Like my other books, they involve female protagonists. Somehow, my heroines always wind up with pets...be they cats, salamanders, or other familiars.

Thanks Laura for stopping by! Tomorrow in order to celebrate the release of ROGUE ORACLE, the second Alayna Williams book,  I have a 30 second quick quiz with Laura and will posting my review of Dark Oracle, the first in the series!