Immortal Protector by Ursula Bauer: Book 1: The Eternity Covenant, published by Samhain and released June 2007. Read an excerpt here. Also, here is the plot summary because I sure as hell am not explaining it:
An immortal soldier defies the ancient Gods he serves and puts his existence and the world at risk when he saves the life of the mortal woman he swore to kill.
Gideon Sinclair, an immortal, shape-shifting soldier, defies the ancient gods he serves, risking his existence and the future of the mortal world, when he saves the life of the woman he was sworn to kill: Dr. Megan Carter. For centuries he’s fought for justice and balance in the eternal struggle between good and evil. Gideon challenges destiny and the forces aligning against her, but when Meg becomes more than a mission, will he be able to accept the healing love she offers or will their enemies and the demons of his past be their undoing?
Meg’s accidental contact with an artifact sacred to the Goddess Isis thrusts her into the midst of a centuries old battle between two rival gods, and makes her the target of a crazed magician bent on unlocking the secrets of immortality. With nowhere to turn and no one to trust, she puts her life in the hands of the lethal, enigmatic Gideon, and is drawn into his dark world. She can’t resist the passionate desire he stirs, but will she pay the ultimate price when she falls for a man who no longer has a heart?
Immortal Protector reads like one of those apocalyptic tales where the story moves at a fast pace towards a future of uncertainty for its characters. This is the first book in a new series and I look forward to reading more. The hero, Gideon Sinclair, made for a pretty cool hero who has this wicked tattoo of a sword on his arm that comes to life when he needs it for battle. The author does a good job of contrasting reality with that of the spectacular.
In this world, you have demons, vengeful gods and dark magic, among other things that go bump in the night. Also, there’s a clean up crew a speed dial away for containment to keep these spectacular events from spilling into the mortal world. Are you a fan of mythology? The Egyptian gods play a major role in this story. I’m more familiar with Greek mythology than Egyptian mythology myself so this made for an interesting read.
You just don’t find too many original stories to rave about anymore. Also, this author can write some kick-ass action scenes. Don’t worry, the action scenes don’t overwhelm the story. There’s also a nice balance between the romance and the suspense, too. Also, the characters are well drawn and the romance? Nicely done despite the brief time period for the romance to develop. The author has supplied additional information on the world building on her website that I found useful that maybe reader’s would want to check out. I thought her world building was pretty imaginative and complex. I found myself rereading sections of the plot to understand it all.
Of course a book is not without it’s flaws. I found the narrative voice/style rather choppy at times and the two characters could have had a stronger chemistry (for me). This is a debut novel after all so there’s always room for improvement. Despite my complaints, this book was still a good read. Anyway, I liked this story. This author shows promise so I’ll be checking out the next book in the series. My grade, B+.
Technorati Tags: Samhain, Ursula Bauer, Egyptian Mythology
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Thank you thank you. Now I think I will pick this one up.
Oh, must check this out, thanks, J!
Sounds good. Off to purchase it. BTW — I just read a two book epic fantasy from Dorchester by CL Wilson. You might want to check her site out. she’s giving away an arc a week until her release date in October.
I thought it was very compelling. Its epic fantasy with a core romance which I really haven’t seen done before.