The Tortoise Website

The Tortoise Website
Click on image to go to Author website. "THE RACE IS NOT TO THE SWIFT." Eccl. 9:11

Thursday 31 October 2013

The Jill Kismet Series Primer Night Shift With A Detailed Review

By Cornelia Reyes


The urban fantasy genre is not really that new to the world of writers. There has always been a strong group of people that see the magical possibilities of the contemporary world around them and try to incorporate it in their writing style. The Jill Kismet series is an example of this writing style using a contemporary urban fantasy background within the story.

The urban fantasy novel is generally a story that takes place in the real world type urban settings that many people would recognize easily. Inside this world different magical components are integrated that are often hidden from regular people and are the main driving force within the story. Though there are times where magic or its many possibilities are accepted by mainstream society. This is generally not typical of most novels.

The story's plot often revolves around a female protagonist that faces many obstacles while coming to terms with their background and identity. There is often a romantic sub-plot as well that provides an insight to the character's strengths and weaknesses. Many times it ultimately proves to be a central point for the character when deciding what path to take to better understand themselves.

The novel Night Shift follows this simple formula. It is the starting novel for the Jill Kismet novels by author Lilith Saintcrow. She is most known for the Dante Valentine the female bounty hunter series. There are some basic similarities between them, but Night Shift also has many refreshing differences.

Jill is a new creation that lives in a modern instead of a futuristic world. It is also a much darker world with a much darker subtext involving the active forces of good and evil. There are many monsters and bad guys lurking around the corners that must be dealt with called hellbreed. They pray on the innocent and Jill's task is to protect the innocent and destroy the hellbreed.

To do this she is armed with the typical assortment of swords, guns and knives that most demon hunting good guys have. She also has special leather armor to protect her from getting hurt. Added to this is the demon mark she bartered with the chief hellbreed in the city for. It gives her many superhuman powers to go where she otherwise could not go.

As you go deeper in the book you recognize that Jill is like a female version of a liquor drinking Rambo. Often her motives or actions are centered more around vengeance rather than simple justice. This plays well into the ideas of good vs evil and whether it is just a choice or what you are born like. Written as a first person narration, many readers will ponder these ideas as Jill's past is carefully revealed through various flashbacks and her self-questioning sequences inside the story.

Overall Night Shift like all the Jill Kismet series books is fast paced and contains more than enough action to keep most people happy. If you are looking for a good read, pick it up. You will certainly not regret it.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment