From Amazon.com
The air was suddenly charged with a bright actinic glare: she could see millions of raindrops, each one separate and distinct, frozen on their fall to earth. Lightning, she thought ... and surely it was thunder that followed immediately, even though the groundshaking rumble sounded eerily like the laughter of some grimly amused giant or elemental... But a thunderbolt didn't explain the vision Lia saw against the clouds, stark in the bright light, frozen like those myriad drops of rain: the vision of a gigantic gaunt man, towering as high as the clouds themselves, wearing black vestments, a stovepipe hat and small, round glasses. She could see the clouds dimly through him, and it seemed, as he moved, that his tattered coat was full of stars.
That's a
Voudoun (voodoo) god. Pretty impressive, eh? This
loa (spirit-god) and a few others join a male
houngan (Voudoun sorcerer-priest) from Haiti, a female probation officer, a male jazz musician, a female ER doctor, and a little girl as the cast of good guys in
Voodoo Child. Add to that crew one powerful bad guy--another sorcerer named Mal Sangre (Bad Blood) who hopes to win favor with some
very bad loas with a sacrifice of thousands of human beings. You now have a potent brew for a supernatural thriller. And what's the obvious locale for a big voodoo showdown? New Orleans.
It's a surprisingly light novel for one with such heavy themes--rather like a crime or caper tale. The language is fluid, the plot is well paced and suspenseful, and the fact that the characters are two-dimensional doesn't detract that much. You'll learn a lot of fascinating Voudoun and Creole words, too. Some readers may long for a glossary, but if you're patient and wait a page or two, Reaves will give you each word's meaning in context. --Fiona Webster
From Publishers Weekly
New Orleans, a town whose every alleyway seems imbued with dark magic, serves as a colorful backdrop for this very busy horror thriller set at the height of Mardi Gras. Six years ago, Haitian sorcerer Jorge Arnez, known throughout the community as Mal Sangre, bewitched reluctant Voudoun priest Shane LaFitte into committing a ritual murder that put him behind bars. When Shane hits the French Quarter on parole, he finds Mal Sangre preparing a sacrifice to the dark gods that will give him incontestable control of the city. Shane's efforts to thwart his nemesis eventually bring him into contact with a cornetist, an ER surgeon and a parole officer, all of whom have been touched by Mal Sangre's evil influence. Reaves (Night Hunter) makes each of these characters sympathetic and memorable, but the many subplots and counterplots he spins from their experiences never converge satisfactorily. The story is fragmented, especially at the climax, which divides its energies between a grisly operating-room scene and a supernatural showdown amidst the mausoleums of the Pontchartrain Cemetery. Nevertheless, events are fast-paced and suspenseful, and Reaves's masterful command of his setting turns a taste of the Big Easy into a delectably spicy read.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
