Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand

Heaven Heaven's Spite
by Lilith Saintcrow
Orbit

Supplied for review by Hachette New Zealand

Reviewed By: Tosca Waerea

Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer. When a new hellbreed appears on the scene Jill Kismet finds herself making nice with Pericles, her sadistic hellbreed ‘patron’ (for want of a better word), and Melisande, whose loyalties are unknown.

I discovered the Kismet books by accident and have been happily hooked ever since and am now a squeeing fangirl of Saintcrow’s dark, in your face, gritty and full of action writing style. My addiction to her novels isn’t made any better by the fact that this newest addition to the Kismet series is just as good as I had hoped it would be. Jill Kismet reminds me of a darker, more tortured female version of Butcher’s wry-talking ‘Harry Dresden’ – is that blasphemous? She’s not afraid to tell it like it is and will take on the bad guy no matter the odds. Which is probably more dangerous than common sense but it’s a formula that works for me. Kismet is no shrinking violet to gore and violence.

I read somewhere online that Heaven’s Spite is the second to last in this series. Saintcrow is not messing around with long and protracted relationships drawn out over some forty books worth of reading. And I take my hat off to the author for one cliffhanger of an ending. Dirty pool! I’m not sure whether to thank her or curse her, but I’m avidly looking forward to the next instalment.

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