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September 17, 2007
The third novel in Hunter's postapocalyptic fantasy series (after 2006's Seraphs
) finds neomage Thorn St. Croix working as a jeweler and town mage in the rural Appalachian town of Mineral City, Carolina. Then her former home, the New Orleans Enclave, sends arrogant metal mage Cheran Jones, ostensibly to instruct her in “media relations” as she is “woefully lacking” in diplomatic knowledge and abilities. When the deadly succubus queen's war on Mineral City provides enough death energy for the powerful Dragon to escape its prison between the planes of reality, Thorn is pulled between the demands of the ultra-lawful Administration of the ArchSeraph and its rivals, the Earth Invasion Heretics, who claim to know the origins of seraphs and demons and the whereabouts of Thorn's missing twin, Rose. Hunter's world continues to expand in this highly original fantasy with lively characters where nothing can ever be taken for granted.

November 15, 2007
In Hunter's third postapocalyptic fantasy (after "Bloodring"and "Seraphs", seraphs and demons now inhabit Earth along with the few human survivors who have had to cast their lot with either light or darkness. Thorn St. Croix represents a third kind of human, a neomage with powers thought demonic by the fundamentalist orthodoxy of the kirk but allowed to exist, with proper licensing, by the Administration of the ArchSeraph. Thorn's job is to protect the humans of Mineral City, but when a greater Power of Darkness loosens his bonds, she faces her most severe trial yet. Hunter has created a remarkable interpretation of the aftermath of Armageddon in which angels and devils once again walk the earth and humans struggle to find a place. Stylish storytelling and gripping drama make this a good addition to most fantasy collections.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.