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Originally Posted by basschick
i'm looking for new fantasy and/or dark fiction recommendations. i like plots, interesting characters and/or action. something to sink my teeth into, as it were. not into books that are primarily romance or military based, and absolutely hate vampires who live in pods.
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On of my favorites at the moment is Laura Anne Gilman's "Retriever" series.
Wren Valere is a Talent, living in present day New York City. She is capable of detecting and channeling Current, a mystical energy that allows those who can use it to do a variety of things. Talents have specialties, and Wren is a Retriever. Missing something? Wren can find it and get it back for you for a fee, usually by stealing it back from whoever stole it from you.
Mind you, Wren's life isn't easy. Current tends to travel the same paths as electricity, but the two don't get along. Electronic devices tend to misbehave in Wren's presence. It's too easy to lose control while channeling, and become a Whizzer, lost in the flow of Current and no longer sane. Her business manager is Sergei, an art gallery owner. Sergei is a Null - someone who cannot detect current. Sergei also has a past he'd just as soon Wren didn't know about, but their relationship is in the process of changing from business partners to something a bit closer. Wren is trying to stay
out of the way of the Cosa Nostradamus, an organization of mages who want
every talent to be a member of their organization. Something is heating up relations between humans and the Fatae, magical creatures based on current. Human/Fatae relations have never been terribly good, and are in the process of getting very bad. And Wren's best friend is probably a demon named PB, who looks like a 4 foot tall polar bear and makes his living as a messenger.
Lots of fun, and recommended. I believe Fictionwise has the full series as ebooks.
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Dennis