|
 “The
Scent of Shadows” by Vicki Pettersson for me is probably one
of the best books I have had the pleasure to read in a
while. It can be described as gritty, dark, violent and one
of the more captivating Urban Fantasy titles on the market.
A lot can be said about the book, the ideas it conveys and
the quality of the writing. By my rating standards this
novel exceeds the maximum ten points and skyrockets far in
the distance.
“The Scent of Shadows”, which actually is only the first
installment of the “Signs of The Zodiac” series, follows the
photographer and multibillionaire heiress Joanna Archer from
the moment her life changes for the worse. She is a strong
character, which is typical for the genre and has a colorful
biography to boot. From being messed up by a trauma in her
childhood that led her train herself to be a modern age
Amazon Joanna finds herself thrown into the great battle
between Light and Shadows agents, where her fighting skills,
short temper and her aptitude to violence come in handy.
The other face of Las Vegas hidden behind the neon lavish is
a battlefield between the Shadow Zodiac and the Zodiac of
Light, where twelve agents from both sides are meant to fill
a star sign on each Zodiac. Each agent has his conduit,
which is their special lethal weapon. Armed, dangerous and
trained they have one purpose: fight. Seems like a standard
good vs. evil plot, but here comes the world building and
the reader is strapped tight and slammed into a
rollercoaster of action. Vicki creates a sub-society of
superheroes, who can heal fast and possess their own special
mythology. Something that simply can’t be passed on so
lightly.
Another amazing factor is the sense of smell, which is taken
and elevated to new and incredible heights. It’s not only
there to make a small entrance as a deus ex machina to track
the foe, even though one of its major purposes is. A whole
new world is opened up with this acute and powerful sense of
smell, which can detect all smells and their remnants and it
even connects people to each other.
But it doesn’t stop there. Vicki builds on top of that a
whole science relying on genetics that is concentrated on
how to mask and change smells and characteristic scents.
Also killing a star sign with his own conduit your own scent
is erased and you become invisible to the senses of the
people around unless you make contact.
For me all these little details that get revealed part by
part without info-dumping and by sensible dialog is enough
to hook me alone, but what made me purely addicted to her
work is her style of writing. Judging by my own experience
with writing, first person POV could never quite mix with
wondrous paragraphs of deliciously long sentences of
descriptions. It just shows how much I have to learn to
extract the maximum of both techniques together and for that
I simply bow down before her skills.
But now let’s view Joanna Archer, who is not only flung
without her consent or idea of the whole Zodiac troops and
star signs, but finds out that she is the daughter of the
leader of the Shadow Zodiac, while her mother is the prize
star sign of the Light Zodiac. She is destined to do a lot
and she can choose to be on either of both sides. As a bonus
she possesses special skills from both sides as well.
But of course being an awesome one of a kind hybrid isn’t
all about the perks. Joanna, although playing for the good
guys, is vulnerable to all the energies and defenses against
the dark, although we are not sure as of yet if vice versa
applies as well. Her role in the superhero society is met
with mistrust as Light is equal to Shadow inside of her and
the equilibrium between the both can and has been tipped
easily.
Her character is the most exact brought-to-life metaphor of
the struggle between good and evil inside the human being
and that is what makes her as real as any other human being
can get. Coupled with the challenges to live the life of her
sister Olivia, who was murdered the day, she went through
the metamorphosis that unlocks her powers, Joanna has to
adapt to being this new person. Exactly with this purpose in
mind Vicki has her going through a drastic plastic surgery
to become her sister. It’s not only a quest to find a place
on the battlefield, but to find the person that you are.
“Who are you?” is the question Joanna posses to the woman
staring back from the mirror and we witness how she is
getting closer to finding that answer in between receiving
punches and multiple stab wounds.
All I can say is that Vicki Pettersson has arrived, plans to
stay and there is nothing stopping her. |
