Tuesday 29 October 2013

The Jill Kismet Series Primer Night Shift With A Detailed Review

By Cornelia Reyes


The urban fantasy genre is not really that new to the world of writers. There has always been a strong group of people that see the magical possibilities of the contemporary world around them and try to incorporate it in their writing style. The Jill Kismet series is an example of this writing style using a contemporary urban fantasy background within the story.

An urban fantasy novel is basically a story where the setting is placed in real world urban settings that most people would easily recognize. Within this world magical components are incorporated that while hidden from normal people are the driving force of the story. Though sometimes it is a setting where magic and its possibilities are accepted in mainstream society. This is not the norm for most novels though.

The story's plot generally revolves around a woman protagonist who faces countless obstacles while trying to come to terms with a hidden background or identity. There often is romantic sub-plots that help provide insight to the character's different strengths or weaknesses. Often it can also be a central point for helping the character as she decides what path to follow to better understand herself.

The novel Night Shift follows this simple formula. It is the starting novel for the Jill Kismet novels by author Lilith Saintcrow. She is most known for the Dante Valentine the female bounty hunter series. There are some basic similarities between them, but Night Shift also has many refreshing differences.

Jill is a new character that dwells in a more modern world instead of the futuristic world. Its also a darker world with darker sub-text involving the influences of the forces of good and evil. Many monsters and bad guys exist there that are often lurking around the any corners that she must deal with called the hellbreed. They often prey on the weak and innocent and Jill's mission is to protect innocent people and stop the hellbreed.

To do this she is armed with the typical assortment of swords, guns and knives that most demon hunting good guys have. She also has special leather armor to protect her from getting hurt. Added to this is the demon mark she bartered with the chief hellbreed in the city for. It gives her many superhuman powers to go where she otherwise could not go.

As you go deeper in the book you recognize that Jill is like a female version of a liquor drinking Rambo. Often her motives or actions are centered more around vengeance rather than simple justice. This plays well into the ideas of good vs evil and whether it is just a choice or what you are born like. Written as a first person narration, many readers will ponder these ideas as Jill's past is carefully revealed through various flashbacks and her self-questioning sequences inside the story.

Generally Night Shift like other Jill Kismet series novels is a fast paced ride and contains enough action to keep many people reading. If you want a good read, buy it. You certainly will not regret it.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment