Dark Goddess

"Dark Goddess," by Sarwatt Chadda, is the fanstastic sequel to "Devil's Kiss."
     Bilquis SanGreal is back, and she's angry.  After her best friend, and boyfriend?, died at her own hands, a sacrifice against Saint Micheal, the Knights Templar have been in turmoil.  When they get wind of a vampire pack that sacrifices young oracles every year to their goddess, they set out to Russia to rescue the next sacrifice, and they can only pray that they'll find her in time.  With the help of the roguish Ivan, Billi must figure out who she's fighting, where she's fighting, and how she's going to win this thing.  When your enemies are the Russian equivalents of the Knights Templar, the werewolves, a maybe-mobster with a Mafia connections and a finger in every pie, and yourself, you're fighting somewhere in the snow-covered forests of Siberia, and your only weapons are arrows tipped with asteroids, you think you'd give up.  But Billi won't.  Not when her life and the rest of the world is at stake. Not when she could do something, instead of just standing by and watching.  Not again.

Yeah.  So, I forgot the name of Russian equivalent of the Knights Templar.  You can't blame me.  I read the book three weeks ago.  I started at five'o'clock in the afternoon, and finished it at ten'o'clock at night.  The power was out, so I really didn't have anything to do but read.  So then I picked up another book.  ("Rot and Ruin", Johnathon Maberry, but I'll get to that later.) And half the names in this book went flying out of my head.  But it was so, so good.  I would've let it sit a while in my brain, but it was so hot I couldn't do anything but read.
       The plot line differs from the original, which was good.  You know how in some authors become formulaic and all that.  But this book shook it up. Also, a lot of the characters vary.  That makes sense, because a bunch of the characters in the first book died, and then they visited Russia.  The more minor characters are a bit hard to keep track of, in my opinion, but the main characters have distinctive names, so it doesn't really matter. 
        And, this is related, I promise, in some books, you know how there is a first book that has one premise?  Like, one backbone.  One specific task in mind.  And then, in the sequel, it's all like "oh, you were acting under a prophecy, and now you need to do this and this and that?" just to make the series longer?  Really, that bugs the heck out of me.  It's like to two books are completely unconnected, but in characters and setting?  (Mr. Percy Jackson, I'm looking at you.)  But these two books are firmly connected, not just tethered together by a string. 
       In "Devil's Kiss" they mention that some people were out werewolf hunting.  So it wasn't completely strange that the Knights Templar were out werewolf hunting in the beginning of the book.  And they'd mentioned that there were some other organizations that fought the Unholy in the other book, so it wasn't completely random that there was an organization in Russia.  So the books were connected.  That makes me happy.
       Of course, Billi was an amazingly flavored character.  Ivan was too, as was Ivan's nemesis, what's-his-name.  I could've used more characterization on that werewolf woman, and why she wound up helping the Knights, instead of her goddess.  Um . . . and that werewolf who was the werewolf woman's daughter.  What was her problem?  Also, the book relies heavily on characterization from the other book.  We don't see much of Arthur SanGreal, and we're already expected to know what he's like . . . But he changed suddenly at the end of "Devil's Kiss," so that doesn't work out too well.  Also, the new apprentice, Mordred, and the new Father aren't explained that well.  I might've been reading too quickly, but they didn't seem to be expressed to well.  There were almost no personal details about either of them.
       And one can surmise that Ellen (Is that her name?  I know it begins with and 'e.') now likes Billi more because she didn't have to kill Arthur, like that completely random prophecy suggested she might have to.  But she still killed . . . I won't say it, just so those who haven't read "Devil's Kiss" won't spoil the ending for themselves, but her behavior doesn't match up with what we know of her personality.
      Anything else that I want to add?  Um, that I liked the ending.  Yey!  A happy ending this time!   It was really quite relieving.  I also liked that added element of Billi having to fight her 'inner nature,' etc., because it added another dimension.  Um . . . and I'm really glad that the werewolves were in there because I really like werewolves.  Just sayin'.  Nice to read about something other than ghuls or demented archangels, because that's all you seem to read about these days, no?  (It was a joke.) 
      So even though we all know that there's nothing to fear but fear itself, and Billi SanGreal, I've been keeping one eye over my shoulder, holding my breath in fear of the Unholy and the all-to-realistic creatures that lurk in Sarwatt Chadda's novels. 

(You think of something more clever and tell me about it, 'k?)

Again, you can visit Sarwatt Chadda and read his blog at www.sarwattchadda.com