Thy Father's Shadow by Robert J. Crane

This story takes place during the chapters 22-33 of The Defender Vol.1 of The Sanctuary Series, the Prologue and Epilogue take place during chapter 116 of Crusader Vol.4 of the Sanctuary Series.

I really enjoyed the one-on-one aspect of this book. It  is an in-depth walk into the past, present and future of Terian. That means readers who have been following the series already know what Terian does or doesn't do.

It gives us an extraordinary glimpse into his reasoning, his bizarre loyalty to his father and his internal battle that rages within him. The battle between what is morally right and what his birthright and people expect from him.

The book starts with Terian's exit from Sanctuary and his surprising re-entrance into his own society. A society with strict class structures and run by a dictator of darkness.

The richest battle for rank order, which is achieved by staying in favour with the Sovereign. If anyone disobeys, talks in a negative way about the regime or questions the laws, they can be automatically demoted. Sometimes it is just to a smaller house in a different street and sometimes it is a ticket straight to hell.

Now why would Terian want to forgo the freedom and almost democratic ruling of the Sanctuary for the strict dictatorship of his people? What could possibly make him change his mind about the tragedy that drove him away in the first place?

This is one of my favourites from the series so far. I enjoy it when Crane gives us an in-depth look into one of the characters. There is always so much baggage and background, which in turn helps to understand  the paths and motivations of the extremely complex characters he creates.
I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Limitless (Out of the Box) by Robert J. Crane

Two years have passed since the events in Power ( The Girl in the Box #10) took place.The team has scattered to various different corners of the earth. I say team and that is exactly how I perceived them in the books.

Unfortunately neither Sienna nor the others seem to think of themselves as such. More is the pity, because the thing they all have in common, well nearly all of them, is their particular brand of being different. They should be standing together and supporting each other, especially now certain Meta are being tortured and murdered again.

Sienna seems a little tired of being the go to person for every non-Meta authority when it comes to Meta crimes, murders and problems. Why? Because those same authorities and governments have created a very intense layer of laws, rules and regulations against the Meta community. Now those laws are becoming even more restrictive, because there is a new nasty in town.

Interesting that the Meta have gone from being a or the controlling factor in the world, to persona non grata and a minority group. It makes for a whole different ball game, despite their strength and multitude of abilities.

The new villain in town is a person with an axe to grind, skin to flay (literally) and with a long list of potential victims he intends to dispose of. Yes, that does include Sienna. Does it ever not include her?

Meanwhile Sienna is trying to find out exactly who she is dealing with in order to halt their reign of murder and mayhem. She has been partnered with a human, and I think the two of them have a few sparks going off between them. Not sure what Webster was thinking when he decided to put the main target of a psycho torture gang up in his mother's house. Haven't thought that through completely mate, have ya?

I think Crane created that particular scenario so Sienna would be confronted with her internal need for some kind of maternal comfort, which in turn makes her think about the loss of her mother and how much Sienna misunderstood her intentions.

So, after the intense ending and closure to the The Girl in the Box series Crane has made a fierce start with this new series featuring Sienna, but this time she is well and truly Out of the Box.
I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.

To find out more about Robert J. Crane and his books, go have a nosy at www.robertjcrane.com

Power: The Girl in the Box #10 by Robert J. Crane

It has been a long tumultuous road, filled with death, torture, pain and hardship, and that was just the fun side of things.

The girl we met in book 1 Alone has grown into a young woman.

A leader of people, a killer of all that dares stand in her way, and above all she has finally caught the end of the tigers tail she has been chasing.

An understanding of why, when, who and the what the hell for, and the knowledge to destroy the one person who created all the questions in the first place.

After all Sienna has been through, after all she has lost, and those hits just keep on coming like a shark hunting bait, will she be able to peer through the screen of destruction and see the light? Will she succumb to the ultimate power and the life being offered to her on a silver platter?

Jigsaw pieces come together to make the picture complete. Unanswered nagging questions from the very first few pages of the series are answered ten-fold and more.

Sovereign decides to try a different tack to convince Sienna. His actions create suspicion, disbelief and then a dangerous level of acceptance and complacency seeps in to the minds around him. The enemy becomes friend, the foe become a divided Korea and Sienna's merry bunch of hybrids become a tad confused.

Sienna wouldn't be such a popular character if she didn't throw us for a loop and make a leap in the complete opposite direction. In the end she is complete. The past has taught her well and she is able to envisage not only the future, but also finally understands the connection between herself and Andromeda.

Of course the same goes for Crane, he also wouldn't be such a popular author if he didn't know exactly how to keep his readers on their toes and guessing backwards like an episode of Jeopardy does Metas.

The end of the book holds a surprise revelation in regards to Sienna's fate. Unexpected to say the least. I have enjoyed and devoured each and every word of this series. Kudos to Crane for that.
I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Untouched: The Girl in the Box #2 by Robert J. Crane

This is the second book in the Girl in a Box series. It is an urban supernatural with a flair of dystopian fantasy. Crane doesn't disappoint with yet another fine example of his creative imagination.

The main character Sienna has finally figured out what her main meta power is, she is one of very few succubi.

Crane hasn't used the word succubus in the same sense as the usual contemporary paranormal/supernatural books. Sienna 'takes in' the people she overpowers and then by definition they become part of her.

This of course leaves the door open to a very interesting psychological dilemma and sub-plot. If the people she absorbs become part of her personality then that begs the question, who is making the decisions?

Are her actions based on her own choices or influenced by the ones within. Fascinating concept, which is delivered in an amusing and realistic way.

The internal dialogue becomes part of her expectations, despite who the person within her is, we find Sienna actually looking for the connection when it goes silent.

The plot follows a meta, who has gone beyond the point of redemption.

The main character feels sympathetic towards the plight of the troubled meta and of course this is the opposite of what is expected of her in the group she has accidentally aligned herself with. Again she is at war with her internal conflicts and supposed external obligations.

I am going to have to stop myself there, because as you can obviously tell, I liked the book so much I want to discuss it..a lot. So no more borderline spoilers.

I highly recommend giving the series a go, starting with Alone: The Girl in the Box #1.
I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Alone: The Girl in the Box #1 by Robert J. Crane

In 2012 this was a venture into a completely new genre for Crane and I have to say that his path from Epic Fantasy into the supernatural  Urban Fantasy world is very good.

Not one iota reminds the reader of where the author has once trodden upon the paths of trolls and magicians.

Often it is hard to leap from a genre one is comfortable in. Instead it is as if he was never anywhere other than in the mind of this meta human girl.

A young hybrid with extraordinary skills and unknown dimensions of abilities yet to be discovered. She has been kept hidden away in a house, by her mother, for her entire existence.

One day her mother doesn't return home and she is introduced to a world of unimaginable monsters and people who want to treat her like a guinea pig.

The story is fast paced and gritty with a balanced proportion of Sci-Fi and supernatural, without the usual suspects one tends to finds in books of this genre.

I found it engrossing, perhaps because the main character wasn't your typical little girl please feel sorry for me type. Instead she was tough with a smart-alec attitude, but still managed to act with the carelessness of an inexperienced youth.

I thought the end was brilliant, so much so that it made a shiver run down the back of my neck. I look forward to reading where the author will take that cliffhanger.
I received a complimentary copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Legacy: The Girl in the Box #8 by Robert J. Crane

I will be the first to admit that Crane drives me absolutely bonkers because he is such a master weaver of plots.

I get all smug and feel like Sherlock Holmes on a high when I think I have figured out exactly where he is taking the story. Then it’s Wham Bam Thank you for playing Sherlock, as he throws a spanner into my well laid explanation.

So let’s see where we are at the beginning of the eighth book in Alone (The Girl in the Box #1) Sienna has been delegated to top dog at Omega, which sort of happens when the leadership team falls prey to a series of unplanned fatal accidents. This also means she is in charge of what is left, ergo the straggling limping remains of the Unit.

After all the excitement in Enemies she decides to hop on a plane all footloose and carefree, except she doesn't realise that her feet aren't exactly loose any more. The powers that be have other plans for her. They also have some surprises to spring on Sienna, some of which are less than enjoyable.

Without revealing any of the major events in the story I want to at least try and discuss some of them in a way that will omit any revelation. Did you get any of that? No neither did I. It sounded way better in my head than it does on screen.

Mama Bear Sierra turns up out of the blue and I can honestly say for the first time in eight books mother and daughter manage to connect on a level which is less than vitriolic. Somewhere along the line I think one of them needs to accept that they are more or less re-enacting family secrets, problems and schemes devised by third parties over and over again through the generations.

Sierra is Sienna and Sienna is Sierra, add on grandmother and great-grandmother and you have a whole lot of orchestrated events tumbling over each other and the direction of their personal history. They think, especially Sierra, that they have changed the course of fate, when in fact other people have been pulling the strings in the background when it became necessary or convenient. Some of that becomes evident during this book.

I really want to get my teeth into Sovereign.

By the middle of this story I had come to the conclusion that there must be a time travelling element involved. The flashbacks to specific Meta, who had interacted with Sovereign, made me wonder whether he knew exactly who or what she would imbibe, which would explain his killing some and letting others live.

Did I mention the author and his propensity for spanners?

Book eight is the calm before the storm, the eye of the hurricane and so eerily tranquil that I know the last two books are going to just implode.

Sienna is walking the last stretch of the mile towards fulfilling her destiny, even if she is completely unaware of what that might be exactly but I am guessing from the ending in this book that she isn't in the dark any more.
Sienna has broken free of the constraints of that box and she is finally getting a glimpse of what she is and what is expected of her.

However it is Sienna, so if I know one thing for sure it is the fact that what everyone expects is never what she ends up doing.

As always this was a fantastic read.
I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Depths (Southern Watch 2) by Robert J. Crane

This is the second in the Southern Watch series, a whole new ball game for high fantasy and urban fantasy author Crane.

It is darker, more risqué and offers scenarios that can push the boundaries. It just depends on what those boundaries are for each reader.

On a side note Crane seems to have it going on in the whole erotic scene creation. He has got the soul-eating, sorry soul-sucking by Gideon down to a fine art. Demon ejaculation 101 that’s all I’m saying.

However that also seems to be whole point of his existence and thereby is his storyline, which means his scenes ultimately always end in self-gratification. Gideon isn’t just your standard garden variety demon. He happens to be a the serial killing, rapist type of demon with sadistic tendencies.

Plays on Shakespeare’s Shylock not withstanding, in this second book the characters are well-developed and the series is beginning to show a lot of potential.

I liked the way the demon hunting team led by fellow demons Lerner and Duncan gave Hendricks a wee lesson in good guy/bad guy criteria. The scenes with that particular trio were quite witty. I can actually see Lerner, Duncan and Hendricks being a great spin-off series.The triumvirate of demon hunters with a penchant for philosophical debates, discussions on the validity of religion, faith in conjunction with the religious theme of hell and relationship advice of the self-help guru kind.

Then there is the unknown factor called Starling. Dibs on her being some sort of demon of the ancient variety, perhaps something like The Source.
Seems as if something wicked this way comes is the theme for the third book. Not sure if the greater worry is Starling or the complete surprise reveal at the end of the book.

One more thing: less jizz and more jazz.

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.

Destiny: The Girl in the Box #9 by Robert J. Crane

Once again Crane has managed to create a fantastic read. Gripping and surprising until the very last moment.

Characters are dropping like flies as we come to the end of the series. Just one more book to go. The author shows no mercy when it comes to the necessity of culling. Chop, chop, chop many heads on the block.

The relationship between Sienna and her mother has changed, the imbalance has shifted in Sienna’s favour. The daughter becomes the mother and the mother becomes the person asking for guidance.

There is a scene between them towards the end that has been a long time in coming. Sierra finally comprehends her role in her daughters development and the fact she hasn’t been able to change the past, present or the future. What will be, will be.

As for Scott, well I think Sienna needs to slap him round the fish with a wet kipper. I mean come on, now all of a sudden golden boy gets balls of jelly. Not sure he is acceptable bed material if he is unable to accept each aspect of Sienna. The good, the bad and murderous sides.

In the last few pages Sienna is back where we started nine books ago, except for one tiny detail. What was against her and trying to dispose of her in the beginning has just opened the door to a new collaboration.

Book 10 promises to be an epic conclusion to the story of Sienna. A battle for power over humanity and the Meta’s. The question is whether Sienna will lose her last bit of humanity in an attempt to win the battle and save everyone.
I received a copy of this book courtesy of the author.