"If it wakens death will come. If it wakens death will come. If it wakens death will come. "
– Eye of the Tempest by Nicole Peeler
Change in successful paranormal fantasy sagas is absolutely essential – it’s also, in some cases, a necessary evil. Take Nicole Peeler’s wildly entertaining Jane True saga (Tempest Rising, Tracking the Tempest, Tempest's Legacy and the recently released Eye of the Tempest). I just love the saga’s richly described rural Maine setting, the cast of quirky characters, and, above all else, the lovable and libidinous selkie-halfling protagonist, Jane True. In many ways, she is the antithesis of the conventional paranormal fantasy heroine. She’s short, not exactly athletic, socially awkward, works in a bookstore, and instead of wearing stiletto heels and leather corsets, Jane rocks comfortable jeans and purple Converse.
I called her paranormal fantasy’s “It Girl” a few months back when I reviewed Tempest’s Legacy. She’s spunky, a little naïve, idealistic, courageous, funny, and incredibly sexy in her own way. Female and male readers alike identify with her irreverent attitude, her vulnerability. But after three stellar novels set in the supernaturally nuanced town of Rockabill, Jane is evolving…
Part of me wants to freeze time in Rockabill and continue reading books featuring Jane circa Tempest Rising forever but another part of me realizes that Jane HAS to evolve or else the storyline will become stale and the series will suffer.
If Tempest’s Legacy was a much darker read than the two previous books – and it was – then Peeler’s latest, Eye of the Tempest, is downright stygian. Right from the get-go, I realized that this saga had taken a dramatic turn. The sex-fueled humor in the first three books was absolutely charming – like "Amazing sex, beautiful clothes, and a grilled cheese whenever I ask – I could get used to this life" from Tempest Rising – but in Eye of the Tempest, initially, that sexual humor turned coarse and not so funny.
The storyline darkened as well – as Jane and her shape-shifting hellhound crush Anyan try to connect, the world around them falls into chaos. A potentially apocalyptic war is coming that will be fought between supernatural factions – and there is something incredibly powerful hidden in Rockabill that both sides desperately want to possess.
“It’s about how we live. One side wants strict hierarchies – strict laws about who can and cannot lead, and how we live our lives. The other understands the idea of choices, and how we must be free to make them. Part of that is how we live with humans. Some of us want no contact, and for humans to be, basically, our slaves. Others understand we need humans… that we’d be lost without them.”
The entire mystery of what and where that power is located hinges on an old nursery rhyme about four locks… and as Jane and company race to locate the four supernatural devices and unlock the mysterious power before their enemies can, she stumbles upon some life-changing revelations about her androgynous, tattooed friend Blondie – “the love child of an angel and a drunken merchant marine” – the history of the Alfar; and, most importantly, herself.
By the end of Eye of the Tempest, Jane True has irrevocably evolved. She is exponentially stronger, wiser, armed with a decidedly kickass weapon, and – wait for it – is now wearing RED Converse. (The more things change, the more they stay the same!)
Yes, Eye of the Tempest marks a sea change in the Jane True saga. Yes, our beloved little selkie-halfling is growing up – whether we like it or not. And yes, the coarse sexual humor in the very first pages did throw me off a little. But as the novel progressed, Peeler’s tongue-in-cheek, offbeat narrative sensibilities returned and Eye of the Tempest ended up featuring some hilarious one-liners, something I’ve come to love – and expect – from Peeler. Here are just a few examples:
• “Who cares? Lick him!”
• “That hair-pulling thing he did really peeled my bananas.”
• “That’s not a police baton!”
Bottom line: I applaud Nicole Peeler for having the courage – and foresight – to take chances in this series. I’ve seen many a paranormal fantasy saga stagnant and die because beloved characters didn’t evolve and storylines didn’t progress fast enough. Peeler has successfully evolved her signature character and forwarded the storyline while also staying “true” to the series. Eye of the Tempest, while much darker, still includes a genuinely funny narrative, a truckload of pop culture (the Shake Weight, The Price is Right, Popeye, etc.) and literary (Sylvia Plath, Yeats, etc.) references, and a heroine that readers will still embrace and root for. I can’t wait to read the fifth book in this series, Tempest’s Fury, tentatively scheduled to be released in the summer of 2012.
In a word: Fugwat.
Paul Goat Allen has been a full-time book reviewer specializing in genre fiction for the last two decades and has written thousands of reviews for companies like Publishers Weekly, The Chicago Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, and BarnesandNoble.com. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle.
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Every single time I read "Fugwat the Spriggen" I die.
