“…we all know what happens to vampires who embrace the light.”
– Silver-Tongued Devil by Jaye Wells
I’ve made quite a few bold predictions about authors and series over the last few decades – and I’ll admit that I’ve been wrong more than a few times – but when it comes to Jaye Wells, author of the Sabina Kane saga (Red-Headed Stepchild, The Mage in Black, Green-Eyed Demon, and the recently released Silver-Tongued Devil), I nailed it right on the head when, after reading her first two novels I wrote: “…I see yet another author on the cusp of something great. In my opinion, the potential is there for her to be the next coming of Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison.”
Oh, how right I was!
With every new installment of her Sabina Kane saga, Wells has deepened and expanded the storyline revolving around her half vampire/half mage heroine to create what I now consider to be arguably the very best paranormal fantasy series on the shelves.
If there was any question about the narrative brilliance and thematic power of this series, her latest, Silver-Tongued Devil, removed any and all doubts whatsoever. This novel was easily Wells’ strongest work to date – an impressively intricate storyline that not only explored the very depths of Sabina’s soul but also included some literally jaw-dropping, I-can’t-believe-I-just-read-that bombshells and plot twists. This was very close to being a perfect novel: relentless pacing, impressively thick storyline, extraordinary characters and character development, and outstanding realm building with a healthy dose of irreverence and an undeniably profound existential undertone to it all. I loved this book – Silver-Tongued Devil was an author at the very top of her game writing a novel in a series on the verge of greatness.
You don’t read Sabina Kane novels; you experience them.
Jaye Wells’ stratospheric ascension into the pantheon of elite paranormal fantasy writers is very much comparable to the rise of Kim Harrison and Laurell K. Hamilton decades ago. When Laurell K. Hamilton published the first Anita Blake novel (Guilty Pleasures) in 1993 and Kim Harrison released Dead Witch Walking– which introduced the world to white witch Rachel Morgan – in 2004, both novels were successful but in no way indicative of the phenomenal series that both sagas would eventually evolve into. Both authors grew their worlds, enhanced their respective narratives and eventually succeeded in not just selling tens of millions of books but also in playing a considerable role in redefining the genre.
Jaye Wells has done the exact same thing with her Sabina Kane novels. When all is said and done and this series concludes in June with the release of Blue-Blooded Vamp, I predict that this series will go down as one of the best paranormal fantasy sagas of all time – and here is why:
• Unforgettable heroine. Sabina Kane is one of the most complex – and endearing – heroines to ever grace the pages of a paranormal fantasy. She may be a former assassin and the Chosen of prophecy to unite the dark races, but ultimately she is an everywoman – continually struggling to find herself and her place in the world.
Here is a great excerpt from Silver-Tongued Devil: “The more I try to ignore the bloodlust and the darker sides of myself, the more they rear up and demand to be noticed… It’s not about choosing one part of me over the other. I am both light and dark.”
• Great supporting cast. All I can say is Giguhl.
• Unforgettable realm. Very much comparable to Kim Harrison’s Hollows universe, the world of Sabina Kane is populated by a myriad of supernatural creatures – and complicated by each race’s complicated politics and cultures. The fusion of Biblical references and Christian mythology (Lilith, Cain and Abel, etc.) with vampire and werewolf mythoses makes for an intriguing backdrop.
• Offbeat sense of humor. Wells explores some weighty subject matter in these novels but an offbeat sense of humor balances it all out nicely. Silver-Tongued Devil, for example, features a roller derby league for the dark races (watch out for Betty Bloodshed!), a faery drag queen, the return of Necrospank 5000, and other individual acts of perversion so profound and disgusting that decorum prohibits listing them here.
Here is one of my favorite lines from Silver-Tongued Devil: "The last thing I needed was to let a hairless demon cat loose inside an S&M dungeon..."
• Palatable blend of genre elements. The Sabina Kane novels are an addictively readable blend of mystery, romance, fantasy, dark fantasy, and apocalyptic fiction. Fans of any genre will find something to love about this series.
• Extraordinary storyline. Let’s face it – it all comes down to the story, and Jaye Wells is an extraordinary storyteller. Yes, Sabina Kane is a great main character and, yes, she has an excellent supporting cast of characters and, yes, the world in which they live is fascinating but it’s what happens to Sabina and her shocking journey of self-discovery that make this saga such an impressive read.
I’ll say it again: Jaye Wells' Sabina Kane series will go down as one of the best paranormal fantasy sagas of all time.
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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