“Sooner or later, everyone dies.”
– Blue-Blooded Vamp by Jaye Wells
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read novels that begin remarkably only to be disappointed by a less stellar ending. And even if the rest of the storyline is great, a bad ending forever taints the reading experience for me. How a novel ends is arguably more important than how it begins because that is the final sentiment that the reader takes away with them. And it’s even more significant when dealing with a long-running series because so much more is on the line.
Take Jaye Wells’ Sabina Kane saga (Red-Headed Stepchild, The Mage in Black, Green-Eyed Demon, Silver-Tongued Devil, and the recently released – and concluding volume – Blue-Blooded Vamp), for example. This series – which revolves around a half vampire/half mage heroine with unexplored depths – began in 2009 with Wells’ stellar debut novel Red-Headed Stepchild and has spanned five novels, each one better than the last.
I’ve described the Sabina Kane saga as a highly entertaining blend of witty paranormal fantasy à la Kim Harrison’s Hollows and erotic fantasy in the vein of LKH’s Anita Blake saga. The first four novels in this series were simply fantastic – unarguably one of the very best paranormal fantasy series on the shelves. So, with the release of Blue-Blooded Vamp, a lot was at stake here. Would this concluding volume cement Wells’ series as one of the elite paranormal fantasy sagas or would a mediocre novel make this a very good but ultimately forgettable series?
In Blue-Blooded Vamp, Wells came up with a perfect way to end Sabina Kane’s story arc. This novel was chock full of shocking plot twists, bombshell revelations, and it – fittingly – all came to its climactic ending in Irkalla, the Infernal Lands of the underworld.
But through it all, Wells stayed true to the storyline’s essence – the Mischief demon Giguhl had some fantastic one-liners and his ultimate ending was arguably the most jaw-dropping of all of the characters. There were some steamy “I’ll-have-what-they’re-having” sequences between Sabina and her love interest Adam Lazarus. The storyline – set largely in Rome, Italy – was impressively intricate and had me on the edge of my seat throughout.
And did I mention to plot twists in this book? Absolutely mind-blowing – like the finale of a fireworks show.
Paranormal fantasy gets a bad rap – sometimes deservedly – but Wells’ Sabina Kane saga exemplifies the almost limitless potential of this kind of storyline. Sabina’s journey of self-discovery is action-packed and funny and intimate and bloody and passionate and profoundly moving. This isn’t just some glorified supernatural sex romp – the thematic depth of these novels is nothing short of extraordinary. Wells has constructed a sweeping storyline that utilizes elements from multiple mythologies and fused that together with an urban fantasy attitude to create a series that is palatable to not only paranormal fantasy enthusiasts but also fans of romance, mystery, and even mainstream thrillers.
It truly is genre-transcendent fiction.
It’s been a wild ride. I miss the red hair already…
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this series will go down as one of the best paranormal fantasy sagas of all time and Sabina Kane will be remembered as one of paranormal fantasy’s most iconic heroines.
Bottom line: If you haven't read the Sabina Kane saga yet, you're missing out on a fantastic series written by one of the most talented young authors in all of genre fiction.
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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