Jeanie London, Retrieval

Retrieval

Jeanie London

Tor, Oct 2006, $6.99

ISBN: 0765354225

Black operations specialist Roman Barrymore noticed the odd painting in the store that depicted a woman with two male lovers. However, not long afterward he is killed. On his way through the passage of death, Roman is given a choice to lead the Soul Retrieval Unit in the war over human souls.

His first assignment is to retrieve Nina de Lacey caught by a deadly demon in the passage where she has remained in limbo with her two lovers Gray Talbot and Damien Hart. Nina has the ability to look deep into a person to ascertain their goodness. Roman knows this task will be harder than any he did when he lived, but Nina is needed to prevent a sinister plot by an arch-demon that if successful could devastate the side that former black ops exert supports.

As with Jeanie London's "Temptation" novella from the anthology Midnight Magic (the Nina-Gray and Damien triangle formed) Retrieval is an interesting character study that focuses on relationships in the afterlife. With Roman entering the fray, the trio becomes a quadrangle. The action is non-stop as the war between Heaven and Hell continues with individuals like Nina as a target by both sides; one to prevent a catastrophe of biblical proportions and the other to insure she cannot stop the pandemic from occurring. Fans of after death fantasies will appreciate Ms. London's stand alone creative spin that will be read in one sitting.

Harriet Klausner