Vicki Pettersson, The Taste of Night

The Taste of Night

Vicki Petterson

Eos, April 2007, $6.99, 448 pp.

ISBN 0060898925

Joanna Archer was a mortal until her third life cycle and then she metamorphosed into a superhero, a member of Zodiac Troop 175 which consists of twelve members, each a sign of the zodiac; Joanna is the Archer. Her troopers don't entirely trust her for two reasons. The first she is the fulcrum and depending on which side she belongs to, the light or the shadow, that side will win. The second reason is she is the Kairos, a being of dark and light and while she sides with the light, the shadow inherited by her father the Tulpa wants to lure her to be one of their own.

When she runs into a Shadow being, she worries her that his group has a weapon that will destroy her troop and mortals as well. She kills him and Rachel, a shadow initiate ready to undergo her metamorphosis, soon doesn't try to stop her but kisses and warns her not to go to the troop's sanctuary. At a fireworks show, a plague is released in the Las Vegas area, killing people in horrific numbers. Joanna has to find the antidote, but to do that she will have to deal with her father who she has never seen and who has the ability to crush her.

THE TASTE OF NIGHT is supernatural fantasy at its very best. Vicki Pettersson knows how to create flawed characters that feel realistic, even the support cast of the light who make mistakes but keep their mission on track. The heroine has to deal with a dual heritage of Light and Shadow leading to nobody knowing how to relate with her because one such as her has never been born before.

Harriet Klausner