Status
Call number
Genres
Collections
Publication
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. HTML: Cassie Palmer may be the world's chief clairvoyant, but that doesn't mean people have stopped trying to kill her. And now, the self-styled god Apollo, the source of Cassie's power, is on the warpath�-leaving her no choice but to face down her creator once and for all. Cassandra Palmer may be the all-powerful Pythia now, but that doesn't mean people have stopped trying to kill her. Most of the supernatural power players don't want independent-minded Cassie as chief clairvoyant�-and they'll stop at nothing to see her six feet under. The Vampire Senate does support Cassie in her position, but their protection comes with a price: an alliance with the sexy master vampire Mircea, who has claimed Cassie as his own. But even the vampires will have trouble keeping Cassie alive now that the self-styled god Apollo, the source of the Pythia's power, has it in for her in a big way. To save her life�-and the world�-Cassie's going to have to face down her creator once and for all..… (more)
User reviews
However, the second half of the book completely redeemed the series for me. Cassie FINALLY started to grow and learn. She accepts her responsibility; she understands that she doesn't know as much about vampires and mages as she needs to, and she finally stands up to them all as The Pythia. Additionally, Pritkin also evolves - finally seeing things from her point of view when they switch bodies. Now, this gag has been used countless times in tv and books, and while it went on a bit too long here, it actually affected character development and the plot. And yes, it is downright hilarious at times when Cassie is confronted with the "joy" of being male! Conspiracies are revealed, questions are answered and instead of just rushing into disaster - the final battles have some strategy and are downright exciting. I finished this book with a strong sense of satisfaction that I haven't felt since book one. Plus, the new development of a possible love triangle for Cassie was surprisingly appealing.
The first half was only 3 stars, but the second half was definitely 5. I gave it that extra half star because the conclusion was so good. Overall, I'm excited to read the next installment and, I don't think the next book will sit on the shelf like this one did. I want to know what happens! Highly recommended.
I guess this is the beginning of the end!
Cassie, Pythia and number 1 on the hit list for mage and god alike, has to survive Mircea's protection, a body swap and ley line racing with a mage coup in the offering. Then there's Pritkin, the demise of MAGIC and a mysterious woman in a photo album.
All the
Will eagerly await the next instalment.
She cares about firends and does all in her might to help them. She even gets hot and heavy with Pitkrin, just to save his live.
There's very much action
So what lets it down? The end. The big bad gets a reveal and then there's frantic plot-filling to try and make you accept what's going on when really it reads more like an "OMG, WTF can I do to give a climactic ending after all this? Oh, I know..." and consequently it ends up rather anti-climactic instead because the confrontation I was led to expect isn't there, and the confrontation we get has no real build-up.
Despite that, it's fun, and there are some hooks for future books that I will buy eagerly.
Cassie Palmer comes back in her third book with way to many enemies and too few friends. She is Pythia, the only power that hold back Apollo from devastating the world. Fortunately, her friends are very stubborn and talented people. Pritkin
Chance does an excellent job highlighting all of the grays that exist in Cassie's world. The vampires are the good guys, in a sense, despite their self-serving ways as they at least aren't bent on subjugating all humanity (as Apollo is). The Silver Circle is just as self-serving, with their desire to have total control over the Pythia and their infighting (more of which we see in this book). Again, though, they are fighting against Apollo and the Black Circle. Ultimately, this is a fight between Gray Hats (with different hues and pulling in different directions) and Black Hats, with Cassie trying desperately to get enough Gray Hats to pull in the same direction.
Even better than the first three books, I just wish there had been more Pritkin as he is my favorite character. But all in all the book was well-balanced between Pritkin, Mircea, politics, and action.
Overall rating = 5 out of 5
Yes, the pace is frantic, and yes, Cassie keeps running from one disaster to the next with hardly a moment to catch her breath...but she's not spinning wheels here. The book leads up to a big showdown with Apollo...which actually happens. It won't drag through to the next book, we don't find out that before Cassie can face Apollo she needs to run a lengthy errand, fetch a magical artifact, or anything else that will take 500 pages and another installment in the series. No, her battle with Apollo is at the top of her list and Cassie can check it off before we close the book with a happy sigh and wonder what happens next.
We get lots of opportunity to compare and contrast Mircea and Pritkin in this novel, too. Mircea's high-handedness, his ability to seamlessly combine a protective instinct with opportunistic political manipulation, is front and center - but we also get flashes of deep feeling from him, a hidden well of real emotion that shines through when Cassie is in jeopardy. Pritkin is more up-front about everything, and as he does battle with other war mages and forges some alliances, too, we get a chance to hear him describe how he feels about Cassie.
Plus, we get plenty of Karen Chance's trademark humor - the big gag in this book has Cassie and Pritkin switching bodies, which leads to many, many hilarious interludes. And we really need the gags in this book, because without them it would be pretty dark. A few pretty major events take place that will change the progress of the series - and I'm looking forward to the next volume, to find out what happens.
Cassie Palmer is on the run from her lover, the Silver Circle , and the Being formerly known as Apollo. Her lover's the local vampires' chief negotiator, the
This was probably the funniest book in the series so far. There were some parts where either the dialogue or situation was so hilarious that I found myself literally laughing out loud. There are also what I think are teasers for Chance's other series, the Dorina Basarab series, although I don't know that for certain at this point (but will soon find out when I read them).
It's not a bad story in the genre, the body swapping was quite a lot of fun
Meanwhile, the war continues. There's a traitor in Mircea's house and someone's trying to kill not only Cassie but the Consuls, and by doing so prevent any alliance between the Vampire Senate and the Council of Mages, and also preventing Cassie from being properly recognized as Pythia. Mostly I don't care about this except for how in this book we meet the previous head of the counsel (who was forced out for his sympathetic views of Cassie) and watch Cassie join in a mutiny.
The Mircea or Pritkin thing continues. I'm still well on the side of Pritkin (he's my type, okay?) and this book did nothing to change that and everything to make me want it more. Cassie and Pritkin get tossed into each other's bodies leading to some interesting scenes, especially the one where John-in-Cassie kisses Cassie-in-John to use his half-demon powers to aid in the healing of John's body. I also didn't hate Cassie's encountering morning wood and John's snarky yet helpful comments. I also liked Cassie telling Mircea she wants to be courted and to get to know him without the geis. I still don't like how she reacts to him, I think she's stuck in the patterns of her childhood then the geis, and Mircea's old-fashioned domineering attitude doesn't help any.
I didn't like this one as much as the previous book but I did enjoy it and I am looking forward to more.
Still I found myself hoping the main vampire, Mircea, would truly bite the dust and that Casandra would grow up a
I think some of the major players need a bit more character development and feel a little two dimensional to me. If I remember correctly the whole deal was so she could find her father, but then that plot line fell flat and was never mentioned again as though the author simply forgot about it. I'm hoping in the next book it is revisited along with the possible Cassandra/Pritkin relationship.
When an important meeting with the Circle goes
I can tell you this: that last part just killed me :D Was laughing so much :D
Worldbuilding:
All scenes and environments were clear and well detailed. Really well done if you know there is so much action going on and we, the reader, needs to know where the hell we are :)
Character development:
OMG, Pritkin and Cassie were hilarious in this instalment!! Cassie made it quite clear what she thought about the other sex and it had me giggling like a teenager :D
We learned a little more about the players on the board, even some hint of another well-loved character from Mircea's life (if I remember correctly at least).
This instalment focussed more on the Circle instead of Apollo, though he did get some screentime :) Then again, the Circle showed us why you have to be a lunatic to even remotely consider joining the Corps.
A new bodyguard Marco joined the team to try and keep Cassie safe, but come on... why are they kidding? That woman is a magnet for trouble.
The characters, main or side, all felt alive and believable (though utterly crazy of course).
Pacing and flow:
As we've come to expect from Cassie... there is never a dull moment. A ton of action going on, superbly balanced with conversation to keep the story moving forward.
The book:
The book was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is sex described (if that is important to you).
The book is 386 pages long, spread over 28 chapters and told from Cassie's point of view.
Final thoughts:
Was it me or was that ending a tad... anti-climatic? I mean, yes, a lot of stuff happened, but... I was left hanging.
Nevertheless, still one of my most favourite series to date. Can't wait to reread book 5!