Josh Reviews: Wicked Circle by Linda Robertson

Wicked Circle by Linda Robertson
Series: Persephone Alcmedi #5
Published by Pocket
Published on: December 27th, 2011
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Werewolves
Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed

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Persephone Alcmedi has helped her waerewolf lover Johnny unlock his powers. Now she must come to the aid of Menessos, the vampire overlord she has secretly marked. Beset by a trio of truth-seeking vampire sisters so dangerous their own kind keep them confined in stone, he now needs her more than ever...and she realizes her need for him.

Wicked Circle liquidates majority, if not all, of the strong central characterization that had been slowly gaining interest in the previous books in favor of splitting the shares and dividing them amidst as many new and old characters as possible.

This can create some somewhat interesting scenes, which I can hardly go into detail about.    Let’s say it has something to do with espionage in the Tom Clancy spirit.    It’s weird.    Any book that has this many perspectives automatically queues up some memory of Tom Clancy in me even if none of the characters are here piloting submarines or toting the codes to the nuclear silos.    I’ll say it again as I have said before, “where are the really professional times and dates in italics preceding each new jump in perspective?” I kept looking for them.

Anyways…let’s talk more about this central character who now has to share the spotlight with seven – count them – seven other characters.    It’s almost more important who doesn’t get a perspective, like, say a certain godlike vampire.

But, absent of him, there are still many vampires taking center stage.    In fact, one might say they are the central movers of the plot this time around whereas last stage was dominated by the weres.    Hmm, this may explain why everyone was scheming so much.

Even the ever faithful and lovable number one waere, Johnny, shows himself to be a fairly different person than we were lead to believe.    I could imagine this being a real hang-up for many people including myself.    Too many of the plot devices are deployed (it seems) just to set a rift between Johnny and Persephone.

But then, of course, this is all part of the author’s agenda.    She has stressed before and she stresses again that the true concern of this series is bringing balance.    The love triangle between vampire, werewolf, and witch needed some significant anchorage in the vampire sector and, congratulations, mission accomplished.

If, by some chance, you aren’t interested in all these emotional exchanges, that’s fine too.    Plenty of elegant set pieces involving dragons and wind storms, demons and loyalty pacts, rhyming spell couplets and salt circles, ancient Egyptian times and mysterious guys in cloaks are provided that you will quickly lose sight of all the boring mushy-mush lovey-dovey stuff.

I am, as much as I am distressed by all these new perspectives, very intrigued to see how the scales of justice will sway (get it? it’s a symbol of balance) come next book.

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