Review: DARK ORACLE by Alayna Williams

Review: DARK ORACLE by Alayna Williams

TARA SHERIDAN HAS A GIFT . . . AND IT ALMOST KILLED HER.

As a criminal profiler, Tara used science and her intuitive skill at Tarot card divination to track down the dangerous and depraved, including the serial killer who left her scarred from head to toe. Since that savage attack, Tara has been a recluse. But now an ancient secret society known as Delphi's Daughters has asked for her help in locating missing scientist Lowell Magnusson. And Tara, armed with her Tarot deck, her .38, and a stack of misgivings, agrees to try.

Tara immediately senses there is far more at stake than one man's life. At his government lab in the New Mexico desert, Magnusson had developed groundbreaking technology with terrifying potential. Working alongside the brusque but charismatic agent Harry Li, Tara discovers that Magnusson's daughter, Cassie, has knowledge that makes her a target too. The more Tara sees into the future, the more there is to fear. She knows she has to protect Cassie. But there may be no way to protect herself - from the enemies circling around her, or from the long-buried powers stirring to life within. . . .

Publisher: Juno - Pocket Books, A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Single Title/Series: DARK ORACLE is a stand alone novel but it will be followed by the sequel, ROGUE ORACLE, in March 2011.

Cover Thoughts: The more I look at this cover, the more I fall in love with it.

Why I Read It: I received a copy for review by the author.

My Review:

The Plot:

Broken and isolated in self-imposed exile, Tara Sheridan haunts her remote cabin in the back woods of Tennessee burdened by nightmares and loneliness. Once a renowned criminal profiler, an unfortunate stint under the thumb of a twisted serial killer left her with white striated scars that traverse both her body and her mind leaving her glowing career in shreds. Gifted with an affinity for Tarot card divination, Tara's cards once predicted the mind and path of the killers she sought allowing her the long-time desired ability to help people.  But the cards care not for Tara after having led her to the nightmare fate that she narrowly escaped. Love and hate wars within Tara as her relationship with her cards has long been one of resigned acceptance. Now Delphi's Daughters, a matriarchal cult society that can trace their lineage to the original Oracle of Delphi and the very same society that Tara continually strives to separate herself from since childhood, is knocking on her door desperate for her help. The balance of power has tilted with global destruction a fate foreseen making the location of a missing scientist a paramount issue to Delphi's Daughters.

Harnessing an elusive energy particle known as dark matter, missing scientist Dr. Lowell Magnusson has created an endless energy source at a time of crisis, one that could power the world. However, this power can also be vastly affective as a weapon and it appears that the government is leaning hard in this direction, so hard in fact that it appears that Magnusson destroyed his life's work to avoid this very outcome. But where is Dr. Magnusson? There are three possibilities. One, Magnusson destroyed his work in the giant explosion that successfully wiped away any ability to recreate it, then disappeared. Two, Magnusson destroyed his work as with possibility one but was kidnapped. And finally three, Magnusson died in the explosion.  Feeling the pull of Magnusson's picture left with Tara by a sister oracle, she reads the cards after a long time of abstinence and falls seamlessly into a familiar rhythm. Strings pulled, Tara lands in New Mexico acting as a consultant for the Department of Justice and encounters the handsome Agent Harry Li.

Relationships have never been easy for Tara. Her affinity with the cards is one that others would scoff at and probably ostracize her for if known. Overly protective of her ability, Tara is generally a mystery to others and now that mystery is more crucial then ever. She's broken. Her body, heart and mind will never be the same for Tara feels the debilitating effects of her brokenness straight through to her soul. But Harry, her complete opposite in every way, opens an unfurling fascination deep within her as they struggle to unravel the mystery of Magnusson's disappearance. Quickly surrounded by military personal that cannot be trusted, Tara and Harry begin a journey in search of the truth while taking on the protection of Cassie Magnusson, Dr. Magnusson's daughter. There are those that are so desperate to seize Magnusson's work on dark matter that nothing will stop them, not even the scientist's innocent daughter. With enemies circling from numerous fronts, Tara and Harry must succeed for failure means handing over the tools to destroy the world.

The Heroine:

Tara holds her own as the center of this complex swirling plot because she's by far the most interesting aspect of the novel. Nothing competes with this unique and intriguing heroine. As a reader, you want to know what she'll do next as obstacle after obstacle is slammed in her path.

Armed with a combination of keen intelligence and highly developed intuition, Tara disentangles and strips the emotional guards of others with little effort. She's a problem solver, a person that can align all the pieces of a convoluted puzzle using fascinating methods that run counter to merely cold hard logic. In DARK ORACLE, Tara succeeds in showing the reader that this area of her character has not been damaged by the nightmare she's faced and survived but rather this is her journey to shedding the dark imprint that was left. Tara doesn't realize the extent of her self-imposed mourning until faced with the logical Harry Li. He's her counter opposite in every way but there's a vital connection between them that gently forces Tara to breathe again, to emotionally and physically feel life again. He also propels Tara to lead with her heart and unveil the scars that mangle her from head to toe as well as the deep inner scars that burden her with darkness. As Harry shines a brilliant healing light into Tara's needy soul, he gives her the strength to finally live life once again.

The Hero:

Harry, while integral to Tara's character development, DARK ORACLE isn't necessarily his story. Instead he serves as a wonderful foil for Tara as the logical, magic scoffing character allowing the reader to explore his or her own skepticism via Harry's. In essence, he forces Tara to reveal that much more about her inner fears of not only what people think of her, but fears with relationships. He gives her the opportunity to finally accept who she is with his own acceptance making Tara that much more stronger. It's a compelling partnership. Of course Tara also facilitates growth within Harry. He learns that some rules are meant to be broken in order to save lives as well as the fact that different approaches to a problem can yield unimaginable answers. Harry breaks the mold for Tara and while this terrifies him at some level, she's more than worth it.

My Thoughts:

A stunning collaboration of science and fantasy, DARK ORACLE is an unusual high stakes ride of government cover ups and mythological magic. While one would expect the blend to be jarring, its actually quite seamless making the novel interesting from beginning to end.

Embodying a rich epic feel, Tara and Harry traverse dozens of obstacles not only in search of the truth but also within their own inner obstacles allowing vast and blatant character growth. However, with the secondary love plot playing such a dynamic role in Tara's healing, I would have liked to have seen more chemistry, more sexual tension. It would have pushed this book from good to stellar. But the research is still phenomenal in both the science and magical aspects.

DARK ORACLE has all the makings of a good series start. For Urban Fantasy readers wanting to jump on an up and coming thrill ride, hail a ticket fast and get ready to hang on!

B

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