Guild Hunter series
Author: Nalini Singh
Publisher: Gollancz
Release date: 3rd Sept 2015
Page count: 357pp
Reviewer: Theresa Derwin
The Guild Hunter series pitches Archangels and Vampires together in a fight against evil. The latest of the series, Archangel’s Enigma, finds Naasir, the most feral of the ‘Seven’ (a powerful group of vampires and angels) dispatched to find the Archangel of Persia amidst rumours of a plot to murder him. He is mentioned in the prophecy Lijuan knows of, as one who might destroy her.
Naasir is called to see Archangel Raphael and is ordered to find out where Alexander Sleeps. It’s about the right time for a new mission; apart from feeling like a caged animal in the city, he is becoming impatient waiting for his ‘mate’ to find him. And although he knows he will miss his family, he is eager for another adventure. He has been assigned to protect a scholarly angel, Andromeda, an angel with insight into the locations an Archangel is most likely to hibernate.
As a scholar, stuck at the a Refuge where Naasir travels to, Andromeda is distracted by a letter she has received. She is soon to be four hundred years old and at that age she is instructed to return to her brutal totalitarian grandfather, Charisemnon, enemy of Raphael, so that she can serve at his side for five hundred years. She is tempted to ask Raphael for Sanctuary but is hesitant to ask, convinced she has no choice and must return home as a princess in fifteen days. But not until she has finished her mission with the delicious Naasir. Despite her vow of celibacy, she can’t help but find him enticing, especially when the first thing he does upon meeting her is to lean in and sniff her just in case she might be his mate.
This is the second book I’ve read in the Guild Hunter series. Whereas the first time I had difficulty getting my head round the various intricacies of the world building, this time I had no trouble at all. Having read the previous book, I understand what’s going on in this war and how the various factions fit together, which makes it easier to understand the plot and get into the story. And a fun story it is, with something for all; there’s political intrigue and power battles, romance, sexual chemistry, humour, zombies who feed on immortals and an edge of darkness and viciousness. Of the two series Singh writes I prefer the Psy-Changeling series, but the Guild Hunter series is also one to watch. Particularly as the conclusion hints at lots more action to come.