I seem to have lapsed into comforting fiction again. I don’t know what exactly is comforting about a human mage that can protect his race car by magic, an urban elf that has a sot spot for children and a porn ring that has a lot more going on than you can imagine…

Tannim is a race car driver, but he’s mixed up with elves and other fun things. His weakness is a poor leg and also that he wants to protect children, just like the elves. He’s a likeable character, with proper flaws that make him seem real and believable.

The main character of Tannim better be believable, because the rest of this novel is pretty unbelievable. There are elves on the loose in USA! Not to mention ghosts, dragons and other otherworldly creatures. It’s well known that elves have a weakness for cold iron, and it’s fascinating the way that Lackey and Dixon produce ways around that.

It’s nice that Lackey & Dixon don’t feel that everything has to turn out perfectly. People are allowed to die, things can turn messy in a heartbeat and battles feel like they have a real element of danger. You find yourself on the edge of your seat so quickly and you can’t stop reading.

I think one of my favourite characters is Sam, the old engineer. He’s so quirky and quick! I also have always had a soft spot for the Irish, and Sam’s a good old irish breed. Sam takes everything in his stride. Soda siphon here we come!

Something you won’t see from Sam or Tannim is character development. Rather, their characters are very consistant, just as I would want from adult characters. The children on the other hand harden up very quickly, and do change. The storyline involving Jamie is particularly sad.

I can’t emphasise enough how complicated, but also at the same time, simple, this plot is. It’s told from several perspectives, so it’s possible to get a balanced view on most of the characters. There are so many different things going on, and it seems like the bad elves are the only ones that are aware of the majority of things. It really worked for me.

I would recommend this book for adults, probably not teenagers, as there is detailed descriptions of drug use and the various things involved in making snuff and child porn.

I ‘borrowed’ this book from the Baen Books online library, although I also own a hard copy.

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