Book Log 4/2013 - Ilona Andrews: Steel's Edge - The Edge #3

[jacey]

This third book in the Edge series brings earlier stories together and resolves one of the story arcs begun in the second book, bringing back supporting characters in the first two books to be support characters in this one as well, in particular, Rose's Grandma and her brothers George and Jack from the first book, and Sophie from the second one, plus the antagonist, The Spider.

But the main characters are Richard, the Hunter, related to the Mar family of the second book, and Charlotte, a powerful healer elevated to Blue Blood status and brought up in The Weird.

To reacap: The Broken is our magic-free world, the Weird is where magic is an everyday occurrence, and the Edge is the buffer zone between the two where magic is reduced and life is hard.

Charlotte, having been dumped by her Blue Blood husband, gets away from the Weird and settles to life as a healer in the Edge (with Rose's grandmother from the first Edge book). He life is disrupted when Richard, fatally injured after a clash with a slaver gang, is dumped on her. Charlotte saves Richard, but the slavers wreak havoc and so she swears to put a stop to their activities. Teaming up with Richard she goes against all her training to use her healing magic to kill, knowing that she risks turning into an abomination - a plague-bringer and believing herself beyond redemption.

The slaver gangs are working for someone powerful and after striking against the heart the operation Richard and Charlotte are determined to go after the head, but corruption runs at the highest level and they have to return to Blue Blood society to carry out their plans.

There's a strong romantic element as Richard and Charlotte are drawn to each other despite their differences in background, but there's also magic, action and intrigue making this an excellent page-turner. Richard and Charlotte are sympathetic, if flawed, characters and it's good to see George and Jack now in command of their skills. They get to resolve their missing father problems. Hopefully they'll get a book of their own some day. Sophie, the damaged youngster from the second book, gets to finish her business with The Spider, the evil villain who killed her mother, though to be honest this section of the plot feels a bit like an optional extra as it's not foreshadowed in the early part of the book.

There's a price to pay for Charlotte using her magic to kill and this is a constant threat - finally mitigated, but not completely averted, by the power of love.

This can be read as a standalone, but I do recommend reading these Edge books in order for the full benefit of meeting some of the recurring characters.

Comments

[charlieallery.livejournal.com]

It was a series of 61 (apparently) Western novels, in which the lead character was called Edge. They were always entitled Edge: [Story title]. Pulp, really, but when I was collecting in the 70s there were always stacks of Edge novels in the 2nd hand shops. I was trawling for my favourite westerns which were titled, Sudden: [Story Title] and the lead character was ... yup, Sudden. :)

Anyway, the author was British according to Wikipedia and wrote over 200 novels. No wonder they were bloody everywhere. I'm sure I have one on my shelves at least. But Edge was all blood and guts and hard living and Sudden was an angsty mis-understood hero - very Spiderman. :)

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Ah, that's what I get for not being familiar with cowboy novels. I did come into contact with them when I worked at the library, but I confess I never read one until last year when as part of my 'try everything' policy I read 'Aidan, Loyal Cowboy' - a western romance as you can guess from the title. I won't be reading any more.
:-)

[charlieallery.livejournal.com]

You are aware, of course, that a Western Romance represents a Western novel about as much as an SF Romance represents an SF novel. :) Non-Romance western is I suppose idealising the 'cowboy culture' (which rarely resembles the reality) for one of its aspects, be that the rugged hero, the blood and guts outlaw, the live by the gun philosophy, etc. Generally they idealise the loner who rides off into the sunset, so, erm, not really romance material actually.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Yes, I am aware, having grown up in the days of Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Alan Ladd and John Wayne movies. I used to like watching westerns on TV, just never got round to reading any.