Cat Johnson Braves Doll Lil’s Word Association Challenge!

Book: Silver Shark (Novella)
Release: September, 2011
Series: Kinsmen Book 2
Reviewer: Noa
Source: ARC copy from Ilona Andrews
Purchase: – Barnes and Noble

Claire Shannon is a killer. She uses no weapons, only her mind.
Born on a planet locked in a long war, Claire is a psycher, a woman with the ability to attack minds and infiltrate a biological computer network where psychers battle to the death. But when the war abruptly ends, Claire must hide her psycher’s ability to survive. She is deported to a new planet, a vivid beautiful place, where she meets Venturo Escana, a powerful psycher, whose presence overwhelms both her mind and her body.

She thought she had left war and death behind, but now she must fight for her new life and this battle might just cost her everything…

I really could sum up this review in one sentence: Silver Shark is a novella by Ilona Andrews. Anyone who has read a book by Ilona Andrews is probably smiling now and totally understanding why you don’t need more than that. But I guess since I have the time and I actually enjoy discussing books almost as much as I enjoy reading them – I’ll give you a bit more. :D

First of all, rather than Urban Fantasy, Silver Shark is very much sci-fi – the second Novella in the Kinsmen series (Silent Blade – though you don’t have to read Silent Blade to understand Silver Shark) the setting is a futuristic world where some humans, known as kinsmen have enhanced abilities, among them are the psychers – those who have the ability to attack the minds of others telepathically and on the bionet.

The best way for me to explain the bionet is the way I saw it – a sort of virtual reality world in your mind but one that can be as deadly if not more than the “real world”.

Claire is an extremely talented psycher who lives on the war torn planet of Uley, a captain in the Brodwyn military her day to day revolves around the war, it is the only life she knows, and it is quite a bleak existence. Then the war is over, she is on the losing side and if the Melko, the winning side find out who she is and what she did – Claire will be executed. So Claire hides her abilities and finds herself being deported to New Delphi and her world is turned completely upside down.

This is where all the fun begins – New Delphi is a colorful world which at first, overwhelms Claire. It is also a place where being a psycher can be extremely useful, yet if anyone were to discover that she lied about her abilities, she’ll be killed. And of course this is where Claire meets Venturo Escana, her new boss, a kinsmen, a psycher and a drop dead gorgeous guy.

Now I’m not really a hard-core sci-fi fan but reading Silver Shark I remembered all the things I love about sci-fi and reaffirmed all the things I love and enjoy about Ilona Andrews’ books. In the Kate Daniels and Edge series I discovered Ilona Andrews’ incredible skill at building these new worlds that just jump off the page and make the reader feel  they’re in the story.

The entire concept of Silver Shark was wonderful, you experience things together with Claire – I felt for Claire from page one, staring down the side of the building, everything grey, everything grim… the endless pointless war…the way she sees herself on the bionet… then when she arrives on New Delphi I felt like I was seeing colors for the first time and tasting the tart sweetness of fruits right there with Claire – sensory overload!

Then we have the romantic side of Silver Shark, yes, there is romance and it is wonderful. Not too much, not too little (other than the sad fact that novellas are shorter than they should be ;)), Venturo (Ven) was a all a girl could want in a hero and more.

And when I finished reading (damn novellas why must they be so short, why????) I laughed and really, isn’t that what you want when you finish a book?

Go now, get Silver Shark, then lets discuss!

Also Reviewed By: Bad Ass Books – Literary Escapism

Noa first fell in love with books when she discovered 100 acre wood and its inhabitants. To this day, the last pages of “The House at Pooh Corner” make her cry. In a good way. From“Calvin and Hobbes” to “The Iliad and the Odyssey” and lets not forget “Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes”. Biographies, mysteries, history books and romances all have a place on her bookshelves. Who needs furniture? This 29 year old singleton’s dream is to invent the zero-calorie chocolate. But until that day arrives, she tries to create sweet confections with whatever chocolate she can find. An MA in conflict studies (need a mediator?) means Noa loves a good debate, especially when she wins. If she were in charge, books would be free for everyone.

Doll Noa

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