Any Given Doomsday (Nicola)
Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handerland
The Phoenix Chronicles, Book 1
Pages: 343 pgs.
First Published: Nov. 4, 2008
Rating: 3/5
First sentence:
On the day my old life died, the air smelled of springtime — budding trees and just-born flowers, fresh grass and hope.
Reason for Reading: I was intrigued by the ex-cop, psychic demon hunter aspect of the plot.
Summary: Ex-cop Elizabeth Phoenix has always been psychic but she’s tried to keep it under control and under wraps most of the time. But when her beloved foster mother is killed by monsters she visits Lizzy in her mind to tell her that she is now the seer over all the demon killers and she remains with Lizzy to teach her to recognize non-humans. It is in this way that she learns her boyfriend Jimmie is half vampire and one of the demon killers. She is sent out into the desert with a mysterious Navajo shape-shifter to awaken her psychic powers to their fullest and learns that learns that the prophetic Apocalypse is well underway unless she and her demon killers can save humanity.
Comments: The plot is based upon the Book of Enoch, a Jewish writing which is non-canonical (not part of) either the Bible or the Torah. This book has many scholarly interpretations and Handeland has gloried in the literal interpretation, allowing her to tie her paranormal world to a Biblical mythology. I’ll admit right up front that I quite enjoyed the book; it’s what I would call a guilty little pleasure. It was a fast read, exciting, lots of action and very Buffy-like that it kept me reading. The dialogue was cheesy at times but so what. The book is supposed to be paranormal romance though I wouldn’t call it as much romance as I would plain s*x. The first half of the book is all action, but the second half introduces some quite explicit s*x scenes. While this isn’t what I normally read, I found myself going with the flow and basically having a fun read. I’m a grown-up, married woman and while I am deeply religious, I’m not a prude and don’t mind a bit of a romp when it’s aimed at adult women. So, no literary winner here. Definitely not to everyone’s tastes. Just a fun little read that would make a good plane or beach read. I’ll be continuing the series.
If you liked this book, try “Mark of the Demon” by Diana Rowland. Ms. Rowland is an ex-detective and knows her procedure and uses it well in the book. The main character is a witch that summons demons. She accidentally summons the wrong one and gets herself in hot water, while at the same time trying to solve a serial murder case. Very well written.