Alyssa Day: WARRIORS OF POSEIDON SERIES

Author:  Alyssa Day (Pseudonym of Alesia Holliday)  

Series:  WARRIORS OF POSEIDON  
Plot Type: SMR   

Ratings:  V3-4, S4, H3 
Publisher and Titles: Berkley
     Atlantis Rising (3/2007)
     "Wild Hearts in Atlantis" in Wild Thing (1/2009) (e-book, 3/2012)
     Atlantis Awakening (11/2007)
     "Shifter's Lady" in Shifter (e-book, 4/2012)
     Atlantis Unleashed (6/2009)
     Atlantis Unmasked (7/2009)
     Atlantis Redeemed (3/2010)
     Atlantis Betrayed (9/2010)
     Vampire in Atlantis (6/2011)
     Heart of Atlantis (12/2012) (FINAL book in the 1st WARRIORS arc)

     This post contains an overview of the world-building and reviews of the final two books in the series: Vampire in Atlantis and Heart of Atlantis. I recommend that you begin at the beginning of the series in order to get the back stories and appreciate the changes in the characters as they develop through the eight books.

          WORLD-BUILDING         

     More than eleven thousand years ago, just before Atlantis sank into the sea, a group of Warriors met with Poseidon's high priest and were divided into seven groups of seven. Each group was assigned to protect humankind from the forces of evil. In the modern-day world, evil translates into powerful vampires led by the goddess Anubisa who have come out to the world and have taken over political systems worldwide through violence and trickery. The vamps even have their own house of the United States Congress: the Primus. Further complicating matters are the Seelie and Unseelie Fae, who are constantly meddling in both mortal and supernatural affairs, and the werewolves, who hate the vamps and don't trust the Fae. In fact, no one trusts anyone outside his or her own creature group. 

Here is "The Warrior's Creed":

The brand of the
Warriors of Poseidon

    "We will wait. And watch. And protect.

    And serve as first warning on the eve of humanity's destruction.

    Then, and only then, Atlantis will rise.

    For we are the Warriors of Poseidon, and the mark of the Trident we bear serves as witness to our sacred duty to safeguard mankind."

     Each Warrior is branded by Poseidon with a three-part symbol: "The circle represents all the peoples of the world, intersected by the pyramid of knowledge deeded to them by the ancients. The silhouette of Poseidon's trident bisects them both." (Vampire in Atlantis, p. 139)   

     Each book tells one Warrior's story as he fights the evil vamps or fae or werewolves, and meets up with his twenty-first century soul mate along the way—frequently (but not always) a human. The story arc for the series features the warriors' search for the gems from Poseidon's trident, which were scattered over the world when Atlantis sank. When all of the stones are retrieved, Atlantis can rise again (but not before all of the Warriors meet their soul mates and achieve their HEAs).

     According to a page on the author's web site, "Heart of Atlantis will be the final book in the first arc of the WARRIORS OF POSEIDON series. But don't worry! I promise to write Denal's book and Jack's book!" On another web page, Day promises that there will be more Atlantis-world novellas and that Jack will be getting his own series, with news of that coming later in the year. 

Here is a book-by-book list of the Warriors and their soul mates:

   > Atlantis Rising: High Prince Conlan and emotional empath Riley Dawson

   > "Wild Hearts in Atlantis": Bastien & shape-shifter Kat

   > Atlantis Awakening: Lord Vengeance (Ven) & witch Erin

   > "Shifters Lady": Were-panther Ethan & First Maiden of the Nereids, Marie

   > Atlantis Unleashed: Lord Justice & human Dr. Keely McDermott

   > Atlantis Unmasked: Alexios & human Grace Haviland

   > Atlantis Redeemed: Brennan & human truth-teller Tiernan

   > Atlantis Betrayed: Christophe & human Fiona Campbell

   > Vampire in Atlantis: Vampire Daniel & ancient Atlantean Serai

   > Heart of Atlantis: Alaric and emotional empath Quinn Dawson

     Click HERE to read Day's web page about the Warriors and their history. Click HERE to read a free series-related story featuring Rhys na Garanwyn, High Prince of the High House of the Seelie Court, who appeared in Atlantis Unleashed.

          BOOK 7:  Vampire in Atlantis         

     The action in books 7 and 8 occurs concurrently, but with two different lead couples in two widely separated locations. In the early part of each of these books, we have a battle scene in Arizona in which Jack, Quinn's tiger-shifter colleague, is injured so badly that he remains in his tiger form. Quinn and Alaric take Jack and go off on the adventures that make up the final book (Heart of Atlantis), while Daniel and his lover, Serai, stay in Arizona and try to recover the penultimate stone from Poseidon's trident—the Emperor, an ostrich-egg-sized amethyst. 

     Nothing is easy in these final books because the gods have set up a series of tasks that must be completed if Atlantis is to rise. Here, the spirit of the Portal explains the situation to Conlan: "The task is set for Serai. She will pass it or not. Just as Alaric of Atlantis will pass or fail his test, and Jack of the nearly lost tiger tribe will face his challenge. The time of the final crisis is near, Conlan of Atlantis, and the gods would have me determine if those who support you in your quest to bring Atlantis to the surface are worthy." (Vampire in Atlantis, p. 257)

     In the opening scene of Vampire in Atlantis, Daniel resigns his position as Primator of the vampires and decides to walk into the sun—to cause his own true death—because he has nothing to live for. He lost Serai, his true love, ten thousand years ago at the time he was turned and he feels completely alone. At this point, he is extremely depressed over the state of supernatural affairs in the world and sees no point in living any longer. The gods, however, have other plans for Daniel. As he walks into the sun, he steps into a well-placed Portal and finds himself in Atlantis, face to face with Serai, who has been held in stasis for 10,000 years and has just been awakened by the malfunctioning of the Emperor's powers. Daniel and Serai follow the Emperor's call to Arizona, which is where they link up with Quinn and her rebels and participate in the battle that costs Jack his humanity.

     Meanwhile, Smithson, a sleazy human banker, and Nicholas, a power-hungry vampire, have kidnapped Ivy Khetta, a dark witch, and her son and forced her to take possession of the Emperor and use it to locate a cache of jewels in the mountains of Arizona. Ivy is basically a good woman who has had a tragic life and has turned to black magic in a moment of weakness. Nicholas, the local vampire leader, wants to attain wealth for purposes we don't learn until late in the book.

     The plot is structured in two main strands: One plot strand focuses on Ivy as she, her son, and Nicholas camp out in an Arizona cave as Ivy tries to manipulate the Emperor and find the gems that Nicholas is searching for—all the while trying to keep her son safe from the bad-guy kidnappers. The second (primary) story line is the romance between Daniel and Serai, who must work out the kinks in their relationship. They have both had to deal with much pain and adversity in their long lives, so they tell each other their stories and fall madly in love all over again. Meanwhile, each time Ivy tries to use the Emperor, Serai suffers agonizing pain and weakness and the remaining women still held in stasis back in Atlantis begin to die. The pressure is really on for Daniel and Serai as they hike across the desert in search of the gemstone that will save Serai and her sisters.  

     An additional, sketched-in story line involves the Warrior, Reisen, and Quinn's computer expert, Melody, as they go off on a bank-robbing adventure and fall for one another along the way. That story line is unresolved in this book.

       This book moves along quite nicely until a third important story line is introduced with a jolt in chapter 30, just 50 pages from the end. That bit of plot is the single wrong note in the story—a deus ex machina that isn't really needed to bring the story to its climactic conclusion. It comes out of nowhere, introduces extraneous characters, and really interrupts the flow of the action. 

     All in all, though, this is another strong addition to the series. There is plenty of angst and action, and it's nice to know that we have almost reached the long-awaited, dramatic moment when Atlantis rises majestically from the waves.

          BOOK 8:  Heart of Atlantis           

     Book 8 ends the series with the story we've been awaiting for years—that of Alaric and Quinn. Alaric is the high priest of Atlantis, and he has lived a lonely and solitary life for centuries under a strict vow of celibacy. Quinn is the street-tough emotional empath who leads the North American rebel alliance and is the sister of Riley (wife of the High Prince, Conlan, whose love story was told back in book 1). Alaric and Quinn have been attracted to one another from the time they first met—when Alaric healed Quinn from a gunshot injury. They have yearned for each other from afar ever since, but have shared just a single passionate kiss. Alaric has been warned by the Atlantean Elders that if he breaks his vow of celibacy he will lose his magic, and that would be disastrous for Atlantis at this dangerous time. The Atlanteans are still battling the vampires, and as the book opens, a new threat appears in the form of a man who gains possession of the last jewel in Poseidon's Trident (a blue tourmaline called Poseidon's Pride) and who claims to be Ptolemy Reborn, the real King of Atlantis. Ptolemy also shows Quinn's picture on national television and claims that he is searching for her, which means that Quinn's identity as a rebel leader is now compromised and her life is in danger from the many enemies—mostly vampires—that she has made over the years.

     The plot follows Alaric and Quinn through a series of adventures (including multiple kidnappings of Quinn) as they attempt to stop Ptolemy and Anubis, take back Poseidon's Pride, and figure out what to do about that pesky celibacy vow. In the side story that links this book with the previous one, Quinn's best friend, Jack, is in tiger form after being severely injured. For some reason, Jack can't—or won't—find his human side. The catalyst for the action (and the major source of humor) is a male Portal spirit with a mind of his own. 

     As you can imagine, the lead couple contributes many pages of angst-filled interior monologues as they pine for one another but try to stay apart for the greater good. But have the Elders been telling Alaric the truth about his need for celibacy? Alaric's discovery of answer to that question is a high point in the book. 

     Since this is the final book in what the author calls "the first arc in the WARRIORS OF POSEIDON series," you know from the beginning that Atlantis will rise in the closing pages, and you won't be disappointed with the way the story plays out. But even when Atlantis rises, the action isn't finished, so you can't relax until the final page. This is a great ending for one of the strongest paranormal romance series of the past few years. The romances are always anguished, and the compelling action plots always move the Trident-jewel story line along to the next step in a most satisfying manner. 

    If you haven't read the earlier books in the series, I suggest that you start back at book 1, Atlantis Rising, to get a real feel for the mythology and the characters. All of the Warriors and their soul mates have their own unique personalities, powers, and back stories so each couple's romantic journey is very different from the others (except for the level of angst, which is always sky high).