Wildfire (7/25/2017) (FINAL)
This ongoing post has been revised and updated to include a review of Wildfire, the third and FINAL novel in the trilogy. That review appears first, followed by an overview of the world-building, and my reviews of the first two novels.
NOVEL 3: Wildfire
PUBLISHER'S BLURB:
From Ilona Andrews, the thrilling conclusion to her Hidden Legacy series, as Nevada and Rogan grapple with a power beyond event their imagination.
Nevada Baylor can’t decide which is more frustrating—harnessing her truthseeker abilities or dealing with Connor “Mad” Rogan and their evolving relationship. Yes, the billionaire Prime is helping her navigate the complex magical world in which she’s become a crucial player—and sometimes a pawn—but she also has to deal with his ex-fiancée, whose husband has disappeared, and whose damsel-in-distress act is wearing very, very thin.
Rogan faces his own challenges, too, as Nevada’s magical rank has made her a desirable match for other Primes. Controlling his immense powers is child’s play next to controlling his conflicting emotions. And now he and Nevada are confronted by a new threat within her own family. Can they face this together? Or is their world about to go up in smoke.
MY REVIEW:
As the series comes to an end, Nevada, Rogan, and their allies have a number of problems to resolve. Here are the primary story lines:
> 1. Brian Charles, husband of Rogan's ex-fiancée, Rynda, has gone missing, and Rynda—a gorgeous, clingy, seemingly helpless redhead—wants Rogan's help in finding him. Even though Rynda hires Nevada to find Brian, she doesn't like Nevada very much, partly because of the part Nevada played in the death of Rynda's mother (Olivia Charles—in the previous book) and partly because she wants Rogan's attention all to herself. For the first time in her life, Nevada experiences jealousy and she hates it. This story line, which is related to the primary series story arc, weaves among the other story lines until it is resolved with a major twist near the end.
> 2. Victoria Tremaine, Nevada's paternal grandmother is determined to kidnap Nevada so that she can maintain the strength and longevity of the Tremaine House. She begins sending teams of goons after Nevada to drag her away from the rest of her family and threatens both financial and physical harm to the Baylor family if Nevada doesn't succumb to her demands. In this story thread, we learn much more about the relationship between Nevada's father and grandmother and why Nevada's parents have kept their children hidden from Victoria. When Nevada meets Victoria for the first time, she describes her as looking "hard and vicious, like a velociraptor in human skin."
> 3. The only way to keep Victoria at bay is for Nevada to start her own house—the Baylor House—which means that she will be stepping directly into the dirty, backstabbing politics that she has always successfully avoided. It also means that she will have to publicly declare that she is a truthseeker. A new House must have at least two Primes, so Catalina and Nevada will have to be tested to ensure that they do indeed possess Prime-level magic. Penelope is totally against becoming a House. She warns Nevada that, "Primes won't care that you are young. They won't be kind. They will try to use us, manipulate us, or destroy us. You could be standing in the middle of the Assembly, and if a Prime summoned a pack of wild wolves to rip you to pieces, I'm not sure anyone would help. This would be our life."
> 4. Once the magic world learns about Nevada's magical abilities and that she will soon be the leader of her own House, she becomes a desirable mate in the eyes of some of Houston's Primes. When a handsome truthseeker Prime makes a play for Nevada, Rogan also feels stabs of jealousy for the first time in his life, and his reaction is not pretty. Rogan has made it clear to Nevada that he doesn't believe that their magic is compatible, meaning that their children would probably not be Primes. He keeps trying to edge away from Nevada, giving her a chance to pull away from him and marry someone with compatible magic. Nevada, of course, is having none of this, so she keeps trying to convince Rogan that the two of them are destined to be together and that magical compatibility doesn't matter to her (even though she secretly worries about it a lot).
As part of the interweaving of these story lines, a number of side effects occur for many of the characters:
> Leon, Arabella, and Catalina are forced to publicly use their very scary magic under harrowing circumstances, thus changing their lives forever.
> Nevada, who is now killing people with some regularity, constantly worries that she is losing her humanity.
> Both Nevada and Rogan worry about whether it is possible for them to make a life together in this world of Primes and magic compatibility. Will they begin to hate one another if their children are not Primes? Would Rogan be better off marrying someone like Rynda? Would Nevada be better off marrying her truthseeker suitor? Nevada wonders, "If Rogan and I ever married and our children weren't Primes, would he resent me? My heart squeezed itself into a tiny painful ball."
The Epilogue is a masterpiece that depicts the suspense of Nevada and Catalina's Prime trials and the hilarity of Arabella's mathematics fiasco (which made me laugh out loud). But the Epilogue also points out several loose ends, which means that another chapter in this series may surface at some future time. (We can only hope!) (NOTE: If you are a reader who habitually skips to the end and reads the final pages of a book first, please don't do that with this one because you'll ruin the story for yourself.)
> The brand new Baylor House will have immunity from attacks by the other Houses for three years, but after that...look out, Nevada!
> Nevada owes a favor to the Keeper, and he can call it in at the time and place of his choice.
> Simmering along in the background is the unresolved mystery of the identity of the leader of the "Romans," "an organization of Primes that's trying to destabilize Houston so they can put their leader in power. They call him Caesar." Although the bulk of the insurrection is (predictably) crushed in the final showdown scene, Nevada and Rogan never learn the identity of "Caesar." That identity, however, is revealed subtly to the reader on the last page of the novel. You'll only realize this if you have been paying close attention to some earlier dialogue. Outing Caesar in this manner is a neat trick that leaves the door open for further adventures in this world.
> And finally, we all want to know what will happen if and when Nevada and Rogan have children.
As always, the story has plenty of sexy romance, subtle wit, and snarky humor to temper the blood-and-guts action scenes, which—by the way—include battles with huge, scary, otherworldly monsters summoned from unknown realms. Nevada and Rogan are terrific lead characters—intelligent, courageous, and resourceful while, at the same time, sexy and (at times) emotionally insecure. All of the characters are multi-layered, even the villains (a rarity in current urban fantasy).
HIDDEN LEGACY is another top-notch series by the Andrews duo, and this is a fine finale that you won't want to miss. Click HERE to read or listen to an excerpt from Wildfire on the novel's Amazon.com page where you can click on the cover art for print or the "Listen" icon for audio.
WORLD-BUILDING
The series has its roots in a short
story called “Of Swine and Roses," which the authors wrote years ago. The heroine of
that story is not the heroine of the HIDDEN LEGACY series, but she lives in
that world—a world in which people have varying degrees of magic.
Currently, this story is still free on-line, but you can also purchase it on
Amazon for a nominal charge. Click HERE
to read the story free. It provides a nice introduction to the
mythology in the form of an entertaining short story.
The authors have created a HIDDEN LEGACY web site within their regular site, and I will be quoting from its pages as I describe the series world-building. At the end of this world-building section, I will provide links to the various web pages.
THE MYTHOLOGY
In 1863, in a world much like our
own, European scientists discovered Osiris serum, a concoction that brought
out one’s magic talents. These talents were many and varied. For example, some people gained the ability to command animals; some learned to sense water from miles away; and
others suddenly realized they could kill their enemies by generating a burst of
lightning between their hands. The serum spread throughout the world. Governments gave it to soldiers in hopes of making the military forces more
deadly. At the same time, members of the fading aristocracy, desperate to hold
on to power, obtained it, as did the rich, who desired to get richer.
Eventually the world realized the
consequences of awakening godlike powers in ordinary people. The serum was
locked away, but it was too late. The magic talents passed on from parents to
their children and changed the course of human history forever. The future of
entire nations changed in the span of a few short decades. Those who previously
married for status, money, and power now married for magic, because strong
magic would give them everything. Now, a
century and a half later, families with strong hereditary magic have evolved
into dynasties. These families—Houses, as they call themselves—own corporations, have their own territories within the cities, and influence politics.
They employ private armies; they feud with each other; and their disputes are
deadly. In this world the more magic you have, the more powerful, the
wealthier, and the more prominent you are. Some magic talents are destructive.
Some are subtle. But no magic user should be taken lightly.
RANKING OF MAGIC USERS
Magic users are segregated into five ranks: Minor, Average, Notable, Significant, and Prime. The difference between Minor and Prime is enormous. For example, a pyrokinetic is considered Average if he can melt a cubic foot of ice under a minute. In the same amount of time, Adam Pierce, a pyrokinetic Prime featured in the first novel, can conjure a fire that will melt a cubic foot of stainless steel.
HOUSES
A family with powerful magic abilities is considered a House when it produces at least two Primes within three generations. Houses are small economic empires: they control territories within cities; they hire private muscle; and they engage in cut-throat business tactics. Houses frequently feud with each other, and vicious rivalries between rival Houses are not uncommon. Most of the time, civilian law enforcement stays out of the inter-House conflicts as long as ordinary citizens are not endangered in any way. Houses also have their own ruling body, an Assembly, and although the Assembly has no official status within the United States government, its voice is heard and (usually) taken to heart by all three branches of government.
THE THREE TYPES OF MAGIC
Elemental Magic:
Elemental magic users command forces of nature. Some can bend water to their will; some are able to mold soil; and others can conjure fire or create an electric current. Elemental mages can cause a great deal of damage. Most work in manufacturing. The greatest elemental Houses tend to run industrial and construction corporations. Here are some examples of elemental magic:
> Pyrokinesis—mastery over fire (A sociopathic pyrokinetic Prime is at
the heart of the first novel.)
> Aquakinesis—mastery over water (An aquakinetic plays a key role in the second novel.)
> Geokinesis—mastery over earth
> Aerokinesis—mastery over air
> Fulgurkinesis—mastery over lightning
Mental Magic:
Magic of the mind would be best described as magic of the will. This category includes a slew of powers that rely on the will of the user. The mental talents are many and varied, from telekinesis (which can be used to devastating effect), to harmonizing (which enables the mage to make beautiful flower arrangements). Here are some examples of mental magic:
> Telekinesis—the ability to move objects with your mind (The series hero is a telekinetic Prime.)
> Projection—the ability to transmit images and feelings to the minds of others
> Therionology—the ability to command animals. Practitioners are usually known as animal mages. Rare.
> Harmonizing—the ability to arrange one’s environment to invoke a specific feeling or mood
> Elenchus—the ability to distinguish lies from truth, also known as truthseeking. Extremely rare. (The series heroine is a truthseeker.)
Arcane Magic:
The word “arcane” means known or understood by very few. True
to definition, even those who are born with these magic powers poorly
understand the arcane branch of magic talents. Power of arcane magic users comes from reaching into the arcane realm, a place of magic outside of our typical reality. Their talents are frequently disturbing. Here are some examples of arcane magic:
> Enerkinesis—mastery over magic energy
> Animating—the ability to impart life to inanimate objects
> Binding—the ability to fuse or bind something found in the arcane realm to a human host with the purpose of giving the host new magic powers
> Summoning—the ability to cause manifestation of creatures (This type of arcane magic is featured in the second novel.)
MAIN CHARACTERS
The Baylor family runs the Baylor
Investigative Agency, and they always try to follow three rules: "Once a client hired us, we were loyal to the
client...We didn't break the law...And...the most important of all: At the end
of the day we still had to be able to look our reflections in the eye." The family lives and
works in a former warehouse in Houston, Texas, which they have retrofitted with
offices, a living area, and a large garage area where Grandma Frida works on various
military vehicles.
> Nevada
Baylor: the 25-year-old series heroine. She is
a licensed private investigator, and since her father died, she basically runs
the business. Nevada is a truthseeker (the third rarest magical talent)
who has no idea that she has tremendous untapped powers. She has always kept
her talent hidden because most truthseekers are snapped up by the government
and turned into human lie detectors. Nevada also has a second magical ability that surfaces in book two.
> Grandma
Frida: She is a mech-mage who has a magical
connection to armored things that move. "It didn't matter if they rolled, crawled, or floated. She lived
and breathed the deep-voiced rumble of their engines and the smoky odor of
their guns."
> Penelope
Baylor (mother of Nevada, Catalina, and Arabella): She is a military veteran—an expert
sniper—who still walks with a limp from a severe war injury. Her expertise with
a rifle comes from her magical talent.
> Nevada's
teen-age sisters: Catalina (age 17) and
Arabella (age 15)
> Nevada's
cousins: Bernard (aka Bern, age 19) and Leon (15). Bern is a tech genius who can hack into any computer network in minutes. Leon's magical talent remains hidden until midway through book two so I won't reveal it here because I hate spoilers.
Click HERE to go to the home page of the authors' HIDDEN LEGACY web site where you can click on
links to the following topics: Main Characters, Magic Ranks and Houses, Types
of Magic, and Magic Circle Archive.
Nevada Baylor has a unique and secret skill—she knows when people are lying—and she's used that magic (along with plain, hard work) to keep her colorful and close-knit family's detective agency afloat. But her new case pits her against the shadowy forces that almost destroyed the city of Houston once before, bringing Nevada back into contact with Connor "Mad" Rogan.
