Ilona Andrews

[CheekyHalfWit]

Her first book came out reallier in the summer.  Its "Urban Paranormal", with a twist.  Magic and Technology are "fighting" for time in our world.  I really cant wait for her next one to come out.

[Cerulean]

The book is Magic Bites. There's a sequel coming out next March called Magic Burns. I've not read the book yet, but it's on my TBR pile. I have heard some good things about it, though.

Here's a brief blurb on Amazon, along with a recommendation by Patty! Hmm, I might have to move that up the TBR pile.

Patricia Briggs
Splendid...an edgy dark fantasy touched with just the right amount of humor.

Book Description
Mercenary Kate Daniels cleans up urban problems of a paranormal kind. But her latest prey, a pack of undead warriors, presents her greatest challenge.

[Cerulean]

Magic Burns, due out April 1st.

Here's the blurb from Amazon:

As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels knows how waves of paranormal energy ebb and flow across Atlanta like a tide. But once every seven years, a flare comes, a time when magic runs rampant. When Kate sets out to retrieve a set of stolen maps for the Pack, Atlanta's paramilitary clan of shape shifters, she quickly realizes much more is at stake. The stolen maps are only the opening gambit in an epic tug of war between two gods hoping for rebirth, and if Kate can't stop the cataclysmic showdown, the city may not survive

BTW, here's what else is due out that day:
Small Favor (hardcover) by Jim Butcher
Embrace the Night by Karen Chance
Rogue by Rachel Vincent
Dagger-star by Elizabeth Vaughn

I'll definitely be at BN the minute I get off work!

[Snoopy]

To get back on topic:
I just re-read both Ilona Andrews' books, and am sooo eager to know who Kate's father was (someone mentioned earlier on in the thread that it could be R which makes sense to me, but I have a feeling it's too obvious) and what exactly makes her so special, magic-and-power-wise. And of course, her relationship with Curran... I love how they dance around each other *dirty grin* and the last scene of the book was priceless and now I want MORE!!
*gnaws tail in frustration*

[Has]

I joined Ilona's Yahoo group and I got this today- its info on her new series which sounds fantastic.

Hello everybody.

Let's see, the new series.

Originally it was titled Borderland, but we had to rename it due to
another well-established series with the same title. It's now titled
the Edge series, and as soon as the marketing figures out how they
want to title the first book, I'll post it here.

Imagine that there is mirror world to our own. In this world magic
dominates. People there developed the same level of civilization,
except they achieved it through magical means. It's a place of
carriages without horses, soundproof spells on hotel rooms, magic
devices and people who're able to bring down a house with a burst of
power. This world is called the Weird.

Because in the Weird magic power is extremely important, the idea of
aristocracy never died. The land is divided into districts. A noble
who presides over the districts acts as a governor. A baron or earl
might only have a small area, while a duke might preside over a
territory equal to a state, containing numerous districts, each in
turn governed by a lesser noble.

Being a noble is no picnic: to formally assume the title, one first
has to take competency exams and do seven years of military service or
ten years of civil service and once the title is assumed, the noble
take with it the ultimate responsibility for the social wellbeing of
the citizens in their district. The Weird nobles are nasty customers
in a fight. Some of them, those who come from powerful families deep
within the Weird, are called bluebloods. And you never ever want to
piss one of them off.

Some people in the Weird are aware that there is another world, a
place quite similar to their own in geography but completely
different. In this world technology rules and magic doesn't work.
Even if a person with a magical ability does cross into this
technological world, it strips off their magic and they're left
feeling incomplete and crippled. Broken. Therefore, this world is
called the Broken.

The Broken and the Weird sit like two joined soap bubbles, barely
touching. The place where both worlds exist at once is called the
Edge. It's a narrow strip of land, about fifty to a hundred miles
wide that encircles the world. Here both magic and technology work at
once.

Living "on the Edge" is hard. The edgers are a mongrel lot. Most
aren't educated well enough to hold a decent job in the Broken and
their magic is rarely strong enough to let them succeed in the Weird.
They belong in neither world and they know it. Although they cross in
and out of the Broken and the Weird with ease, they're bound to the
Edge. Staying too long in either one will make them permanent
residents of that place - they will lose the ability to cross forever.

Most edgers make their living holding down minimum wage jobs, shopping
at Wal-Mart, and trading between the worlds. In both the Broken and
the Weird, they're illegal immigrants. Even if the were talented
enough to get good jobs, nobody would give it to them. They survive
the best they can. They're as likely to come at you with a gun as
with magic, and they don't like strangers.

In this odd place between worlds, lives Rose. Rose is a born and bred
edger and she comes from a family of doubtful reputation. Her grandpa
was a pirate. Her grandma is a disagreeable old woman who enjoys
cursing people. Her father is a gold digger and grave robber
(literally), forever looking for that next big treasure and never
finding it. Her mother was a slut. Of all the Draytons, Rose might
be the most responsible: at the time of the story, she's trying to
raise her two much younger brothers. Mom is dead, dad has ran off,
grandpa is dead too, after a fashion, and she's doing her best, poor
as you can get and working hard.

Unfortunately Rose has a problem. She's a fluke - magically she's
incredibly powerful. Instead of benefits, this power brought Rose
nothing but trouble. After she revealed it in a spectacular fashion,
the Edge families scrambled to grab her for the breeding rights and
when she and her family declined the marriage offers, a couple of
clans tried bridenapping. After Rose fried a few kidnappers, people
left her alone, but she became somewhat of an outcast. She keeps to
herself, raises her brothers, works her little job in a maid service,
and rebuffs all offers of marriage with a gun and a magic flash.

One morning she finds a blueblood on her doorstep and she tells him
exactly what she told all the others: she won't marry him.
Unfortunately, one just doesn't brush a blueblood off. He sticks
around and he isn't taking no for an answer. Soon it becomes apparent
that all is not well in the Edge: monsters are appearing, people are
dying, and Rose's family becomes a target. This blueblood, who calls
himself Declan (Declan Riel Martel, ade Dominik, ade Logran, ade
Rotibor, Seventeenth Earl of Camarine, Belyi Knyaz, and Lord of
Lynkshire to be precise)knows what's going on but he isn't talking...
Except to assure Rose that come hell or high water, she will be
joining him on his return trip to the Weird.

And that's the run down of the first book It's still very much a
contemporary fantasy with a definite modern flavor, but because it's
not set in a city, we're calling it rustic fantasy (rather than urban
fantasy.) Kate Daniels series is a bout 25% romance, and this one is
more like 50% - it's right in the middle.

[Kate]

This entry from yesterday on Ilona's blog cracked me up (only because I'm surrrre she wasn't serious):

New morning, new day filled with hate.

:stares at Kate 4:

Rocks fall.  Everyone dies.

I've felt like that whilst writing before. I love how honest she is about that stuff.

[Has]

Hey Maz this is for you! - I know you had a crappy day I found the pic- but all credit to e_booklover she thought of the caption

Enjoy 

[nottled]

I really enjoyed these two books.  The monsters were successfully 'icky' and even though I'm not a huge fan of fantasy worlds, I really liked her take on the future. I thought her vision was much clearer in the second book. I kept wondering what year they were supposed to be in?  I saw that White Street got it's name in '14 but did I miss it somewhere?

I love Curran but I think I love Samain more. The dancing in the snow scene was a hoot!

I cackled out loud when Bran showed up at the Keep and she head butted him in the nose. She's my kind of girl! I'm really looking forward to the next one and I don't even have to wait that long.

[e_booklover]

She posted an excerpt of something she wrote while under stress last year.  http://ilona-andrews.livejournal.com/274951.html.  It looks good but darker/grittier then what she currently has out.  Me likes

[CheeseBK]

*coughs* back to the original topic.... before the mods are getting angry at me *ducks head*

a little hint: there are two different blogs where ilona and gordon post their snippets. they post the same things on both, of course, but sometimes you have to look through the comments on both pages to find out all the goodies.

http://ilona-andrews.com/index.php/blog/

(modified to remove outdated link - Ellyll)

have fun

[Kate]

Saw this basic pic on icanhazcheeseburger and had to add an Ilona-related caption.


Ooh, and I got the pic right!

[CheeseBK]

demi I answered to your post on ilona's blog too. I ordered it with book depository now.

hey, do you remember jeremiah's dog from book 2? that's about how I envision that dog all credit for that impressive creature goes to the makers of "riddick", though

[Good Mazoku]

I notice it's something pretty common: I too wasn't much hooked until halfway through Magic Bites, and a friend of mine (who's hating/loving me right now coz we need to get an exam done and I'm lending her my copy of Magic Strikes thus precluding her getting much studying done) had the same problem.
I think it's due to the fact that in the first half of the first novel we still have to get the gist of Kate's world and not all the characters have been introduced yet, so that may be the reason why it's a little bit "slow". But after that...zomg...me wantz more... T_T

[Has]

Silent Blade is out today!!!
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/silent-blade

Maz I think you will be able to read this on the computer fine - its pretty short and its around 48 pages.

[Good Mazoku]

I'm really amazed at how much Kate has changed since Magic Bites, you can see how all the relationships she's developing (with Curran, Andrea, Derek...) are making her redesign her POV on lots of things.