THE COURIER

Author:Melanie Jackson ISBN: 0505525763 3/2004 PARANORMAL Publisher: Dorchester

In the alternate world of the Wildside, earth is populated not only by humans but creatures of dark, seductive magic—pookas, sylphs, goblins and more. This wonderland is in delicate balance. And the goblins are always plotting. Lyris knew all about goblins. She had spent much of her adult life trying to prove one was behind the assassination of JFK. But was Quede the biggest threat in New Orleans, this strange monarch who owned the plantation Toujours Perdrix? Or was the biggest threat Romeo Hart, the fey who laughed at death and quickened Lyris's blood? This courier mission was trouble. No question; Lyris wais in danger of losing her life, her soul, or her heart—and by the time she discovered which, it will be too late.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

When I first started to read this book, THE COURIER by Melanie Jackson, I felt as if I had perhaps been thrown into the deep end of a parallel universe, which indeed I had, since this book is one out of a series that Ms. Jackson is penning.

THE COURIER involves two main protagonists, Lyris Damsel, a half-sylph, and Romeo Hart, the dashing and wildly alluring half-pooka (I think at one point towards the end of the book, I found out that being of this species means that you can turn into a horse on a full moon). Now if you are as confused at this point as I was, there is a handy “Guide To Who's Who in Goblintown" (better known as New Orleans) in the back of the book: "The Good, Bad, and the Ugly” gives a bare-bones version of the different characters in the series, and what species they belong to. I had to refer to it more than once in the course of reading this book.

Lyris and Roman (as Romeo is affectionately called), are in the Big Easy trying to figure out where all of the "better species" have gone to. It appears that they have all fled town, in fear of the Goblin/Vampire Ogre, Quede, the head antagonist in the book. His main sources of amusement are breeding exotic Orchids, and genetically fiddling with the the already nasty goblins, turning them into the flesh-eating, gender-neutral-until-he-decides variety. Lyris, however, is on a mission, being one of the "great JFK assassination conspiracy theorists", and she has recently gotten a hold of a film that proves that many of the people involved in the assassination were indeed evil goblins, under the mental control of Quede.

The problem that I found with this book, even after doing some preliminary study into the series, is that it was rather plodding, with no big surprises or plot twists. It was, in fact, a bit of an effort for me to finish. I had trouble keeping track of all of the different species, and who was good versus who was bad, and when the time came for the big confrontation with Quede, the extremely powerful Leader who held legions of goblins at his beck and call, well, it was a great disappointment, to say the least, to read that the mighty Quede was felled with a Wooden Bullet, shot by no other than the 100 pound Lyris.

If you are a fan following the series, I'm going to assume that you know what you are in for by picking up this latest installment of Melanie Jackson's otherworld. If you have not yet been indoctrinated, I would have to give it a pass. You won't find anything in this book to keep you on the edge of your seat. The cover of this book has some beautiful artwork, depicting Lyris with a wonderful set of fairy-like wings, and that left me wondering many times as I was reading the book, why she doesn't just fly away in the face of danger, rather than gasping for breath as she ran for her life alongside the much faster Roman. After all, his alter-ego? Other body-shape? I'm not sure what to call it — IS a horse, or horse persona. Even after reading the last page, I have questions that I would like to have answered. But in all honestly, I don't want the answers bad enough to pick up the next installment of the book.

Also (and, this is just MY opinion), but I would love to see someplace other than New Orleans being haunted in our paranormal romance future. There are many, many places in the world which are much more exotic than the Big Easy, although I too, love it dearly. I think that readers would jump at the chance to explore new and unknown lands which are lush and ripe for some good old paranormal romantic happenings.

Melanie Jackson is the author of several other books (many of which I have enjoyed immensely) including Belle, Manon, and Iona. She is a fourth-generation Californian who lives there still, with her husband and her pet cat. She is the co-founder of CYBER CLAN, the internet home for tech- inclined clanfolk.

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