STILL LIFE

Author: Melanie Jackson ISBN: 0505526085 8/2004 PARANORMAL Publisher: Dorchester

THE SHOW WOULD GO ON Snippets of a forgotten past were returning to Nyssa Laszlo, along with the power to project her mind. Each projection thrust her into a glowing still life of color and time, and her every step led deeper into undiscovered country. Things were changing, and dangerously so. She was learning who she was—whether she wanted to or not. She was also learning dark things were on the rise. From the Unseelie faerie court to Abrial, the dauntless dreamwalker who pursued her, the curtain was going up on a stage Nyssa had never seen and a cast she couldn't imagine—and it was the final act of a play for her heart and soul

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Nyssa Laszlo can't remember her childhood. Not in the sense that she only remembers certain things—she literally can't remember her childhood. It's as if they hadn't happened at all or had been erased from her memory. Now she is on a search to find out why, what happened and what she is. Using her ability as a dreamwalker, Nyssa is discovering more than she may have wanted to know. To top things off, she finds herself being hunted by goblins, the FBI, and H.U.G.

Whether it is the wisest thing to do or not, she has no choice but to put her trust and life into the hands of a nightdemon.

Abrial is a dreamwalker and, in the past, Executioner for the Unseelie Queen. Freed from his oath to the Queen by her death, Abrial is now charged with the responsibility of secretly minding Nyssa in her dreamwalking and, ultimately, bringing her to Cadalach for her own safety.

He is discovering along the way that Nyssa's uniqueness and beauty is finding it's way into his heart. It is as much a painful thing as it is a wonderful one. His kind is said to be cursed to love—only to have that love not be returned. Dealing with the intrigues of the goblins, unseelie and seelie courts, and discovering feelings neither one expected makes for an adventure Nyssa and Abrial never dreamed of having.

I can't quite put my finger on what it is that I like about Melanie Jackson's writing but, none the less, I do. I think that part of it is the fact that her world of Fey and Goblins existing in our human world puts the imagination to work without being so complicated that you're struggling to keep track of things.

The pace is fast—kind of like one of the Terminator movies except it's in a book. I also liked the interaction between the characters. Their emotions are easy to relate to - fear, desire, humor, insecurity—each comes across clearly to the reader.

If you're looking for a good quick paranormal, this book is worth picking up.

Sue Cloud