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Oracle #1
Dark Oracle
TARA SHERIDAN HAS A GIFT . . . AND IT ALMOST KILLED HER.
As a criminal profiler, Tara used science and her intuitive skill at Tarot card divination to track down the dangerous and depraved, including the serial killer who left her scarred from head to toe. Since that savage attack, Tara has been a recluse. But now an ancient secret society known as Delphi’s Daughters has asked for her help in locating missing scientist Lowell Magnusson. And Tara, armed with her Tarot deck, her .38, and a stack of misgivings, agrees to try.
Tara immediately senses there is far more at stake than one man’s life. At his government lab in the New Mexico desert, Magnusson had developed groundbreaking technology with terrifying potential. Working alongside the brusque but charismatic agent Harry Li, Tara discovers that Magnusson’s daughter, Cassie, has knowledge that makes her a target too. The more Tara sees into the future, the more there is to fear. She knows she has to protect Cassie. But there may be no way to protect herself—from the enemies circling around her, or from the long-buried powers stirring to life within. . . .
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 25, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
January 7, 2018
It was okay with a lot of skimming required. Definitely more romantic suspense than urban fantasy. Guy pov/girl POV much like the more basic romances. Some good thriller qualities, some very overdone descriptions. The tarot cards were interesting, but I don't think that was enough to label this UF by any means. More of a FBI romantic suspense with an unfortunate tendency to show too many POV. It got a bit over-the-top with people surviving things, but in general it wasn't a horrible read. I own the second book in the series but I'm not really tempted to dip into it.
June 20, 2010
There's an explosion at a government lab in the New Mexico desert. The site of fascinating work, its lead scientist is missing, and former criminal profiler Tara Sheridan has joined the search for him. But she's facing danger on two fronts: from someone she grew up with, and from the government peeps who want the scientist's files.
Tarot, quantum physics, mines, botany, geology, divination, serial killers...if any of these interest you, purchasing Dark Oracle would be wise. A mix of The X-Files and Alex Kava's Maggie O'Dell series, this novel has enlivened urban fantasy with a smack of science that grounds the story with realism. Plus, there are definite wow moments - the climax features a character who truly is one with the earth, in jaw-dropping imagery.
Unfortunately, the sequel, Rogue Oracle, won't be released until March. Too bloody long away...
Tarot, quantum physics, mines, botany, geology, divination, serial killers...if any of these interest you, purchasing Dark Oracle would be wise. A mix of The X-Files and Alex Kava's Maggie O'Dell series, this novel has enlivened urban fantasy with a smack of science that grounds the story with realism. Plus, there are definite wow moments - the climax features a character who truly is one with the earth, in jaw-dropping imagery.
Unfortunately, the sequel, Rogue Oracle, won't be released until March. Too bloody long away...
June 6, 2011
Interesting premise, but the dialogue was a bit dry and I didn't care too much for every little detail of the tarot cards (of course some detail was to be expected, but I felt my eyes glossing over). This actually bogged the book down and made for a boring read. Picked up later on, but by then I didn't feel invested in the outcome and the action wasn't very exciting.
Did not care for the romance at all - dull and occurred without development. Any drama that occurred or inner turmoil in the character regarding it had me rolling my eyes. It just rang hollow and kind of deflated the tension we're supposed to feel later on in the book re: the love interest since I was not invested at all.
I did like the main character. Thought her claustrophobia was interesting. Other than that, the other characters, especially the bad guys, weren't developed well at all.
Did not care for the romance at all - dull and occurred without development. Any drama that occurred or inner turmoil in the character regarding it had me rolling my eyes. It just rang hollow and kind of deflated the tension we're supposed to feel later on in the book re: the love interest since I was not invested at all.
I did like the main character. Thought her claustrophobia was interesting. Other than that, the other characters, especially the bad guys, weren't developed well at all.
May 14, 2012
This book was completely and utterly dull to me. Several times I even came back to Amazon to re-read the reviews, just so I could be encouraged to continue reading this book. It's ashamed really, I was so looking forward to this fantasy/scifi hybrid. I imagined it to have real promise and be something different from the norm. Although it was different from the norm, there wasn't enough action and progress in the story to hold my attention.
I don't think this author Laura Bickle/Alayna Williams' writing style jives with me. When reviewing her books, my opinion always seems to be in the minority. I'm never impressed with her books and usually walk away from it feeling disappointed and bored. Therefore, this author and her pseudonym will be stricken from my reading list.
I don't think this author Laura Bickle/Alayna Williams' writing style jives with me. When reviewing her books, my opinion always seems to be in the minority. I'm never impressed with her books and usually walk away from it feeling disappointed and bored. Therefore, this author and her pseudonym will be stricken from my reading list.
February 26, 2011
Reviewed by
DARK ORACLE is fast paced, filled with great characters, action, mystery, and science with a touch of romance on the side. The main character and storyteller is Tara who is a Oracle who gets her intuitions and predictions from her tarot cards. She uses her tarot cards throughout the story and everything is explained expertly to help bring you better understanding of the tarot so you aren't completely lost. Tara is also a retired Criminal profiler so there is a ton of law enforcement type investigating. All together a great new Urban Fantasy.
DARK ORACLE is fast paced, filled with great characters, action, mystery, and science with a touch of romance on the side. The main character and storyteller is Tara who is a Oracle who gets her intuitions and predictions from her tarot cards. She uses her tarot cards throughout the story and everything is explained expertly to help bring you better understanding of the tarot so you aren't completely lost. Tara is also a retired Criminal profiler so there is a ton of law enforcement type investigating. All together a great new Urban Fantasy.
November 13, 2011
Not worth the read. It started off pretty good but then there were too many info dumps and when I met Harry I immediately disliked him (angry, just a angry angry guy) and I didn't make it very far.
June 15, 2018
So, this has so much information at time, my eyes crossed. I was bored. I stuck with this one, because the hero is named Harry and I need this for Ripped Bodice Bingo! I would have liked this better had it not been so damn descriptive. I did like Tara and felt her character was realistic for someone who had been through a trauma and subsequent PTSD. I do wish she had been a less resentful. Harry, was okay.
August 7, 2018
I like the storyline and characters. Now, to get in the second book.
September 5, 2011
*Rating* 3.0
*Genre* Urban Fantasy
*Review*
Dr. Tara Sheridan was once a brilliant criminal profiler with the Special Projects Division of the FBI. That is until the day she was brutally attacked and buried alive by a sadistic killer known as the Gardener. It also appears as though she was left to die by her own partner who wanted her out of the way. Having escaped her entombment, she retired to the seclusion of her own piece of misery while wearing the Gardeners scars on her body and shutting everyone else out.
Tara was once a member of the Daughters of Delphi, a group of Oracles who are led by the Pythia. The same group her mother belonged to and was named the heir to the Pythia. Tara grew apart and distant from the group because she believed they didn’t do enough to save her mother from dying of cancer. Tara's tarot card abilities come from her mother and she even uses her cards to gain answers from.
But now the Daughters of Delphi, in the form of Sophia the last person to see Tara’s mother alive, have come to Tara asking for her help in finding a very important scientist whose work can change the world or destroy it if it falls into the wrong hands. There is also someone in their own mists that will do anything to ensure that Tara fails and she takes over the mantle of Pythia.
Sophia believes that Tara is the one person who has the talent and ability to find a missing scientist named Lowell Magnusson who was working on a way to use dark matter for the Defense of Defense. Magnusson’s own daughter Cassie becomes embroiled in the search and subsequent heavy handedness of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Along for the ride and partnering with Tara is FBI Agent Harry Li. Tara and Li must not only find Magnusson before it’s too late, but they must race to save Cassie from those who want to use her to follow in her own father’s footsteps.
Dark Oracle is the first book in the Oracle series by Alayna Williams aka Laura Bickle. I started reading this series because I enjoyed the author’s other works Embers and Sparks under the pen name of Laura Bickle.
I find the tarot cards aspect of the story intriguing and fascinating and it makes me want to go out and get a reading so that I can see what my bleak future really looks like.
I like Tara and am glad that Williams doesn’t sugar coat the fact that she is a broken character who is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Tara’s inner struggles with darkness and despair are real for a PTSD survivor. Her struggles and her feelings towards the Oracles are true to a course, and not shabbily written in order to gain more conflict for Tara to handle.
I didn’t much care for the romance with Harry Li. I thought it was a bit over the top, especially when he questions whether or not Tara’s feelings towards him were real, or because they were told by the Tarot cards, he pouts like a little child and walks away. He is clearly a non-believer, and I don’t see the attraction at all. I wouldn’t mind seeing him written out of the series, but unfortunately, the next book is already out.
Cassie Magnusson’s character was actually interesting as well, and I hope that the next book continues her story a little more. She is bright, extremely intelligent, and has a photographic memory that makes her a tool for the bad guys to use if they can get their hands on her. Lastly, she was “born� in my actual hometown in NY and her father “worked� at the same university where I went to school which are positives in my estimation.
The whole idea of the Daughters of Delphi is interesting as well. I found myself thinking of the Cassie Palmer series when the Pythia is introduced in the story. Cassie is obviously a novice compared to this Pythia.
I definitely look forward to reading Rogue Oracle when I can locate it in our library system.
*Genre* Urban Fantasy
*Review*
Dr. Tara Sheridan was once a brilliant criminal profiler with the Special Projects Division of the FBI. That is until the day she was brutally attacked and buried alive by a sadistic killer known as the Gardener. It also appears as though she was left to die by her own partner who wanted her out of the way. Having escaped her entombment, she retired to the seclusion of her own piece of misery while wearing the Gardeners scars on her body and shutting everyone else out.
Tara was once a member of the Daughters of Delphi, a group of Oracles who are led by the Pythia. The same group her mother belonged to and was named the heir to the Pythia. Tara grew apart and distant from the group because she believed they didn’t do enough to save her mother from dying of cancer. Tara's tarot card abilities come from her mother and she even uses her cards to gain answers from.
But now the Daughters of Delphi, in the form of Sophia the last person to see Tara’s mother alive, have come to Tara asking for her help in finding a very important scientist whose work can change the world or destroy it if it falls into the wrong hands. There is also someone in their own mists that will do anything to ensure that Tara fails and she takes over the mantle of Pythia.
Sophia believes that Tara is the one person who has the talent and ability to find a missing scientist named Lowell Magnusson who was working on a way to use dark matter for the Defense of Defense. Magnusson’s own daughter Cassie becomes embroiled in the search and subsequent heavy handedness of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Along for the ride and partnering with Tara is FBI Agent Harry Li. Tara and Li must not only find Magnusson before it’s too late, but they must race to save Cassie from those who want to use her to follow in her own father’s footsteps.
Dark Oracle is the first book in the Oracle series by Alayna Williams aka Laura Bickle. I started reading this series because I enjoyed the author’s other works Embers and Sparks under the pen name of Laura Bickle.
I find the tarot cards aspect of the story intriguing and fascinating and it makes me want to go out and get a reading so that I can see what my bleak future really looks like.
I like Tara and am glad that Williams doesn’t sugar coat the fact that she is a broken character who is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Tara’s inner struggles with darkness and despair are real for a PTSD survivor. Her struggles and her feelings towards the Oracles are true to a course, and not shabbily written in order to gain more conflict for Tara to handle.
I didn’t much care for the romance with Harry Li. I thought it was a bit over the top, especially when he questions whether or not Tara’s feelings towards him were real, or because they were told by the Tarot cards, he pouts like a little child and walks away. He is clearly a non-believer, and I don’t see the attraction at all. I wouldn’t mind seeing him written out of the series, but unfortunately, the next book is already out.
Cassie Magnusson’s character was actually interesting as well, and I hope that the next book continues her story a little more. She is bright, extremely intelligent, and has a photographic memory that makes her a tool for the bad guys to use if they can get their hands on her. Lastly, she was “born� in my actual hometown in NY and her father “worked� at the same university where I went to school which are positives in my estimation.
The whole idea of the Daughters of Delphi is interesting as well. I found myself thinking of the Cassie Palmer series when the Pythia is introduced in the story. Cassie is obviously a novice compared to this Pythia.
I definitely look forward to reading Rogue Oracle when I can locate it in our library system.
June 29, 2010
(4.5 stars) For years, Tara Sheridan has been a hermit. She was once a criminal profiler, and a tarot-reading oracle destined for the all-female secret society Daughters of Delphi. After a series of traumas, she left these callings behind and retreated to a remote cabin in the woods. But when a brilliant scientist goes missing amid the ruins of his cutting-edge lab, leaving behind a young daughter, Tara reluctantly agrees to take the case.
This means dealing with the Daughters again, along with a former colleague who makes Tara uneasy. It also means running for her life when a couple of very powerful people decide they want her out of the way. And, too, it means a chance to face some old fears and perhaps even to fall in love, though she’s reluctant to reveal her unorthodox methods to a logical man like Harry Li.
Alayna Williams creates a compelling heroine in clever, intuitive Tara. Harry is a likable character, too, and their relationship � conflicts and all � is touching and realistic. Williams also peoples her novel with memorable secondary characters, from the scientist’s daughter Cassie to Harry’s awesome mentor to the Pythia, head of the Daughters of Delphi. (Not to even mention the dog and cat.) The plot is suspenseful, the descriptions vivid and often just plain gorgeous, and all the elements add up to a perfect escapist read for summer. I found it impossible to put down; I’m usually reading three or four books at once, but this was the book for several days running.
I really liked the way Williams incorporated the tarot into Dark Oracle. I’m pretty familiar with the tarot, and so at first the lengthy descriptions of the cards got to me. “OK, let’s move on,� I was thinking. That is, until I realized two things. First, many of Dark Oracle’s readers will not already be tarot buffs and will benefit from these careful descriptions. Second, the descriptions are important even if you don’t think you need them! You never know what details will turn out to be relevant later. Williams weaves the tarot imagery into the story in really interesting ways.
A few things didn’t quite work for me, and they’re kind of intangible “feel� sorts of things, but I’ll try to describe them as best I can. Tara’s lingering anger at the Pythia seems a little over-the-top at times. I’m not entirely sure that one of the villains would confess his sins the way he does. And Cassie’s age feels a little hazy. She’s said to be 23 years old, but everyone calls her “the girl� and treats her like she’s about fifteen. She sometimes acts younger, too, but at other times is wise beyond her years.
HERE BE SPOILERS:
One more aspect I really loved: there’s a “chosen one� in the story � and Tara’s not it! For much of the novel, both Tara and one of the villains believe Tara has been selected to be the Pythia’s successor, but the “chosen one� is really someone else. When asked about it, the Pythia says, “You’re good, but you’re not that good.� Tara has all sorts of butt-kicking in her future, but she’s not The One, and I can’t begin to express how refreshing that is.
Originally reviewed at .
This means dealing with the Daughters again, along with a former colleague who makes Tara uneasy. It also means running for her life when a couple of very powerful people decide they want her out of the way. And, too, it means a chance to face some old fears and perhaps even to fall in love, though she’s reluctant to reveal her unorthodox methods to a logical man like Harry Li.
Alayna Williams creates a compelling heroine in clever, intuitive Tara. Harry is a likable character, too, and their relationship � conflicts and all � is touching and realistic. Williams also peoples her novel with memorable secondary characters, from the scientist’s daughter Cassie to Harry’s awesome mentor to the Pythia, head of the Daughters of Delphi. (Not to even mention the dog and cat.) The plot is suspenseful, the descriptions vivid and often just plain gorgeous, and all the elements add up to a perfect escapist read for summer. I found it impossible to put down; I’m usually reading three or four books at once, but this was the book for several days running.
I really liked the way Williams incorporated the tarot into Dark Oracle. I’m pretty familiar with the tarot, and so at first the lengthy descriptions of the cards got to me. “OK, let’s move on,� I was thinking. That is, until I realized two things. First, many of Dark Oracle’s readers will not already be tarot buffs and will benefit from these careful descriptions. Second, the descriptions are important even if you don’t think you need them! You never know what details will turn out to be relevant later. Williams weaves the tarot imagery into the story in really interesting ways.
A few things didn’t quite work for me, and they’re kind of intangible “feel� sorts of things, but I’ll try to describe them as best I can. Tara’s lingering anger at the Pythia seems a little over-the-top at times. I’m not entirely sure that one of the villains would confess his sins the way he does. And Cassie’s age feels a little hazy. She’s said to be 23 years old, but everyone calls her “the girl� and treats her like she’s about fifteen. She sometimes acts younger, too, but at other times is wise beyond her years.
HERE BE SPOILERS:
One more aspect I really loved: there’s a “chosen one� in the story � and Tara’s not it! For much of the novel, both Tara and one of the villains believe Tara has been selected to be the Pythia’s successor, but the “chosen one� is really someone else. When asked about it, the Pythia says, “You’re good, but you’re not that good.� Tara has all sorts of butt-kicking in her future, but she’s not The One, and I can’t begin to express how refreshing that is.
Originally reviewed at .
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2010
Five years ago, Tara was brutally attacked while working as a criminal profiler. She used tarot cards to help track those that committed crimes, but one time the bad guy almost won. Buried alive and cut brutally, after escape she vowed to stop tracking criminals. She also vowed to get away from the Delphi Daughters, a secret organization her mother belonged to. But Sophia, an old friend and member of the Delphi Daughters has come to ask for her help. A man named Lowell Magnusson has been working on hi-tech experiments containing dark matter and very ground breaking technology � which put into the wrong hands could mean World War Three, or much worse.The Delphi know he is important to the balance of power in the world. Now he has gone missing, and his lab has suffered a massive explosion. The Delphi Daughters don’t want his lab results to get into the wrong hands and ask Tara to pick up those tarot cards and get back in the game.
After some prodding, Tara finds herself at the scene of the explosion, and it is here she meets Harry Li. Harry works for the FBI and they soon form a friendship and bond as they work their way through the scene. Together, they realize many are out for Magusson’s findings � and the race is on.
Dark Oracle has an interesting premise � diving into the world of tarot cards and secret societies, however, the first 100 pages are very slow. When Tara actually uses the tarot cards, each one is described in detail over and over and it kind of makes the story start to drag. I never really felt these characters make it to that next level or give me that extra something special to get excited about. They kind of all coasted through the story, never quite breaking that surface. I didn’t quite believe Tara that she would give up her quiet life to go back to what she feared most. Her reason is that she knows Magnusson’s daughter is alone in the world like she is. I wanted her to fight going back more, make her return more worth it.
The romance that blooms between Tara and Harry is sweet. Harry isn’t alpha, and not quite a beta, just a solid, nice gentleman that falls for Tara. He is a facts and figures man and Tara becomes quite nervous for him to discover that most of her life is based around the spiritual tarot cards. When Harry finds out, he is a little upset, but it seemed like his character couldn’t really decide if he was truly upset. It plays into non-alpha role, but I thought the conflict needed more tension. That problem aside, they work well together in this book and it is a very quiet romance.
The villains at work are pretty bad dudes and give Tara and friends a hard time. A couple of things happen that were unexpected and the ending doesn’t necessarily tie up all ends. Tara’s future is very much undecided. I also enjoyed The Pythia, the leader of the Daughters of the Delphi. A very interesting character who is sly, unbalanced and you never know if you can trust her all the way. She brought a lot into the story.
Dark Oracle drags a bit and is not a “in your face� type of book. I think this world has promise, it is just not there yet.
After some prodding, Tara finds herself at the scene of the explosion, and it is here she meets Harry Li. Harry works for the FBI and they soon form a friendship and bond as they work their way through the scene. Together, they realize many are out for Magusson’s findings � and the race is on.
Dark Oracle has an interesting premise � diving into the world of tarot cards and secret societies, however, the first 100 pages are very slow. When Tara actually uses the tarot cards, each one is described in detail over and over and it kind of makes the story start to drag. I never really felt these characters make it to that next level or give me that extra something special to get excited about. They kind of all coasted through the story, never quite breaking that surface. I didn’t quite believe Tara that she would give up her quiet life to go back to what she feared most. Her reason is that she knows Magnusson’s daughter is alone in the world like she is. I wanted her to fight going back more, make her return more worth it.
The romance that blooms between Tara and Harry is sweet. Harry isn’t alpha, and not quite a beta, just a solid, nice gentleman that falls for Tara. He is a facts and figures man and Tara becomes quite nervous for him to discover that most of her life is based around the spiritual tarot cards. When Harry finds out, he is a little upset, but it seemed like his character couldn’t really decide if he was truly upset. It plays into non-alpha role, but I thought the conflict needed more tension. That problem aside, they work well together in this book and it is a very quiet romance.
The villains at work are pretty bad dudes and give Tara and friends a hard time. A couple of things happen that were unexpected and the ending doesn’t necessarily tie up all ends. Tara’s future is very much undecided. I also enjoyed The Pythia, the leader of the Daughters of the Delphi. A very interesting character who is sly, unbalanced and you never know if you can trust her all the way. She brought a lot into the story.
Dark Oracle drags a bit and is not a “in your face� type of book. I think this world has promise, it is just not there yet.
March 13, 2016
I waited until I had book 2 (Rogue Oracle) in my hands before deciding to read this because I had a feeling it would be like with Williams alter-ego persona Laura Bickle's Anya Kalicinzyk series (meaning, I'd want more and not have it and be sad). It didn't disappoint!
Using the Tarot Cards as a means for which Tara found clues was more engrossing then I first believed. I'm not quite a skeptic when it comes to such matters (tarot reading that is), but I thought it would subsume more of the story then it did. Instead it was more like a silent partner that Tara would confer with and use as a guide, but it wasn't the crutch that the synopsis makes it sound like. As Tara puts it to Special Agent Harry Li the cards don't tell her what to do and she blindly follows them. Instead they offer a way for her to draw connections and use her own intuitive powers to observe what lines up with what.
A plus side is that Williams gave instructive but not preachy or info-heavy details about each card without breaking the flow of the narrative.
Even knowing this is the same author as Laura Bickle, the book itself felt different. There's some similarities between the two protagonists--they both suffer past traumas relating to their gift, both are alone in the world (blood ties wise), both work (or in Tara's case worked) with law enforcement to make the world a better place. The difference is how they interact with the world at large. Anya keeps herself closed off, grudgingly giving small pieces of herself. Tara, even though she is frightened of what could happen, is more open. more willing to accept help.
She's not happy about it, but she recognizes that help--even help from a not quite sure if she can trust him source like Harry--can only facilitate helping the matter at hand. Her and Harry clicked instantly, despite their wariness and general disapproval from his superiors. They were surprisingly complimentary to each other; Harry's forthright manner and logical approach coincided with Tara's intuition really well. Often they would reach the same, or at least similar, conclusion through their differing tactics.
Oh I loved Harry. I really did. I wanted to cuddle him and love him and hold his hand the entire book. He was just so earnest. He didn't believe in the system blindly, but he wanted to believe they had the best intentions and his superior (Corvus, Tara's ex-partner who was ten kinds of shady slime) was doing the right thing. Gabriel, that man made my eye twitch. Seriously. He screamed scumball every time he opened his mouth.
I found the Pythia and Daughters of Delphi subplot to be intriguing. At the end, when most of the cards are laid out on the table, hindsight made second meanings for the comments throughout. If nothing else those are ladies I will never play a game of chance against.
Using the Tarot Cards as a means for which Tara found clues was more engrossing then I first believed. I'm not quite a skeptic when it comes to such matters (tarot reading that is), but I thought it would subsume more of the story then it did. Instead it was more like a silent partner that Tara would confer with and use as a guide, but it wasn't the crutch that the synopsis makes it sound like. As Tara puts it to Special Agent Harry Li the cards don't tell her what to do and she blindly follows them. Instead they offer a way for her to draw connections and use her own intuitive powers to observe what lines up with what.
A plus side is that Williams gave instructive but not preachy or info-heavy details about each card without breaking the flow of the narrative.
Even knowing this is the same author as Laura Bickle, the book itself felt different. There's some similarities between the two protagonists--they both suffer past traumas relating to their gift, both are alone in the world (blood ties wise), both work (or in Tara's case worked) with law enforcement to make the world a better place. The difference is how they interact with the world at large. Anya keeps herself closed off, grudgingly giving small pieces of herself. Tara, even though she is frightened of what could happen, is more open. more willing to accept help.
She's not happy about it, but she recognizes that help--even help from a not quite sure if she can trust him source like Harry--can only facilitate helping the matter at hand. Her and Harry clicked instantly, despite their wariness and general disapproval from his superiors. They were surprisingly complimentary to each other; Harry's forthright manner and logical approach coincided with Tara's intuition really well. Often they would reach the same, or at least similar, conclusion through their differing tactics.
Oh I loved Harry. I really did. I wanted to cuddle him and love him and hold his hand the entire book. He was just so earnest. He didn't believe in the system blindly, but he wanted to believe they had the best intentions and his superior (Corvus, Tara's ex-partner who was ten kinds of shady slime) was doing the right thing. Gabriel, that man made my eye twitch. Seriously. He screamed scumball every time he opened his mouth.
I found the Pythia and Daughters of Delphi subplot to be intriguing. At the end, when most of the cards are laid out on the table, hindsight made second meanings for the comments throughout. If nothing else those are ladies I will never play a game of chance against.
July 15, 2010
I just can’t get enough of Urban Fantasy and Dark Oracle is a great addition to the genre. With great touches of Paranormal Romance, Alayna Williams introduces us to a world where the occult meet science and anything is possible.
Tara is an oracle, as was her mother before her. But ever since her since losing her mom to cancer and watching her give into the disease without a fight and suffering some scars of her own, Tara has shut herself out from the world and the Delphi’s Daughters, of which her mother had been a part of.
After years in isolation, an old friend asks Tara to go back to her old life as a criminal profiler to help find a man that the Delphi’s Daughters have predicted to be important for all their futures.
Harry Li is a CIA agent that has been assigned to work with Tara. He is drawn to her immediately but being a man of science, has trouble with dealing with her more supernatural connections.
Tara is a scarred woman, afraid of living after being hurt. Harry is there when she needs him and their connection is instant if a bit hesitant. They make a great couple and even though they have a lot of differences, they are willing to fight for their feelings.
Dark Oracle is a fast-paced. action-packed, character driven story that got me gripping at the edge of my seat from start to finish. Evil plots meet scientific experiments and the supernatural in a great adventure.
Even though I love my Shifters and will always be a Vamp fan girl, It’s great to encounter an Urban Fantasy novel / series that stray from that beaten path and gives something new to read about. Alayna Williams has definitely accomplished that in spades and I recommend Dark Oracle to any Urban Fantasy lover out there.
Tara is an oracle, as was her mother before her. But ever since her since losing her mom to cancer and watching her give into the disease without a fight and suffering some scars of her own, Tara has shut herself out from the world and the Delphi’s Daughters, of which her mother had been a part of.
After years in isolation, an old friend asks Tara to go back to her old life as a criminal profiler to help find a man that the Delphi’s Daughters have predicted to be important for all their futures.
Harry Li is a CIA agent that has been assigned to work with Tara. He is drawn to her immediately but being a man of science, has trouble with dealing with her more supernatural connections.
Tara is a scarred woman, afraid of living after being hurt. Harry is there when she needs him and their connection is instant if a bit hesitant. They make a great couple and even though they have a lot of differences, they are willing to fight for their feelings.
Dark Oracle is a fast-paced. action-packed, character driven story that got me gripping at the edge of my seat from start to finish. Evil plots meet scientific experiments and the supernatural in a great adventure.
Even though I love my Shifters and will always be a Vamp fan girl, It’s great to encounter an Urban Fantasy novel / series that stray from that beaten path and gives something new to read about. Alayna Williams has definitely accomplished that in spades and I recommend Dark Oracle to any Urban Fantasy lover out there.
January 12, 2011
I read this book first in my to read pile because I thought I wouldn't like it. I was pleasantly surprised, and was immediately drawn into the story. Of course the main character's past is supposed to be a driving point for readers, but I didn't really care. Why the main character is scarred didn't interest me as much the actual mystery of the missing scientist. It's been a long time since I read a mystery in an urban fantasy book that I actually cared about, so that helped boost Dark Oracle in my esteem. Unfortunately, around page 200 everything crashed and burned. A romance developed that wasn't very believable or exciting. I wish I had gotten to know the characters more before the romance was thrown in. A slowly developed romance is always more interesting to me than one that happens all of the sudden for no reason. Then, the love interest decides to get mad over something trivial and I became annoyed. The mystery solving slowed at that point and my interest decreased more and more each chapter. Characters started to become more shallow and less exciting, and the action scenes just weren't appealing to me. The tarot readings, which were originally unique and entertaining, because extremely repetitious and the entire thing started to wear thin. I felt much the same about Embers, interesting premise but the story fizzled. There is definitely potential for a good book from this author if she could just keep up the steam from the beginning of the book the entire way through. This book was well on it's way to being a four or even a five, but it just didn't work out. There are plenty of good ideas, the author is great at writing an entertaining mystery, and it almost came together, but not quite.
May 19, 2018
This is an extremely long winded book. Overly detailed descriptions of the surroundings paired with complicated infodumps about dark matter made this a heavily skimmed read for me. I skipped over so many unnecessary descriptions, I'm sure I only read 60% of the book.
Tara is kind of a wuss. She has strong moments, but most of the time she's a runner, not a fighter.
Harry is a very one-dimensional character. You don't really know anything about him aside from the fact that his parents died when he was young.
This was really just a 'meh' book for me. Nothing stood out in a positive way (aside from Martin's sense of humor). Lots of time wasted on descriptions that could have been used to strengthen the character's relationships.
And the flash-bang ending was pretty lame. It just ends, with no real winding down, Harry is out of the picture, and it's just - poof - over. I hate that.
I know there are other books in this series, so I'll read their blurbs to see if they're of any interest.
For those of you that have read it or don't mind spoilers:
I probably wouldn't recommend this book.
Tara is kind of a wuss. She has strong moments, but most of the time she's a runner, not a fighter.
Harry is a very one-dimensional character. You don't really know anything about him aside from the fact that his parents died when he was young.
This was really just a 'meh' book for me. Nothing stood out in a positive way (aside from Martin's sense of humor). Lots of time wasted on descriptions that could have been used to strengthen the character's relationships.
And the flash-bang ending was pretty lame. It just ends, with no real winding down, Harry is out of the picture, and it's just - poof - over. I hate that.
I know there are other books in this series, so I'll read their blurbs to see if they're of any interest.
For those of you that have read it or don't mind spoilers:
I probably wouldn't recommend this book.
September 17, 2010
I might have enjoyed this book more if I hadn't just read two other books by the same author that were significantly better than this one. Alayna Williams is also Laura Bickle, whose "Embers" and "Sparks" are excellent reads. I bought this book solely on the theory that another series by the same author would also be good. I was wrong. I think it's safe to guess that this is an earlier attempt by Bickle that is now being published due to the success of her later books.
This book suffers in comparison. The characters are flat, and it lacks much of the tension in the plot that characterizes the other books. Even of use of an animal character (a Labrador Retriever here, a salamander in the other books) works so much better in the Bickle books that it's astonishing. How does an author who can bring a salamander to life as a funny and lovable character manage to have a Lab that's essentially just there?
I'll probably try another book in this series if one arises. The basic elements of a good series are there. Maybe a second book, only one written by a more experienced author, will work out better.
This book suffers in comparison. The characters are flat, and it lacks much of the tension in the plot that characterizes the other books. Even of use of an animal character (a Labrador Retriever here, a salamander in the other books) works so much better in the Bickle books that it's astonishing. How does an author who can bring a salamander to life as a funny and lovable character manage to have a Lab that's essentially just there?
I'll probably try another book in this series if one arises. The basic elements of a good series are there. Maybe a second book, only one written by a more experienced author, will work out better.
September 21, 2010
I enjoyed this book, but I think it will speak only to a somewhat specific audience. The reader must have at least a little interest in divination and the tarot, because there is heavy explanation of the cards and processes. (Of course why would you pick this up if you didn't? I'm just saying that it plays way more than a minor or off-hand role.) I am interested in those things, so I didn't mind the long, detailed explanations, but I could see how someone else could get bored. I felt from the very beginning that every sentence was crafted, rather than just written- not to say that it was 'overly wordy,' which it wasn't. I just got a sense that the author was a very thoughtful writer, and was actually surprised to learn that she didn't have some form of writing degree (she does have degrees in sociology and criminology, fyi.) It tended towards the dramatic at times, but it actually worked for me. The characters were well-developed and felt familiar by the end. I will definitely pick up the next book in this series.
June 14, 2010
I've been wanting to read this book since the first time I heard about it as it sounded really cool.
And it is! I love this book.
The mix of tarot and profiling is very well written and Williams sure knows her tarot too I can tell you. The story is suspenseful and compelling with rich and vivid descriptions and even though Williams uses various viewpoints this didn't distract me from the story as sometimes happens, but instead it felt right as it gave me extra insight in the story that made it come even more alive.
Tara is a character you can really care about and I was happy to see her grow throughout the story. Voodoo Bride wants me to add she loves the romantic storyline in this book and I have to agree with her that it really fits within the overall story. All in all I hope there'll be many more books in this series as I want to know what's next for Tara.
(The next book Rogue Oracle will be released in March 2011)
And it is! I love this book.
The mix of tarot and profiling is very well written and Williams sure knows her tarot too I can tell you. The story is suspenseful and compelling with rich and vivid descriptions and even though Williams uses various viewpoints this didn't distract me from the story as sometimes happens, but instead it felt right as it gave me extra insight in the story that made it come even more alive.
Tara is a character you can really care about and I was happy to see her grow throughout the story. Voodoo Bride wants me to add she loves the romantic storyline in this book and I have to agree with her that it really fits within the overall story. All in all I hope there'll be many more books in this series as I want to know what's next for Tara.
(The next book Rogue Oracle will be released in March 2011)
December 11, 2010
What I liked:
*Loved the premise both with the whole concept of Dark Matter, and with the Daughters of Delphi and oracles
*I loved the rocky relationship between Tara and Harry
What I didn't like:
*While interesting, the descriptions and interpretations of both the tarot and other methods of divination definitely bogged down the story
*For some reason I had thought this was more of a paranormal romance than an urban fantasy when I strted reading it, and thus was a bit disappointed with the resolution (or lack thereof) with the H/h
Overall, a good read, despite getting bogged down in parts with the overly descriptive bits with the Tarot
Overall 4 Stars
*Loved the premise both with the whole concept of Dark Matter, and with the Daughters of Delphi and oracles
*I loved the rocky relationship between Tara and Harry
What I didn't like:
*While interesting, the descriptions and interpretations of both the tarot and other methods of divination definitely bogged down the story
*For some reason I had thought this was more of a paranormal romance than an urban fantasy when I strted reading it, and thus was a bit disappointed with the resolution (or lack thereof) with the H/h
Overall, a good read, despite getting bogged down in parts with the overly descriptive bits with the Tarot
Overall 4 Stars
August 4, 2010
My Review:
The Plot:
Broken and isolated in self-imposed exile, Tara Sheridan haunts her remote cabin in the back woods of Tennessee burdened by nightmares and loneliness. Once a renowned criminal profiler, an unfortunate stint under the thumb of a twisted serial killer left her with white striated scars that traverse both her body and her mind leaving her glowing career in shreds. Gifted with an affinity for Tarot card divination, Tara's cards once predicted the mind and path of the killers she sought allowing her the long-time desired ability to help people. But the cards care not for Tara after having led her to the nightmare fate that she narrowly escaped. Love and hate wars within Tara as her relationship with her cards has long been one of resigned acceptance. Now Delphi's Daughters, a matriarchal cult society that can trace their lineage to the original Oracle of Delphi and the very same society that Tara continually strives to separate herself from since childhood, is knocking on her door desperate for her help. The balance of power has tilted with global destruction a fate foreseen making the location of a missing scientist a paramount issue to Delphi's Daughters.
Harnessing an elusive energy particle known as dark matter, missing scientist Dr. Lowell Magnusson has created an endless energy source at a time of crisis, one that could power the world. However, this power can also be vastly affective as a weapon and it appears that the government is leaning hard in this direction, so hard in fact that it appears that Magnusson destroyed his life's work to avoid this very outcome. But where is Dr. Magnusson? There are three possibilities. One, Magnusson destroyed his work in the giant explosion that successfully wiped away any ability to recreate it, then disappeared. Two, Magnusson destroyed his work as with possibility one but was kidnapped. And finally three, Magnusson died in the explosion. Feeling the pull of Magnusson's picture left with Tara by a sister oracle, she reads the cards after a long time of abstinence and falls seamlessly into a familiar rhythm. Strings pulled, Tara lands in New Mexico acting as a consultant for the Department of Justice and encounters the handsome Agent Harry Li.
Relationships have never been easy for Tara. Her affinity with the cards is one that others would scoff at and probably ostracize her for if known. Overly protective of her ability, Tara is generally a mystery to others and now that mystery is more crucial then ever. She's broken. Her body, heart and mind will never be the same for Tara feels the debilitating effects of her brokenness straight through to her soul. But Harry, her complete opposite in every way, opens an unfurling fascination deep within her as they struggle to unravel the mystery of Magnusson's disappearance. Quickly surrounded by military personal that cannot be trusted, Tara and Harry begin a journey in search of the truth while taking on the protection of Cassie Magnusson, Dr. Magnusson's daughter. There are those that are so desperate to seize Magnusson's work on dark matter that nothing will stop them, not even the scientist's innocent daughter. With enemies circling from numerous fronts, Tara and Harry must succeed for failure means handing over the tools to destroy the world.
The Heroine:
Tara holds her own as the center of this complex swirling plot because she's by far the most interesting aspect of the novel. Nothing completes with this unique and intriguing heroine. As a reader, you want to know what she'll do next as obstacle after obstacle is slammed in her path.
Armed with a combination of keen intelligence and highly developed intuition, Tara disentangles and strips the emotional guards of others with little effort. She's a problem solver, a person that can align all the pieces of a convoluted puzzle using fascinating methods that run counter to merely cold hard logic. In DARK ORACLE, Tara succeeds in showing the reader that this area of her character has not been damaged by the nightmare she's faced and survived but rather this is her journey to shedding the dark imprint that was left. Tara doesn't realize the extent of her self-imposed mourning until faced with the logical Harry Li. He's her counter opposite in every way but there's a vital connection between them that gently forces Tara to breathe again, to emotionally and physically feel life again. He also propels Tara to lead with her heart and unveil the scars that mangle her from head to toe as well as the deep inner scars that burden her with darkness. As Harry shines a brilliant healing light into Tara's needy soul, he gives her the strength to finally live life once again.
The Hero:
Harry, while integral to Tara's character development, DARK ORACLE isn't necessarily his story. Instead he serves as a wonderful foil for Tara as the logical, magic scoffing character allowing the reader to explore his or her own skepticism via Harry's. In essence, he forces Tara to reveal that much more about her inner fears of not only what people think of her, but fears with relationships. He gives her the opportunity to finally accept who she is with his own acceptance making Tara that much more stronger. It's a compelling partnership. Of course Tara also facilitates growth within Harry. He learns that some rules are meant to be broken in order to save lives as well as the fact that different approaches to a problem can yield unimaginable answers. Harry breaks the mold for Tara and while this terrifies him at some level, she's more than worth it.
My Thoughts:
A stunning collaboration of science and fantasy, DARK ORACLE is an unusual high stakes ride of government cover ups and mythological magic. While one would expect the blend to be jarring, its actually quite seamless making the novel interesting from beginning to end.
Embodying a rich epic feel, Tara and Harry traverse dozens of obstacles not only in search of the truth but also within their own inner obstacles allowing vast and blatant character growth. However, with the secondary love plot playing such a dynamic role in Tara's healing, I would have liked to have seen more chemistry, more sexual tension. It would have pushed this book from good to stellar. But the research is still phenomenal in both the science and magical aspects.
DARK ORACLE has all the makings of a good series start. For Urban Fantasy readers wanting to jump on an up and coming thrill ride, hail a ticket fast and get ready to hang on!
The Plot:
Broken and isolated in self-imposed exile, Tara Sheridan haunts her remote cabin in the back woods of Tennessee burdened by nightmares and loneliness. Once a renowned criminal profiler, an unfortunate stint under the thumb of a twisted serial killer left her with white striated scars that traverse both her body and her mind leaving her glowing career in shreds. Gifted with an affinity for Tarot card divination, Tara's cards once predicted the mind and path of the killers she sought allowing her the long-time desired ability to help people. But the cards care not for Tara after having led her to the nightmare fate that she narrowly escaped. Love and hate wars within Tara as her relationship with her cards has long been one of resigned acceptance. Now Delphi's Daughters, a matriarchal cult society that can trace their lineage to the original Oracle of Delphi and the very same society that Tara continually strives to separate herself from since childhood, is knocking on her door desperate for her help. The balance of power has tilted with global destruction a fate foreseen making the location of a missing scientist a paramount issue to Delphi's Daughters.
Harnessing an elusive energy particle known as dark matter, missing scientist Dr. Lowell Magnusson has created an endless energy source at a time of crisis, one that could power the world. However, this power can also be vastly affective as a weapon and it appears that the government is leaning hard in this direction, so hard in fact that it appears that Magnusson destroyed his life's work to avoid this very outcome. But where is Dr. Magnusson? There are three possibilities. One, Magnusson destroyed his work in the giant explosion that successfully wiped away any ability to recreate it, then disappeared. Two, Magnusson destroyed his work as with possibility one but was kidnapped. And finally three, Magnusson died in the explosion. Feeling the pull of Magnusson's picture left with Tara by a sister oracle, she reads the cards after a long time of abstinence and falls seamlessly into a familiar rhythm. Strings pulled, Tara lands in New Mexico acting as a consultant for the Department of Justice and encounters the handsome Agent Harry Li.
Relationships have never been easy for Tara. Her affinity with the cards is one that others would scoff at and probably ostracize her for if known. Overly protective of her ability, Tara is generally a mystery to others and now that mystery is more crucial then ever. She's broken. Her body, heart and mind will never be the same for Tara feels the debilitating effects of her brokenness straight through to her soul. But Harry, her complete opposite in every way, opens an unfurling fascination deep within her as they struggle to unravel the mystery of Magnusson's disappearance. Quickly surrounded by military personal that cannot be trusted, Tara and Harry begin a journey in search of the truth while taking on the protection of Cassie Magnusson, Dr. Magnusson's daughter. There are those that are so desperate to seize Magnusson's work on dark matter that nothing will stop them, not even the scientist's innocent daughter. With enemies circling from numerous fronts, Tara and Harry must succeed for failure means handing over the tools to destroy the world.
The Heroine:
Tara holds her own as the center of this complex swirling plot because she's by far the most interesting aspect of the novel. Nothing completes with this unique and intriguing heroine. As a reader, you want to know what she'll do next as obstacle after obstacle is slammed in her path.
Armed with a combination of keen intelligence and highly developed intuition, Tara disentangles and strips the emotional guards of others with little effort. She's a problem solver, a person that can align all the pieces of a convoluted puzzle using fascinating methods that run counter to merely cold hard logic. In DARK ORACLE, Tara succeeds in showing the reader that this area of her character has not been damaged by the nightmare she's faced and survived but rather this is her journey to shedding the dark imprint that was left. Tara doesn't realize the extent of her self-imposed mourning until faced with the logical Harry Li. He's her counter opposite in every way but there's a vital connection between them that gently forces Tara to breathe again, to emotionally and physically feel life again. He also propels Tara to lead with her heart and unveil the scars that mangle her from head to toe as well as the deep inner scars that burden her with darkness. As Harry shines a brilliant healing light into Tara's needy soul, he gives her the strength to finally live life once again.
The Hero:
Harry, while integral to Tara's character development, DARK ORACLE isn't necessarily his story. Instead he serves as a wonderful foil for Tara as the logical, magic scoffing character allowing the reader to explore his or her own skepticism via Harry's. In essence, he forces Tara to reveal that much more about her inner fears of not only what people think of her, but fears with relationships. He gives her the opportunity to finally accept who she is with his own acceptance making Tara that much more stronger. It's a compelling partnership. Of course Tara also facilitates growth within Harry. He learns that some rules are meant to be broken in order to save lives as well as the fact that different approaches to a problem can yield unimaginable answers. Harry breaks the mold for Tara and while this terrifies him at some level, she's more than worth it.
My Thoughts:
A stunning collaboration of science and fantasy, DARK ORACLE is an unusual high stakes ride of government cover ups and mythological magic. While one would expect the blend to be jarring, its actually quite seamless making the novel interesting from beginning to end.
Embodying a rich epic feel, Tara and Harry traverse dozens of obstacles not only in search of the truth but also within their own inner obstacles allowing vast and blatant character growth. However, with the secondary love plot playing such a dynamic role in Tara's healing, I would have liked to have seen more chemistry, more sexual tension. It would have pushed this book from good to stellar. But the research is still phenomenal in both the science and magical aspects.
DARK ORACLE has all the makings of a good series start. For Urban Fantasy readers wanting to jump on an up and coming thrill ride, hail a ticket fast and get ready to hang on!
February 11, 2018
This was a hard book for me.
I know. Stop the presses. It's hard to qualify and quantify; there were some parts of this book that I really enjoyed-- and the premise was fascinating.
I would say that Tara is an unconventional profiler-- she uses Tarot Cards to help her.
There's nothing wrong with that. Police and other law enforcement agencies have relied on people with psychic abilities for years, even if they won't officially admit it.
And there were great descriptions of the Tarot Cards themselves.
So the premise was fascinating. Gift versus gift: oracle versus oracle.
Adrienne's character was somewhat atypical but not to the point where I'd say she was an awesome villain-- even Corvus was typical, and so was Major Gabriel.
But there were some parts that felt lackluster: the "relationship" between Tara and Agent Harry Li. I didn't get that sense of "connection" and attraction. Something about their relationship still runs false for me.
Nevertheless, I'm willing to continue the series.
I know. Stop the presses. It's hard to qualify and quantify; there were some parts of this book that I really enjoyed-- and the premise was fascinating.
I would say that Tara is an unconventional profiler-- she uses Tarot Cards to help her.
There's nothing wrong with that. Police and other law enforcement agencies have relied on people with psychic abilities for years, even if they won't officially admit it.
And there were great descriptions of the Tarot Cards themselves.
So the premise was fascinating. Gift versus gift: oracle versus oracle.
Adrienne's character was somewhat atypical but not to the point where I'd say she was an awesome villain-- even Corvus was typical, and so was Major Gabriel.
But there were some parts that felt lackluster: the "relationship" between Tara and Agent Harry Li. I didn't get that sense of "connection" and attraction. Something about their relationship still runs false for me.
Nevertheless, I'm willing to continue the series.
August 5, 2012
Review brought to you by OBS staff member Verushka
Beware of spoilers
I love urban fantasies, but after some time, there are certain elements that become familiar and routine. Alayna Williams has for me, done something different � created a world, and a character that is as fiercely based in the human world as she is in the supernatural parts of it � Tara, the main character is a criminal profiler, an every day job in comparison to the vampires, witches, warlocks and assorted supernatural beings that are in such books. Tara is as defined by her human world and job, as she is by her power and her power to “see� the future through her tarot cards. Even that isn’t entirely correct, her power, as such, guides her intuition, if anything. Generally, Williams writes it as subdued, never letting it take over anything.
The surprises continue � no one knows that she reads the cards which helps keep the “normalness� a constant presence in the story. Tara worked for a “Special Projects� branch of the FBI, and no one there knew what she could do. Williams never skirts the details of her talent, or the details of how her job as a criminal profiler defined her � when we meet her, she is living as a recluse after surviving an encounter with the Gardener, a serial killer. It left her physically scarred, and turned her away from her cards and her talent and the Daughters of Delphi who are a society of oracles, who like Tara, have the power to see the future through whatever means that each has an affinity for. The Pythia, the head of the society sees the future in fire, ie pyromnacy. There’s a rich history between Tara and the Daughters, and it makes Pythia, especially a multi-dimensional character, for someone in a supporting role.
Harry Li, the agent assigned to babysit Tara while she aids Special Projects in the search for a scientist researching dark matter. He is a skeptic, but his emotions and relationship with Tara help him move past that to on the path to believing in what she does � he’s not quite there yet. The beauty of Harry is that Williams� gives him enough care for us to realize his frustrations with his job, with being blindsided by bureaucracy as he tries to solve the case. Further, through the case, we are introduced to his past, and he is fleshed out more without ever taking away from Tara and the case.
Every character, secondary (Harry) and supporting (Pythia and Cassie Magnusson, the missing scientist’s daughter) has a part to play, and each is written strongly enough that for whatever length they have devoted to them, every word matters. I don’t usually like jumping around from character to character in books, but Williams� makes this work, for everyone matters on their own, and to Tara. Each character is as fully realized as they can be supporting Tara’s story.
Tara’s tarot reading, I will admit, can become a bit much to read in this book, for it slows down the pacing considerably. But the details of it are interesting, and nothing that I have read before, and by the second book, which I’ve just started, Williams� seems to have found her pacing, and made those moments of tarot cards and Tara’s voice as she reads them fit into the story much better than in the first. In retrospect, the pacing issue in this book could very well be considered Tara finding her stride with reading the cards again, as when we meet her, she hasn’t done so in a long time.
The book revolves around the search for a missing scientist, and as much as that comes with a bit of the unexplainable/fantastical what makes it unique is Williams� style of writing and talent for grounding her writing so well that this could be a crime novel, with a fantasy twist, instead of an urban fantasy, with a cops and robbers theme.
Beware of spoilers
I love urban fantasies, but after some time, there are certain elements that become familiar and routine. Alayna Williams has for me, done something different � created a world, and a character that is as fiercely based in the human world as she is in the supernatural parts of it � Tara, the main character is a criminal profiler, an every day job in comparison to the vampires, witches, warlocks and assorted supernatural beings that are in such books. Tara is as defined by her human world and job, as she is by her power and her power to “see� the future through her tarot cards. Even that isn’t entirely correct, her power, as such, guides her intuition, if anything. Generally, Williams writes it as subdued, never letting it take over anything.
The surprises continue � no one knows that she reads the cards which helps keep the “normalness� a constant presence in the story. Tara worked for a “Special Projects� branch of the FBI, and no one there knew what she could do. Williams never skirts the details of her talent, or the details of how her job as a criminal profiler defined her � when we meet her, she is living as a recluse after surviving an encounter with the Gardener, a serial killer. It left her physically scarred, and turned her away from her cards and her talent and the Daughters of Delphi who are a society of oracles, who like Tara, have the power to see the future through whatever means that each has an affinity for. The Pythia, the head of the society sees the future in fire, ie pyromnacy. There’s a rich history between Tara and the Daughters, and it makes Pythia, especially a multi-dimensional character, for someone in a supporting role.
Harry Li, the agent assigned to babysit Tara while she aids Special Projects in the search for a scientist researching dark matter. He is a skeptic, but his emotions and relationship with Tara help him move past that to on the path to believing in what she does � he’s not quite there yet. The beauty of Harry is that Williams� gives him enough care for us to realize his frustrations with his job, with being blindsided by bureaucracy as he tries to solve the case. Further, through the case, we are introduced to his past, and he is fleshed out more without ever taking away from Tara and the case.
Every character, secondary (Harry) and supporting (Pythia and Cassie Magnusson, the missing scientist’s daughter) has a part to play, and each is written strongly enough that for whatever length they have devoted to them, every word matters. I don’t usually like jumping around from character to character in books, but Williams� makes this work, for everyone matters on their own, and to Tara. Each character is as fully realized as they can be supporting Tara’s story.
Tara’s tarot reading, I will admit, can become a bit much to read in this book, for it slows down the pacing considerably. But the details of it are interesting, and nothing that I have read before, and by the second book, which I’ve just started, Williams� seems to have found her pacing, and made those moments of tarot cards and Tara’s voice as she reads them fit into the story much better than in the first. In retrospect, the pacing issue in this book could very well be considered Tara finding her stride with reading the cards again, as when we meet her, she hasn’t done so in a long time.
The book revolves around the search for a missing scientist, and as much as that comes with a bit of the unexplainable/fantastical what makes it unique is Williams� style of writing and talent for grounding her writing so well that this could be a crime novel, with a fantasy twist, instead of an urban fantasy, with a cops and robbers theme.
March 28, 2013
DARK ORACLE is the start to an intriguing urban fantasy series. Instead of the usual vampires, werewolves, or fae, author Alayna Williams brings in a new inspiration: the oracles of Delphi. In modern day, they are known as Delphi’s Daughters and led by the Pythia. They’re a secret society of women who can read the future, but they’re not all powerful. They’re soccer moms and bikers.
Tara is the only woman to leave Delphi’s Daughters. Skilled in the art of cartomancy (using tarot cards to read the future), she used to work for the government as a profiler. After she got chewed up and spit out by a bad case, she left the Feds and the Daughters behind, wanting solitude and to live her own life. But when a scientist working on a deadly project disappears, Tara gets dragged back into the worlds she left.
Clues to Tara’s past are sprinkled throughout the book, and build her character. She’s not the usual up-in-your-face, brash, kick-butt type of urban fantasy heroine. Tara is cautious. Well, more cautious than most, but she does charge headfirst into some situations. I liked Tara’s cautiousness and hesitance to get involved. The clues of her past hint at something dark and horrible, so I found it believable that it took her time to get over that. She goes from almost having a claustrophobia-induced panic attack at a crime scene to charging into danger to save her man.
DARK ORACLE doesn’t read like your typical urban fantasy. It has more of a mystery or detective story feel. The everyday crime story combined with some hints of magic. I liked that the paranormal world in this series isn’t always upfront. You know it’s there, and that the oracles have some influence over the events of the world, but there’s still the possibility that choice and free will can change the forecasted future. There’s also quite a bit of focus on science, which isn’t usually something you find in urban fantasy.
The writing in DARK ORACLE does get bogged down at times by the extensive descriptions of tarot reading. I both liked and disliked the use of tarot cards. I thought it was a neat way to foreshadow, but I could have done without the extended descriptions of each card and its significance. I’ll admit, I ended up skimming some of those passages. But if tarot reading is something you have an interest in, you’ll probably find those parts more interesting than I did.
Aside from Tara, the rest of the characters are pretty well done. The author makes an effort to give even the animals personality. Maggie the dog and Oscar the cat were actually some of my favorite characters, along with Cassie, the daughter of the missing scientist. The one rub for me was Harry, Tara’s love interest. I would have liked to see more development of their relationship.
The main story of this novel concludes at the end of DARK ORACLE, which is nice. No frustrating cliffhanger, but there is room for more, and I’ll be reading the sequel, ROGUE ORACLE, to see what happens to Tara, Harry, and Cassie. And the animals!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I also participated in the for this book.
See more of my reviews:
Tara is the only woman to leave Delphi’s Daughters. Skilled in the art of cartomancy (using tarot cards to read the future), she used to work for the government as a profiler. After she got chewed up and spit out by a bad case, she left the Feds and the Daughters behind, wanting solitude and to live her own life. But when a scientist working on a deadly project disappears, Tara gets dragged back into the worlds she left.
Clues to Tara’s past are sprinkled throughout the book, and build her character. She’s not the usual up-in-your-face, brash, kick-butt type of urban fantasy heroine. Tara is cautious. Well, more cautious than most, but she does charge headfirst into some situations. I liked Tara’s cautiousness and hesitance to get involved. The clues of her past hint at something dark and horrible, so I found it believable that it took her time to get over that. She goes from almost having a claustrophobia-induced panic attack at a crime scene to charging into danger to save her man.
DARK ORACLE doesn’t read like your typical urban fantasy. It has more of a mystery or detective story feel. The everyday crime story combined with some hints of magic. I liked that the paranormal world in this series isn’t always upfront. You know it’s there, and that the oracles have some influence over the events of the world, but there’s still the possibility that choice and free will can change the forecasted future. There’s also quite a bit of focus on science, which isn’t usually something you find in urban fantasy.
The writing in DARK ORACLE does get bogged down at times by the extensive descriptions of tarot reading. I both liked and disliked the use of tarot cards. I thought it was a neat way to foreshadow, but I could have done without the extended descriptions of each card and its significance. I’ll admit, I ended up skimming some of those passages. But if tarot reading is something you have an interest in, you’ll probably find those parts more interesting than I did.
Aside from Tara, the rest of the characters are pretty well done. The author makes an effort to give even the animals personality. Maggie the dog and Oscar the cat were actually some of my favorite characters, along with Cassie, the daughter of the missing scientist. The one rub for me was Harry, Tara’s love interest. I would have liked to see more development of their relationship.
The main story of this novel concludes at the end of DARK ORACLE, which is nice. No frustrating cliffhanger, but there is room for more, and I’ll be reading the sequel, ROGUE ORACLE, to see what happens to Tara, Harry, and Cassie. And the animals!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I also participated in the for this book.
See more of my reviews:
March 8, 2016
This book is written by Laura Bickle, using the alias of Alayna Williams and I bought it because it was marketed as urban fantasy. Personally, I felt that it was more like a slightly paranormal crime novel than heart pumping urban fantasy so I was a bit disappointed. That is not to say it's a bad read-it is a decent story but the book was just a little too slow for me to be marking it any higher.
I liked Tara as a character. She had been through terrible trauma in her life, scarred by a deadly serial killer and left for dead. Now she no longer works for the government, instead she is a criminal profiler who also uses Tarot cards to help her in her cases. I liked this, as it added something a bit new to the story but sometimes the full description of the cards, their spread, their meaning got a bit too much like an info dump. I felt that a more basic and shorter description was needed. However, it didn't bother me that much and it didn't affect my rating of the book.
The other characters were decent enough. I liked Sylvia and Cassie best, probably because there was decent development in them through their relationship to Tara. I liked this modern sort of Coven and it has potential for good stories in the future. Tara's partner is government agent Harry, who does everything by the book, hates when things are not done correctly and is a bit skeptical of Tara and her cards. He is a decent character with nothing offensive about him but I felt no chemistry between him and Tara. I just didn't really believe their relationship or find them to be a good match. It was more like the author thought she needed to inject the romance because she thought it was what her readers wanted. Personally, I'd be happy to see little or no romance in urban fantasy as too often, it takes over the story and spoils good books. In this case the romance does not really overpower the story, it just adds nothing to it.
The plot itself was decent. Tara is trying to avoid her past by staying well away from Delphi's Daughters, wanting to distance herself from what happened to her mother. She is not interested in being groomed as the new leader, and a rival for the position is determined to do anything to get her out of the picture. She is still recovering from the attack that changed her life, and finds it hard to trust Harry. Tara also tries to look after Cassie and protect her from the Coven members. There was nothing wrong with the way it was written either and there were a few nice action based scenes.
It was not a fast paced novel. I found it a bit slow and over descriptive in places, when I just wanted it to get to the point. There was a lot of focus on the relationship between the two MCs, Tara's history with the Coven, her emotions and traumatic past, and technical information about dark matter and tarot cards. I just feeled it lacked the kickass action that I like in my books and it did drift along a bit in the middle.
I just felt that this book lacked that something to make me really enjoy it. It just wasn't the kind of book that I was looking for. I won't be continuing on with the series personally but if you like witches and tarot cards, you might well enjoy this.
I liked Tara as a character. She had been through terrible trauma in her life, scarred by a deadly serial killer and left for dead. Now she no longer works for the government, instead she is a criminal profiler who also uses Tarot cards to help her in her cases. I liked this, as it added something a bit new to the story but sometimes the full description of the cards, their spread, their meaning got a bit too much like an info dump. I felt that a more basic and shorter description was needed. However, it didn't bother me that much and it didn't affect my rating of the book.
The other characters were decent enough. I liked Sylvia and Cassie best, probably because there was decent development in them through their relationship to Tara. I liked this modern sort of Coven and it has potential for good stories in the future. Tara's partner is government agent Harry, who does everything by the book, hates when things are not done correctly and is a bit skeptical of Tara and her cards. He is a decent character with nothing offensive about him but I felt no chemistry between him and Tara. I just didn't really believe their relationship or find them to be a good match. It was more like the author thought she needed to inject the romance because she thought it was what her readers wanted. Personally, I'd be happy to see little or no romance in urban fantasy as too often, it takes over the story and spoils good books. In this case the romance does not really overpower the story, it just adds nothing to it.
The plot itself was decent. Tara is trying to avoid her past by staying well away from Delphi's Daughters, wanting to distance herself from what happened to her mother. She is not interested in being groomed as the new leader, and a rival for the position is determined to do anything to get her out of the picture. She is still recovering from the attack that changed her life, and finds it hard to trust Harry. Tara also tries to look after Cassie and protect her from the Coven members. There was nothing wrong with the way it was written either and there were a few nice action based scenes.
It was not a fast paced novel. I found it a bit slow and over descriptive in places, when I just wanted it to get to the point. There was a lot of focus on the relationship between the two MCs, Tara's history with the Coven, her emotions and traumatic past, and technical information about dark matter and tarot cards. I just feeled it lacked the kickass action that I like in my books and it did drift along a bit in the middle.
I just felt that this book lacked that something to make me really enjoy it. It just wasn't the kind of book that I was looking for. I won't be continuing on with the series personally but if you like witches and tarot cards, you might well enjoy this.
June 13, 2011
I read Dark Oracle a couple of months after I discovered Laura Bickle's (Alayna Williams' alter ego) writing style through Embers, so I knew what I was in for: a dark and gritty urban fantasy with metaphorical storytelling, but still Dark Oracle held quite a few surprises for me.
First of all even though I was expecting dark and gritty the heroine of Dark Oracle still astonished me: she is a deeply scarred and tortured young woman for whom my heart went out for. She survived such unimaginable horrors that the simple fact that she is still alive (even if living a very limited and recluse life) is proof to her strength and willpower. Tara barely survived a savage attack by a serial killer she was investigating and that near-death experience irrevocably changed her forever. She became insecure and is doubting everything. The meticulous and detailed portrayal of Tara's emotional state following that trauma makes her suffering tangible and so real that the reader cannot help but grieve for her.
I was in awe that despite her own personal demons when someone needs help Tara is there to uncover the truth, that despite all the trauma she went through she is still a strong and determined woman deep inside. She is a wonderful character, one the reader can only look up to and admire. The supporting characters were once again well developed and fleshed out in detail. My favourite (of course) was the hero, Agent Li, whose quiet and powerful support was like an invisible pillar next to Tara, and it is testimony to Alayna Williams' talent that a character who was only present through its memory/spirit still remained one of the most dominant and palpable presence through the story.
I was once again amazed at the depth and wide range of the research Alayna Williams had conducted: she researched dark matter, atom physics, particle science, divination, astronomy and other such extreme fields which not many people have any knowledge about, and then went on to explain the basics so masterfully that even though I had no prior knowledge of any of these fields I wasn't lost in the midst of all the information, and what is more I positively enjoyed the intellectual challenge it presented!
The ending and the culmination of the story was like the quiet after the storm. Peaceful and calm, but knowing it is only for a short while before the clouds gather once again. I can't wait to revisit Tara and Harry again, to see where their relationship is going and how Tara is coping with her past and accepting her present.
Verdict: Dark Oracle is like none of the other novels I have ever read. It is a unique blend of spiritual and scientific world: dark matter and physics are explored in detail alongside divination, prophecies and oracles. But somehow these two completely contradictory areas which couldn't be more different still form an organic whole, and with Alayna Williams' metaphorical and emotional writing the result is once again a thrilling, action packed yet emotionally deep urban fantasy novel.
Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Ending: 9/10
Cover: 8/10
First of all even though I was expecting dark and gritty the heroine of Dark Oracle still astonished me: she is a deeply scarred and tortured young woman for whom my heart went out for. She survived such unimaginable horrors that the simple fact that she is still alive (even if living a very limited and recluse life) is proof to her strength and willpower. Tara barely survived a savage attack by a serial killer she was investigating and that near-death experience irrevocably changed her forever. She became insecure and is doubting everything. The meticulous and detailed portrayal of Tara's emotional state following that trauma makes her suffering tangible and so real that the reader cannot help but grieve for her.
I was in awe that despite her own personal demons when someone needs help Tara is there to uncover the truth, that despite all the trauma she went through she is still a strong and determined woman deep inside. She is a wonderful character, one the reader can only look up to and admire. The supporting characters were once again well developed and fleshed out in detail. My favourite (of course) was the hero, Agent Li, whose quiet and powerful support was like an invisible pillar next to Tara, and it is testimony to Alayna Williams' talent that a character who was only present through its memory/spirit still remained one of the most dominant and palpable presence through the story.
I was once again amazed at the depth and wide range of the research Alayna Williams had conducted: she researched dark matter, atom physics, particle science, divination, astronomy and other such extreme fields which not many people have any knowledge about, and then went on to explain the basics so masterfully that even though I had no prior knowledge of any of these fields I wasn't lost in the midst of all the information, and what is more I positively enjoyed the intellectual challenge it presented!
The ending and the culmination of the story was like the quiet after the storm. Peaceful and calm, but knowing it is only for a short while before the clouds gather once again. I can't wait to revisit Tara and Harry again, to see where their relationship is going and how Tara is coping with her past and accepting her present.
Verdict: Dark Oracle is like none of the other novels I have ever read. It is a unique blend of spiritual and scientific world: dark matter and physics are explored in detail alongside divination, prophecies and oracles. But somehow these two completely contradictory areas which couldn't be more different still form an organic whole, and with Alayna Williams' metaphorical and emotional writing the result is once again a thrilling, action packed yet emotionally deep urban fantasy novel.
Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Ending: 9/10
Cover: 8/10
March 15, 2011
This review was first posted at .
Dark Oracle is a mystery novel, interwoven with paranormal elements. In particular, foretelling the future. The heroine is an oracle, and in the past she used her skill with the tarot cards to solve cases. At the beginning of the story, Tara has retired from a life of fighting crime for very personal reasons. She's scarred physically and emotionally. Worse, she's lost her mother, and severed her connection with the Daughters of Delphi, the women she formerly regarded as family. Tara's seclusion ends when her mother's friend, Sophia, comes to plead for Tara's help in the case of a missing scientist. Though reluctant (that's not quite a strong enough description), Tara at last agrees to help.
The case proves to be as important as the Pythia has predicted. It also brings Tara back into the real world, and it forces her to face everything she's simply eliminated from her life, rather than deal with. It also brings FBI agent Harry Li into her sphere. The romance between them isn't as intense as I generally like. There's a lot of tenderness and sympathetic feeling. Harry's a sort of beta hero. He has emotions and he reflects on them. As someone who generally prefers an alpha hero--who would rather join a sewing circle than even admit he had emotions--Harry didn't really do it for me. It's not that I didn't like him--it's that I didn't get that fluttery, swoony feeling I get over heroes I lurve. I want to say, though, that Harry's reaction when he finally discovers that Tara uses Tarot cards is totally right on. He doesn't flip out and think she's crazy (or, in the case of certain heroes, decide that he loves the heroine despite her insanity). What really flips him out is the idea that Tara might have let the cards decide how intimate she was willing to be with him.
Williams does a great job of creating the paranormal part of the story. Mostly, it takes place in the real world--our world. But within that world, there's a group of women, known as the Daughters of Delphi, that can predict the future. Each woman within the organization has her own way of seeing the future. For Tara, our heroine, it's the tarot cards. For her nemesis, it's the art of geomancy, of using the ground to divine the future. For the Pythia, the head of the Daughters of Delphi, it's pyromancy. Tara's reading of the cards reminds me of a certain period of my life when I thought Tarot cards were the coolest thing ever. I remember sitting in my bedroom with my door locked (because I didn't want my brothers or my parents to know what I was doing) and laying out the cards, trying to tell my fortune. You can imagine how well a fourteen-year-old girl can do that.
I'm looking forward to Rogue Oracle because the end of Dark Oracle gave me definite hope for the future. Oh, and I'm hoping to see lots more of Harry's Pops, Martin.
Dark Oracle is a mystery novel, interwoven with paranormal elements. In particular, foretelling the future. The heroine is an oracle, and in the past she used her skill with the tarot cards to solve cases. At the beginning of the story, Tara has retired from a life of fighting crime for very personal reasons. She's scarred physically and emotionally. Worse, she's lost her mother, and severed her connection with the Daughters of Delphi, the women she formerly regarded as family. Tara's seclusion ends when her mother's friend, Sophia, comes to plead for Tara's help in the case of a missing scientist. Though reluctant (that's not quite a strong enough description), Tara at last agrees to help.
The case proves to be as important as the Pythia has predicted. It also brings Tara back into the real world, and it forces her to face everything she's simply eliminated from her life, rather than deal with. It also brings FBI agent Harry Li into her sphere. The romance between them isn't as intense as I generally like. There's a lot of tenderness and sympathetic feeling. Harry's a sort of beta hero. He has emotions and he reflects on them. As someone who generally prefers an alpha hero--who would rather join a sewing circle than even admit he had emotions--Harry didn't really do it for me. It's not that I didn't like him--it's that I didn't get that fluttery, swoony feeling I get over heroes I lurve. I want to say, though, that Harry's reaction when he finally discovers that Tara uses Tarot cards is totally right on. He doesn't flip out and think she's crazy (or, in the case of certain heroes, decide that he loves the heroine despite her insanity). What really flips him out is the idea that Tara might have let the cards decide how intimate she was willing to be with him.
Williams does a great job of creating the paranormal part of the story. Mostly, it takes place in the real world--our world. But within that world, there's a group of women, known as the Daughters of Delphi, that can predict the future. Each woman within the organization has her own way of seeing the future. For Tara, our heroine, it's the tarot cards. For her nemesis, it's the art of geomancy, of using the ground to divine the future. For the Pythia, the head of the Daughters of Delphi, it's pyromancy. Tara's reading of the cards reminds me of a certain period of my life when I thought Tarot cards were the coolest thing ever. I remember sitting in my bedroom with my door locked (because I didn't want my brothers or my parents to know what I was doing) and laying out the cards, trying to tell my fortune. You can imagine how well a fourteen-year-old girl can do that.
I'm looking forward to Rogue Oracle because the end of Dark Oracle gave me definite hope for the future. Oh, and I'm hoping to see lots more of Harry's Pops, Martin.
July 29, 2010
It was rather interesting having the use of Tarot in the novel, there were detailed explanation of the cards and their meaning and how Tara attributed them to the situation at hand.
Tara was a great character, she wasn't the total kick-butt heroine we usually see, but she still kicks some butt in the end of course. There was an event in the past that left her scarred, literally and it damaged her, physically and mentally and she has had to cope with it on her own for a long time. She disengaged herself from her friends and her family was already long gone, she lived a quiet life until an old "friend" from Delphi's Daughters comes to her door in the middle of the night, Tara used to be a member of this group before leaving shortly after her mother's death and the incident.
Tara reluctantly agrees to take a look at a missing person's case that becomes much bigger than she thought it would. Working alongside Harry Li, Tara can't help but feel like she's being judged by him by her appearance and her methods for the case, her use of Tarot to begin with. They have a rocky start in the beginning of the case.
This was told in multiple third person p.o.v. so we get to see a lot of the characters and get to know their motives. Which kind of pointed out the bad guy a little earlier than I would've liked, but it still made for great reading because we don't really know why these characters make their choices, we may know the ultimate goal but not the reasons behind it.
There was also some science-y talk in the book, dealing with physics, matter and some other stuff that I didn't really understand, science along with chemistry, biology, and physics were not my best subjects in school. But it wasn't really important to understand this science talk, you only had to know that it dealt with certain characters, they knew what it was for and they tell the others, it was just a little hard for me to comprehend. So basically I just rolled with it.
There was a bit of romance in the book which you can see coming, but it took a few turns that I wasn't expecting. Overall it was nice, it had a nice buildup instead of just throwing it out at you.
The action was definitely well paced, there is more going on than just trying to find the missing scientist and locate his daughter. Quite a bit more actually. It was amazing how far this case went, just when you think something is close to be solved, it's not!
The ending was good, decent. It wrapped up the events, but left you with just enough dangling to wonder what will happen to Tara down the line in the next book.
Overall, I decided to start giving an actual rating system instead of just saying the book was GREAT, I'd give the book 4/5 stars!
Tara was a great character, she wasn't the total kick-butt heroine we usually see, but she still kicks some butt in the end of course. There was an event in the past that left her scarred, literally and it damaged her, physically and mentally and she has had to cope with it on her own for a long time. She disengaged herself from her friends and her family was already long gone, she lived a quiet life until an old "friend" from Delphi's Daughters comes to her door in the middle of the night, Tara used to be a member of this group before leaving shortly after her mother's death and the incident.
Tara reluctantly agrees to take a look at a missing person's case that becomes much bigger than she thought it would. Working alongside Harry Li, Tara can't help but feel like she's being judged by him by her appearance and her methods for the case, her use of Tarot to begin with. They have a rocky start in the beginning of the case.
This was told in multiple third person p.o.v. so we get to see a lot of the characters and get to know their motives. Which kind of pointed out the bad guy a little earlier than I would've liked, but it still made for great reading because we don't really know why these characters make their choices, we may know the ultimate goal but not the reasons behind it.
There was also some science-y talk in the book, dealing with physics, matter and some other stuff that I didn't really understand, science along with chemistry, biology, and physics were not my best subjects in school. But it wasn't really important to understand this science talk, you only had to know that it dealt with certain characters, they knew what it was for and they tell the others, it was just a little hard for me to comprehend. So basically I just rolled with it.
There was a bit of romance in the book which you can see coming, but it took a few turns that I wasn't expecting. Overall it was nice, it had a nice buildup instead of just throwing it out at you.
The action was definitely well paced, there is more going on than just trying to find the missing scientist and locate his daughter. Quite a bit more actually. It was amazing how far this case went, just when you think something is close to be solved, it's not!
The ending was good, decent. It wrapped up the events, but left you with just enough dangling to wonder what will happen to Tara down the line in the next book.
Overall, I decided to start giving an actual rating system instead of just saying the book was GREAT, I'd give the book 4/5 stars!
June 15, 2010
Dark Oracle by Alayna Williams
Urban Fantasy-May 25th, 2010
4 stars
Dark Oracle is an Urban Fantasy that reads like a hard broiled criminal novel with strong paranormal elements. I immediately was drawn to the vivid imagery created by the author and the gritty and intriguing main character.
Tara has retired from being a criminal profiler after her last case nearly killed her. Now living on the fringes in an isolated ice land she only wants to be left alone to lick her wounds. But her peace is soon disrupted by and old friend of her dead mother. A woman from another life filled with magic and prophecy. As a former Daughter of Delphi, Tara does not want to be reminded of a life she left to work for the Feds. But her friend pleads for her help. For a man is missing and his knowledge and research have the potential for abuse. If used with the wrong hands the shift of power in the world will be forever changed. Tara reluctantly finds herself persuaded to look for him and finds herself a consultant with the Feds and her new partner Harry Li. But danger lurks in unexpected places and they must trust each other to keep themselves alive. Because the research the good doctor worked with is being fought over by powerful men who will stop at nothing...
This Urban Fantasy was mainly action and mystery as Tara searches for the missing Doctor and his research. I loved the mystery in the story and it had enough romance sprinkled in to keep me satisfied. I greatly enjoyed the mystery in the story the added bonus of the paranormal aspects. I felt as if I was reading a real investigation. It almost like an X-Files case. I could easily imagine Tara going over the clues and could feel her personality through the author’s words. Tara was very believable and human.
The only difficulty I had with this novel is that although Tara is extremely tough I kept waiting for the moment when she would break out and have a huge break through in her character. There were smaller instances where she overcame obstacles but I thought there would be something BIG she would realize about herself and triumph over. Because of this lack of development I have a feeling the author has a great deal more in store for Tara in upcoming books and new powers that may be revealed. I liked the idea of the Daughter of Delphi and would have liked to know more about their origins and more members and their powers. Realistic and satisfying this was an intense Urban Fantasy with dark villains and indomitable heroine.
Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club
Urban Fantasy-May 25th, 2010
4 stars
Dark Oracle is an Urban Fantasy that reads like a hard broiled criminal novel with strong paranormal elements. I immediately was drawn to the vivid imagery created by the author and the gritty and intriguing main character.
Tara has retired from being a criminal profiler after her last case nearly killed her. Now living on the fringes in an isolated ice land she only wants to be left alone to lick her wounds. But her peace is soon disrupted by and old friend of her dead mother. A woman from another life filled with magic and prophecy. As a former Daughter of Delphi, Tara does not want to be reminded of a life she left to work for the Feds. But her friend pleads for her help. For a man is missing and his knowledge and research have the potential for abuse. If used with the wrong hands the shift of power in the world will be forever changed. Tara reluctantly finds herself persuaded to look for him and finds herself a consultant with the Feds and her new partner Harry Li. But danger lurks in unexpected places and they must trust each other to keep themselves alive. Because the research the good doctor worked with is being fought over by powerful men who will stop at nothing...
This Urban Fantasy was mainly action and mystery as Tara searches for the missing Doctor and his research. I loved the mystery in the story and it had enough romance sprinkled in to keep me satisfied. I greatly enjoyed the mystery in the story the added bonus of the paranormal aspects. I felt as if I was reading a real investigation. It almost like an X-Files case. I could easily imagine Tara going over the clues and could feel her personality through the author’s words. Tara was very believable and human.
The only difficulty I had with this novel is that although Tara is extremely tough I kept waiting for the moment when she would break out and have a huge break through in her character. There were smaller instances where she overcame obstacles but I thought there would be something BIG she would realize about herself and triumph over. Because of this lack of development I have a feeling the author has a great deal more in store for Tara in upcoming books and new powers that may be revealed. I liked the idea of the Daughter of Delphi and would have liked to know more about their origins and more members and their powers. Realistic and satisfying this was an intense Urban Fantasy with dark villains and indomitable heroine.
Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club
April 20, 2012
Plot: 4.5 Stars
There were a few moments in which this novel felt more like a mystery or science fiction novel, than urban fantasy. But the mystery feel fell away as more characters were introduced and used their talents as oracles, and the science fiction feel fell away as the physics aspect of Magnusson's work was described in more detail. I truly enjoyed the detail in this novel. From the dark matter to the different divination techniques, you could really tell that the author researched very well. The way the author blended the fantasy element of Delphi's Daughters and divination and the realistic element of the criminal investigation was superb.
Pace: 4 Stars
The story pack a lot into a few days span. Tara and Harry travelled over multiple state lines and split up at one point, almost getting caught a couple times. There were a number of enemies coming from different directions. But with all the running and hiding, the novel never felt rushed. It was paced perfectly, and never slowed down. I thought the descriptions of each tarot card would slow the pace down, but it actually helped the plot tremendously because of the author's thorough knowledge.
Characters: 5 Stars
Tara is a fantastic urban fantasy heroine. She is flawed and has her fears, but as the novel progresses, the reader really gets to see her grow and slowly strip away her fears. They're still there, but she realizes that she can continue to live her life with them instead of holing up in the woods. I really enjoyed that she was self-conscious of her scars, but not to the point that it completely got in the way of more intimate situations. Harry was a nice foil to Tara. He tried to understand both her past and her divination, and I think he was really good for her. Cassie, Magnusson's daughter, was very strong considering the situation she found herself in. Maggie, Cassie's dog, offered a chuckle here and there within the action.
Cover: 4.5 Stars
The purple of this cover was bright and inviting without being overwhelming. It's a color you don't see as much of in urban fantasy, and I think it really drawns your attention from the shelf. I don't know if the red title matches, but it stands out on the cover. There were aspects of the cover model that matched my mental image of Tara, and aspects that did not match, but overall the model was a good choice. I enjoyed that the cards on the cover had actual images on them. I am not completely sure the images on the card are from the tarot, but at least they are not blank.
Overall: 4.5 Stars
Disclosure: I bought this book for my own enjoyment.
There were a few moments in which this novel felt more like a mystery or science fiction novel, than urban fantasy. But the mystery feel fell away as more characters were introduced and used their talents as oracles, and the science fiction feel fell away as the physics aspect of Magnusson's work was described in more detail. I truly enjoyed the detail in this novel. From the dark matter to the different divination techniques, you could really tell that the author researched very well. The way the author blended the fantasy element of Delphi's Daughters and divination and the realistic element of the criminal investigation was superb.
Pace: 4 Stars
The story pack a lot into a few days span. Tara and Harry travelled over multiple state lines and split up at one point, almost getting caught a couple times. There were a number of enemies coming from different directions. But with all the running and hiding, the novel never felt rushed. It was paced perfectly, and never slowed down. I thought the descriptions of each tarot card would slow the pace down, but it actually helped the plot tremendously because of the author's thorough knowledge.
Characters: 5 Stars
Tara is a fantastic urban fantasy heroine. She is flawed and has her fears, but as the novel progresses, the reader really gets to see her grow and slowly strip away her fears. They're still there, but she realizes that she can continue to live her life with them instead of holing up in the woods. I really enjoyed that she was self-conscious of her scars, but not to the point that it completely got in the way of more intimate situations. Harry was a nice foil to Tara. He tried to understand both her past and her divination, and I think he was really good for her. Cassie, Magnusson's daughter, was very strong considering the situation she found herself in. Maggie, Cassie's dog, offered a chuckle here and there within the action.
Cover: 4.5 Stars
The purple of this cover was bright and inviting without being overwhelming. It's a color you don't see as much of in urban fantasy, and I think it really drawns your attention from the shelf. I don't know if the red title matches, but it stands out on the cover. There were aspects of the cover model that matched my mental image of Tara, and aspects that did not match, but overall the model was a good choice. I enjoyed that the cards on the cover had actual images on them. I am not completely sure the images on the card are from the tarot, but at least they are not blank.
Overall: 4.5 Stars
Disclosure: I bought this book for my own enjoyment.
April 9, 2016
Originally posted on the blog: What the Cat Read
A great start to what promises to be a wonderful series! I enjoyed this book immensely. =^-^=
There’s no question that I love Tara. She’s a perfect heroine in that she’s strong, independent, and has real fears and character flaws that you get to see her overcome as the story unfolds. I couldn’t help but sympathize with her regarding her feelings towards Delphi’s Daughters and her history with The Gardner. It amazed me to learn what she had gone through in her past and how, despite the fact that it left scars beyond just the physical, she stayed strong when she could have easily given up and run away. There was nothing about her that I didn’t like. I actually got teary eyed during one particular scene involving her and Sophia because I so wanted things to turn out differently.
All of William’s characters were well written. Each one fit into the story perfectly and it’s hard not to like them all…even Maggie, the dog. Yes, this feline can actually say that she likes a canine character outside of a werewolf. Maggie helped provide moments of comic relief, as did Martin, Harry’s “father�. Corvus, Gabriel, and Adrienne were the perfect villains, and Delphi’s Daughters were a mystery unto themselves. I actually wanted to delve further in their history and learn more. The brief glimpses into this group has me hoping that the second book of the series features more of them.
I read this book in one day because I had to find out what happened next. There was plenty of suspense, chills, and even a touch of comedy and romance. I couldn’t help but get caught up in the world that William’s created. In particular I enjoyed how she blended the meaning of the tarot cards with the story. The way she wrote it all was flawless. Truth be told, I found the entire use of the tarot in the book to be fascinating! It made me want to pull out my human’s deck and start studying the cards for myself.
The only complaints that I had upon finishing the book was that I felt the resolution between Tara and Adrienne was a bit too drawn out and the ending of the book itself was rather abrupt. Up until the last 50 pages or so the pace and flow of the story was perfect. But the ending scene left me arching my brow and wondering what I missed. I guess it could be said that the ending was left vague in order to make way for the second book in the series, but that doesn’t exactly sit well with me. It didn’t exactly feel like a cliff hanger, but it didn’t feel like a clean ending either.
Regardless, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Urban Fantasy novels. =^-^=
A great start to what promises to be a wonderful series! I enjoyed this book immensely. =^-^=
There’s no question that I love Tara. She’s a perfect heroine in that she’s strong, independent, and has real fears and character flaws that you get to see her overcome as the story unfolds. I couldn’t help but sympathize with her regarding her feelings towards Delphi’s Daughters and her history with The Gardner. It amazed me to learn what she had gone through in her past and how, despite the fact that it left scars beyond just the physical, she stayed strong when she could have easily given up and run away. There was nothing about her that I didn’t like. I actually got teary eyed during one particular scene involving her and Sophia because I so wanted things to turn out differently.
All of William’s characters were well written. Each one fit into the story perfectly and it’s hard not to like them all…even Maggie, the dog. Yes, this feline can actually say that she likes a canine character outside of a werewolf. Maggie helped provide moments of comic relief, as did Martin, Harry’s “father�. Corvus, Gabriel, and Adrienne were the perfect villains, and Delphi’s Daughters were a mystery unto themselves. I actually wanted to delve further in their history and learn more. The brief glimpses into this group has me hoping that the second book of the series features more of them.
I read this book in one day because I had to find out what happened next. There was plenty of suspense, chills, and even a touch of comedy and romance. I couldn’t help but get caught up in the world that William’s created. In particular I enjoyed how she blended the meaning of the tarot cards with the story. The way she wrote it all was flawless. Truth be told, I found the entire use of the tarot in the book to be fascinating! It made me want to pull out my human’s deck and start studying the cards for myself.
The only complaints that I had upon finishing the book was that I felt the resolution between Tara and Adrienne was a bit too drawn out and the ending of the book itself was rather abrupt. Up until the last 50 pages or so the pace and flow of the story was perfect. But the ending scene left me arching my brow and wondering what I missed. I guess it could be said that the ending was left vague in order to make way for the second book in the series, but that doesn’t exactly sit well with me. It didn’t exactly feel like a cliff hanger, but it didn’t feel like a clean ending either.
Regardless, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Urban Fantasy novels. =^-^=
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