Vengeance of the Demon by Diana Rowland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's fascinating when what should have been a police procedural with demon summoning goes sideways.

This isn't a bad thing in my opinion. I mean, think about it. You get kidnapped to a demon dimension, learn a bunch of stuff about the arcane, and then come back many months later... should you really expect to keep your job after such a leave? Can you really hope to explain your experience, of being tortured, branded, of falling in love (again) with a demon lord, of coming into possession a massively powerful dimension-ripping tool, or even of being friends with so many demons? Or having so many enemies?

Just how should your cop buddies take this new you?

Um, where's the pitchfork?

Okay. So no. I like the new Kara Gillian still. And if she has to go a little renegade because you pitiful mortals just don't want to open your minds a little to see what's REALLY at stake, then so be it. Renegade it is.

Um. Even if the law is coming after you. And you can't even explain WHY you had to be a party to such a brutal murder or why it is vitally important to tear all your enemies to shreds.

Oh. Wait. You mean normal police procedurals can't get real? Ah, so be it. Well, that's why I like the direction this has taken. Events have consequences. We can't just go back to the same-ole routine. It simply doesn't make sense.

So again, bravo, Ms. Rowland! :) You're keeping it real. It's still very much a police procedural, but now we're getting into all the grey stuff. I'm really liking the characters and the changes, too, but you know what I'm really loving the most?

The magic system. I can't believe how detailed and workable it's getting. It's good enough to write a nice and long manual on. :) Perhaps a storytelling game. :) I'd love to play in this world. :)



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