Liviania‘s review of The Touch of Twilight (Sign of the Zodiac Book 3) by Vicki Pettersson
Urban fantasy released by EOS 27 May 08
I first encountered Vicki Pettersson in the anthology Holidays are Hell which included her intriguing short story “Harvest.” I liked the protagonist and mythology presented and began to the Signs of the Zodiac series. In the third novel, The Touch of Twilight, a doppelganger is ripping apart the fabric of reality – and Joanna Archer may only be able to stop it with the help of her father.
The problem is her father is the leader of the Shadows. The third sign of the Zodiac predicts that her Shadow side will rise, but Joanna doesn’t believe she would switch sides. For one, the Tulpa’s top priority is still finding and killing her mother. Joanna is distracted from her fate and that of Las Vegas by her complicated love life. The Shadow Cancer Regan pursues her old boyfriend Ben. Hunter pursues Joanna, and works as an escort on the side.
Ben faces some character assassination. I never preferred him to Hunter, so it didn’t bother me to much, but I would have liked some foreshadowing in the previous novels. Hunter and Joanna still have chemistry. Their scenes together range from playful to bittersweet, and I hope they manage to work things out because they’re fun to read together.
The Touch of Twilight is not welcoming to newcomers. Pettersson bases her mythology on comic books and astrology, an uncommon choice in urban fantasy. The world building is tight, but the complexity and terminology might not be easily picked up without reading the first or second novels before the third. In this one, I was looking for growth in Joanna’s character. The first was her introduction to the world of the Zodiac as well as the readers’. The second allowed her to make mistakes and realize the consequences of her actions. The third focuses more on the relationships and less on the action.
The action present satisfies. There are some excellent horror-style segments involving message-by-minion. Once again things build to a large confrontation between the Light and Shadow troops. Joanna works with Chandra and shows a capability for strategy, both things that reveal the growth I wanted to see. She still makes a number of mistakes, but she is learning from them. Her stumbles do not frustrate me like those of most heroines because she did suddenly gain her powers and the other Zodiac warriors spent their lives preparing for the fight.
Pettersson creates a number of questions to be (hopefully) answered in the fourth book. The plight of the changelings, human children who aid the Zodiac warriors, comes up often in The Touch of Twilight but is not resolved. I like how important imagination is to the powers of either side, and the kids who believe in the warriors are easy to emphasize with. The book ends with Joanna knowing one character might be in danger. Zoe Archer, Joanna’s mother, might return. The Scent of Shadows was an impressive beginning and the novels become ever more interesting as Joanna overcomes her past and faces the present.
Grade: B+
The summary:
On the surface she’s a sexy, sophisticated socialite, at home among the beautiful people of the Las Vegas upper crust. But Joanna Archer inhabits another world: a place ordinary humans cannot see . . . a dangerous dimension where an eternal battle rages between the agents of Light and Shadow. And Joanna is both.Stalked by an enigmatic doppelganger from a preternatural realm, Joanna can feel the Light failing—which is propelling her toward a terrifying confrontation with the ultimate master of evil, the dark lord of Shadow: her father.
Vegas is all about winning big . . . or losing everything. To save her friends, her future, her worlds, Joanna Archer must gamble it all by fully embracing the darkness inside her.
Read an excerpt here.
