Today on Let’s Review Wednesday, we’re talking about The Slayer and the Sphinx:Book 1 by Adam Bolander.
The Story
Porter Collins is a young man traumatized and orphaned by his parents’ violent death. He has been raised by a group calling itself The Order, a band of fighters who hunt down the creatures that populate human myths, fantasies and fairy tales. Their ongoing quest to rid the world of these Mythics, as the creatures call themselves, has turned Porter into a Slayer, a fighter with great skills and use of magic, but no mercy toward those he hunts.
Sarah Heisen is one of those Mythics, a young sphinx whose overprotective parents have never allowed her outside the grounds of their estate. Left alone with the family’s banshee housekeeper while her parents are traveling to one of the Mythics’ Secret Sanctuaries, Sarah becomes the target of a Slayer attack.
Porter is taking point on the mission, and when he pursues Sarah into the house he and his fellow Slayers set ablaze, he becomes a victim of his own tactics. A piece of the house falls on him, pinning him beneath it and knocking him out.
Sarah, whose magic use has been limited to a transformation spell she performs only when she needs hands instead of paws, must teleport to escape the burning building. Unbeknownst to her, the teleportation spell snags Porter too. When he awakes, injured and not remembering who and what he is, Sarah is torn between showing him mercy and treating him as he and other Slayers have treated her people.
The Slayer and the Sphinx, two teens with troubled lives and deep-seated fears, must rely on each other to survive.
My Reaction
Adam has a real knack for creating characters and situations that draw you into a story. I saw it in his Legends of the Saloli series, and I’m seeing it again here. His mashup of modern world with mythology is a good read. There were a few things at the beginning that made me wonder if he watches some of the same SyFy channel shows I enjoy – the teleportation rings in particular reminded me of Stargate SG-1 – but even where I see influences from other works, they’ve been thrown together in a new and different concoction.
The cover art reminds me of a graphic novel, which I know was Adam’s intent. The story inside would do well in that format, but it works as a non-illustrated story too. The Slayer and the Sphinx: Book 1 will appeal to fantasy lovers of any age and will have you wondering when Book 2 will be out.
Update (8/28/12): Adam has decided to pull the book from the market for the time being to do some reworking on the series. Check his Facebook page for progress reports.
