Curse of the Dawn - Review

Curse the Dawn (Cassandra Palmer, Book ). Karen Chance. Onyx, April 2009.

The story opens with Cassie time traveling, trying to catch up to the previous Pythia whose demise occurred before she could train the current Pythia, Cassie that is, in how to manipulate the tremendous power which comes with the position.

So what is a Pythia? As Cassie explains this is the supernatural community's chief seer, and also the person charged with maintaining the intergrity of the time line. That's quite a bit of responsibility for someone not sure of what she's doing and has a number of paranormals not wanting her in the job. Cassie is not one to go quitely into the night or day for that matter. She's been given a job to do and by golly she will find a way to get it done.

Fortunately she has allies. Two of the most important are John Pritkin a warrior mage who is much more than he seems, and the hunky master vampire, and alpha male, Mircea Basarab. Protecting Cassie falls into the hands of Mircea. He loves his job when Cassie isn't acting too independently and causing herself trouble. He and Cassie have very strong sexual feelings for each other, but Cassie doesn't want to get too emotionally close to anyone because, she believes, these things never last.

The Cassie Palmer stories are filled with nonstop action, and Curse of the Dawn is no exception. Danger follows Cassie everywhere she goes. At one point Cassie is abducted by a war mage who drags her through a ley line that suddenly explodes killing the mage and almost doing the same to our heroine. Then the big guns come out when war is declared by the god Apollo against earth's supernaturals. The Pythia who owes her powers to this god is the main target.

Mages and vampires don't always get along, but when the primary headquarters for all supernaturals is attacked and destroyed, a truce of some kind is the only way to keep the old deities, led by Apollo, from coming back and taking control once again. Naturally peace does not reign for more than a short time. War mages, dark mages, vampires, demons, and gods populate Chance's complex, intriguing, and captivating world.