Spectyr

By "Philippa" "Ballantine"

Explore Philippa Ballantine’s “richly detailed world” (Nalini Singh) in the second Book of the Order novel.

In a realm of mystics and magic, the Order of Deacons stands between the here and now and the Otherside. Its mission is to protect the citizens of the Empire from malevolent geists—no matter where or when...
 
Though one of the most powerful Deacons, Sorcha Faris has a tarnished reputation to overcome. She and her partner, Deacon Merrick Chambers, find themselves chasing down rumors of geists, but long for a return to real action. So they jump at the chance to escort a delegation sent to negotiate the terms of the Emperor’s engagement. Their destination: the exotic city of Orithal.
 
But a string of murders has Orithal on edge, and Sorcha and Merrick are asked to investigate. Meanwhile, the Emperor’s sister has unwittingly unleashed a cruel and vengeful goddess, one who is bent on destroying her enemies, including the geistlord who resides inside the shapeshifting rival to the throne—Sorcha’s lover...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Jun 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9781101529188

"Philippa" "Ballantine"

New Zealand born fantasy writer and podcaster Philippa (Pip) Ballantine is the author of the Books of the Order and the Shifted World series. She is also the co-author with her husband Tee Morris of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novels. Her awards include an Airship, a Parsec, the Steampunk Chronicle Reader’s Choice, and a Sir Julius Vogel. She currently resides in Manassas, Virginia with her husband, daughter, and a furry clowder of cats.

Reviews for Spectyr

[devilwrites · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The premise: ganked from author's website: Though one of the most powerful Deacons, Sorcha Faris has a tarnished reputation to overcome. She and her partner, Deacon Merrick Chambers, find themselves chasing down rumors of geists, but long for a return to real action. So they jump at the chance to escort a delegation sent to negotiate the terms of the Emperor’s engagement. Their destination: the exotic city of Orinthal.But a string of murders has Orinthal on edge, and Sorcha and Merrick are asked to investigate. Meanwhile the Emperor’s sister has unwittingly released a cruel and vengeful goddess, one who it bent on destroying her enemies, including the geistlord who resides inside the shapeshifting rival to the throne—Sorcha’s lover….My Rating: It's a Gamble This is my middle-of-the-road rating. If you liked the first book, you'll like this next one. If you didn't like the first book, well, I think this book shows a lot of improvements, and it's got me seriously considering the next in the series. It's definitely a series, though, that needs to be read in order. I read Geist two years ago, but I'd forgotten just enough key points from it that reading Spectyr was a wee bit difficult. But for those readers who want to read a secondary-world fantasy that's light in tone (not in content, but tone), I'd highly recommend this series to those readers. Sorcha Faris is definitely of the ass-kicking variety, and while her cigar habit reminds me a wee bit too much of Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica, her character reveals some interesting shades in this book. All the characters held my interest, and the world-building continues to fascinate. It's also an incredibly fast read, something easy to sit down and kick back with and enjoy.Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. Although I do speculate about the fantasy world based on some things discussed in the book, so that in and of itself might be considered a spoiler. So if you're paranoid, don't read the full review at my blog. If you don't care, or if you've read the book, feel free to click the link below to go directly to the full review. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)REVIEW: Philippa Ballantine's SPECTYRHappy Reading!

[jrg1316 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a good book but nothing groundbreaking. Sorcha, Merrick, and Raed pick up pretty much right where they left off. The dynamic between these 3 characters is interesting, but I would like to see it explored more. I want to know more about their unique bond with each other and how it's even able to exist in the first place.

One thing I didn't like was how quickly the book ended. The entire story leads up to this massive conflict, but when the time comes, it's very underwhelming, especially considering the power level of the people involved.

Overall, I'm interested enough in the characters to finish the remaining 2 books in the series.

[jamestomasino · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The whole thing could have used another 100 pages. Still, it was fun.

[azacia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I would give this book 10 stars if I could.

Spectyr is an amazing journey into another realm; Full of adventure, passion, mystery, and romance. This book picks up where Geist left off, with some surprising reappearances by past characters. Unpredictable, the complex world of the story is expertly developed and leaves the reader clinging for more. The story of the bond between Read, Sorcha, and Merrick depends, as do the complex nature of the characters. All is not what it seems, and the very fundamental truths of the Order are challenged.

The only short falling of the story is that it ends rather abruptly with a lot of unresolved questions, which no doubt, will be where the next book picks up.

The depth of the characters makes them so real. This book delves more into Merrick's past, twisting both time and life in an intricate journey the likes of which I've never encountered before. I highly recommend this series to anyone! Words do not do it justice ... you need to read the books!

[melhay_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Zofiya, the Grand Duchess and sister to Emperor of Delmaire, has a strong belief in a goddess and a religion of almost 1000 years in a world where most have lost their faith with the coming of geists. She believes her goddess, Hatipai, has guided her to find the Dark Angle who is to kill the Pretender, as he is to bring geists to the land. The very Pretender, Raed Rossin, who saved her life in the end of Geist.Scorcha and Merrick are happy find they are on a "real" case after all the imaginary geist hunts they've been sent on, and ends up more than they bargained for. With the Spectyrs they fight, a person of their past gives Scorcha a glimpse into the Void to see the future. Scorcha sees the man she can't get off her mind, Raed, is in grave danger. Scorcha and Merrick offer to take a case, or an escort mission, to the place they think will be the center of this trouble.Raed is enjoying life on land once again. Until her receives a letter from his father stating his sister was taken. Raed feeling guilty of the attention he has brought to his family and the love for his family heads off to find her.We are brought right back into the thick of things with each of our main characters with a quick start that leaves you flipping the pages to learn more on the happenings. We start by catching up with each character in their own part of the world, then bringing them together quickly. No stalling in getting to the story line here, which I enjoy. We pick up new secondary characters with these characters as well. Through the secondary characters we see the reactions and more history of our main group, along with another view of the world as well. Scorcha has now accepted completely her bond with Merrick, and finds she actually likes it and him. The bond is strong and... special. I have to say my favorite of this book was with Merrick! Oh boy do we learn a great GREAT deal through him. Both of him, of the past, and the present! Wonderful character and great growth in the world!There is no time wasted at the beginning of this book to refresh our memories, which I enjoy. I get bored with the refresher starts that feel like wasted pages to me. Here we get pieces of the refresher throughout the book, when we are needed to remember them to fit the pieces of the story together. Oh, we had it all before and know it now, but Philippa does a nice job of reminding us briefly what we might have forgotten to piece it together as a series.Once again I loved jumping back into this series. I do feel Philippa has a wonderful writing style in the way she tells a story and weaves a detailed world through the characters. This world and history of it is very detailed, and told wonderfully with the characters. I love the setting with the geists, spectyrs and all along with the Deacons and systems to deal with them. And the characters are quick and fun.Definitely a wonderful addition to the series. Much more to learn here and looking forward to what we have in future books as well!