MLN Hanover’s The Black Sun’s Daughter Series

Book One - Unclean Spirits

There really is so much crap to sift through on the horror/sci-fi/paranormal book market. There are tons of books of questionable quality with really interesting cover art to snag your attention. I pick these up because at heart I’m a shallow person that likes pretty, shiny things. And the cover art for The Black Sun’s Daughter Series was definitely a pretty, shiny thing.

Thankfully, this was backed up by a surprisingly good story and an innovative take on classic horror entities. The Black Sun’s Daughter is a series of urban fantasy novels (and a few shorts) by acclaimed fantasy and sci-fi author Daniel Abraham under the pseudonym M.L.N Hanover (his other being James R. S. Corey). With numerous novels and short stories under his belt this George R. R. Martin collaborator and Hugo and Nebula award winner has an already established fantasy career. The Black Sun’s Daughter is Hanover’s first  urban fantasy (I hate that term) and he easily melds his experienced fantasy career with the grittier, darker sides of horror fiction to come up with a genuinely likable and a little freaky heroine Jayné Heller.

Book Two - Darker Angels

Hanover opens the series with Unclean Spirits and an introduction to Jayné (pronounced Zha-nay) Heller, a young woman struggling to find her purpose after dropping out of college and estranging herself from her overly religious family. In Unclean Spirits, you learn that Jayné’s one relative she identifies with, her enigmatic Uncle Eric, is found murdered and she is listed as his sole heir. She travels to Denver to settle his estate and soon finds herself the recipient of much more than his ridiculously vast fortune, but also his legacy of hunting “Riders.”

In Denver, Jayné is quickly thrust into her Uncle’s last mission as the new head of his world-saving dynasty. Jayné picks up with Uncle Eric’s team to hunt the demon syndicate The Invisible College. Jayné’s team: Aubrey, Eric’s attractive scientist assistant; Ex, a former Jesuit with less than priestly skills; Midian, the dessicated vampire victim of a curse; and the unflappable Chogyi Jake, a Buddhist with mystical abilities (kinda a sausage fest, but I’m not complaining). These men are all she has to complete her crash course education in demonology. Hanover creates an interesting and dynamic ensemble that continues through the rest of the series.

Book Three - Vicious Grace

I find Hanover’s ideology interesting (and kinda similar to that of Supernatural). The Black Sun’s Daughter has it all. Lycans, vampires, deities, demons, the works, but they’re not autonomous and individual species or creatures of our world. They’re all of the same origin. The Pleroma, the other side, and they are parasites to the humans they “ride.” This brings about a whole new level of icky. These humans are sharing their bodies, their souls, often against their will, with the “other.” Sometimes the rider will evict the original owner of the meat suit to another body, or even worse consume the soul.

Obviously with so much talk of souls and demons, there is an Exorcist element to the whole series, but it’s much more kinetic than a priest battling the forces of darkness in one little girl’s room. There are epic battles, wars, romance, heartbreak, wicked violence, demonic gore, and questions of truth and reality. Through the course of the four novels, you start to realize that Jayné isn’t exactly what you, or even she, thinks she is. With the uncanny ability to save her own ass Jayné is a fun character to watch in a pinch and her slow development leaves plenty to ponder over after each novel.

Book Four - Killing Rites

Sure, there are a few issues with the series. The endless wealth bestowed upon Jayné by her Uncle’s death is horribly convenient in times of need. It takes out a lot of the stress associated with logistics to some of the cataclysmic events Jayné and her team deal with. I’m hoping in a future novel she finds herself in a situation where one call to her lawyer doesn’t straighten out her “how to” issues. Structurally speaking, I find the constant stumbling over the correct pronunciation of her name in my head a rather large hiccup. I eventually just started pronouncing it Jane and was done with it.

Each of the four currently published novels are great stories unto themselves, but are best served when read in order. With a few minor quirks, I found The Black Sun’s Daughter to be an easily pleasing read splattered in pea soup.

The Black Sun’s Daughter spans currently four novels  with the fifth expected sometime in 2012.

• Unclean Spirits: Book One of the Black Sun’s Daughter
• Darker Angels: Book Two of the The Black Sun’s Daughter
• Vicious Grace: Book Three of the Black Sun’s Daughter
• Killing Rites: Book Four of The Black Sun’s Daughter

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