Soul of Fire

What a great read! 'Heart of Light', the previous book to this one, was enjoyable but I had some reservations about it (for me, the heroine ended up with the wrong man, which doesn't make for an entirely satisfying book). 'Soul of Fire' is the next book in the series and I found it even better, an excellent read. Set in a slightly alternate history where magic, flying carpets and were-creatures are part of normal life, but where historical events that we know have still taken place (perhaps for different reasons), the story is set in British India under the reign of Queen Victoria. Our hero is Peter Farewell, a were-dragon, whom we met in 'Heart of Light'. Peter is a lonely man entrusted with the task of finding the jewel 'Soul of Fire', having already assisted in the recovery of 'Heart of Light'. Peter has been searching India for the jewel for six months without success. However when his chivalrous nature requires him to rescue a maiden in distress he finds himself plunged into events as various people try to get their hands on the 'Soul of Fire' which apparently belongs to the maiden, Sofie Warington. Sofie is trying to escape an enforced marriage to a were-tiger but it becomes clear that the were-tigers want her for more nefarious reasons than marriage. Can Peter keep her safe, despite the dangerous nature of his dragon side? Is there more to Sofie's maidservant and her companions than Sofie realises? The story is told from several viewpoints, including a slightly separate plot thread narrated by a British officer who is trying to avoid a repeat of the 1857 Sepoy rebellion as well as discovering some truths about himself. The plot is good but what is particularly well-written is the characterisation. Peter Farewell is excellently portrayed and we feel, alongside him, his loneliness and fears about his were nature. Sofie is an appealing character too, young and sometimes foolish but overall with a great heart and bravery. The setting in India, even the slightly magical India of this fantasy, was also convincing, even if the British characters very occasionally slipped into American dialogue. Although it appears the series will continue this book did draw to a satisfactory close and I am certainly looking forward to the next story in this series which appears to be improving as it continues. Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

Want a capsule review? Run out right now and buy this book. Do not do anything until you have done that. There. Now, if you want to find out why, read on. Otherwise, why are you still here? Sarah A Hoyt just gets better and better as a novelist. One of the problems that I've had with some of Sarah's novels is that her pacing is sometimes what I would charitably call discursive...that is, I throw the book at the wall and yell, "Dammit, Sarah, will you get to the point?!!!?" And then I pick it up and keep reading, because she is a marvelous storyteller. Soul of Fire, the second book in her Heart and Soul trilogy, was the fastest Sarah Hoyt read I've ever seen. I read it in something less than three hours, in one sitting, and I even read the nasty little snippet for the next novel in the trilogy, Heart and Soul, which, dammit, isn't out until November. In Soul of Fire, we find the Victorian archetypes, as we did in Heart of Light-- the expat British nobleman, the immature and silly, but ever so lovely heroine, the wily servants, the Civil Service types and the British Army types serving the Raj in India...all of the Victorian local color for a romance set in India...and then Sarah Hoyt turns it on its head and shakes it until a wonderfully different story shakes out. The lady's maid turns out to be a Princess. That's a standard Victorian trope-- but she turns out to be a monkey princess--- she is a shape shifter-- a "weremonkey." The expat British nobleman turns out to be a very gentlemanly dragon...and under a death sentence because Her Majesty, Queen Victoria has a whole troop of witch smellers whose job is to ferret out weres and burn them at the stake. There's a wonderful toss-off sentence early in the book about the fact that John Lackland was legally empowered by Parliament to kill his brother Richard because there was more to the "lion hearted" bit than just a nickname. The quips run fast and furious in this novel, and I found myself alternately convulsed with laughter and tightly wrapped by the suspense. Some of the scenes are just incredibly well crafted, and Sarah makes it look easy. At one point, the heroine says she's hungry, so the nobleman/dragon flies off to get some fish from the river...and winds up bringing back to her a fisherman's smoked fish sandwich instead of the raw mess we expect him to get. It's like that, throughout the book. If you've read this far, and you haven't gone out and gotten and read Sarah Hoyt's Soul of Fire you either have greater willpower than anybody I know, or you really really like me...as Sally Field once said. So, click right now on "buy this book." Walt Boyes Associate Editor Jim Baen's Universe magazine www.baens-universe.com

Once again, Hoyt has delivered a brilliant example of what historical fantasy should be - an intelligent extrapolation of what the world would be like with magic underlying a fast-paced adventure which takes all the usual fantasy tropes and gives them a delightfully fresh twist. Readers of Heart of Light will recognize Peter Farewell as he searches India for Soul of Fire, the companion ruby of Heart of Light. The chaos that follows when Sofie Warington falls into his arms leads to a surprising conclusion with a lot of laughter and heartbreak along the way. There aren't many books that I can't put down, and Soul of Fire is one of them.

In this second installment of her Magical British Empire Series, Sarah A. Hoyt delivers a novel that satisfies on so many levels. For those who enjoy alternate history, this book -- as well as Heart of Light, the first book of the series -- is set in a Victorian world where magic is a common occurrence. Shape-shifting is one of those secrets to be kept firmly locked in the closet or face the Queen's werehunters and certain death. Still, historical events are recognizable as is the Victorian society with all its benefits and prejudices. Set against this backdrop, Hoyt builds characters the reader cares about and a plot with enough twists and turns to keep the reader turning the pages and wanting more. It's a nice change of pace to have characters who are flawed and who struggle to overcome their problems, not wallow in them. It's fun to watch the characters develop and grow over the course of the book, watching them make human mistakes and not be "Mary Sues" time and time again. All in all, if you love a good tale, or a good romance, or even just an alternate history, this is the book for you. For me, I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in the series to see how Mrs. Hoyt ties up the plot lines she's purposefully left hanging.

Her parents make Sofie Warington return from England to her home in India where she is to marry Raj Ajith of the Tiger Realm; he'll accept as her dowry a flawed ruby. British noble Peter Farewell is banished from his country when his father realized that he is a were-dragon; shape-shifters are killed in England because Queen Victoria believes they are abominations. Peter seeks the Soul of Fire ruby, the stone used by Charlemagne to bind all magic in Europe to him and his descendants. Nigel has its twin the Heart of Light; Peter plans to give the ruby to Nigel once he finds it. Nigel will then take it back to its rightful place in Africa. He knows the cost of failure is the world will continue to split apart until it destroys itself. While flying, Peter sees Sofie falling from her balcony as she escapes from her parents and her fiance who demand she marry now. When Peter reveals his identity to her, she feels safe with him although the Tigers pursue them to capture her and the ruby; which is with her servant; they want the stone, the woman, and the magic bound to India in order to toss the British out; whereas Peter believes if the Tigers succeed, the world will end. SOUL OF FIRE, the companion piece to THE HEART OF LIGHT is a wonderful urban fantasy on an alternate earth where magic works and shapeshifters exist. In India shapeshifters are accepted while in England they are hunted. Thus Peter is tormented as his native land wants him dead and a nation that would accept his duality would let him live if he gave up his beloved and the ruby. Fans will appreciate his dilemma as exile is not what he covets until he meets his Sofie, who gives him the personal reason to complete his quest. Harriet Klausner