Specters of the Dawn

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. On one hand I've gotten used to Swann's excesive conspiracy plot lines, even if they are kinda tiresome at times, but out of all the Moreau books this one gives itself the most breathing room, slowly building up to the chaos instead of throwing the characters into the fire right away.The story centers on Angel, the rabbit ex-gangbanger from the first book. She's moved to San Fransico and started a normal life. Then one day she meets Byron, a fox. If I had to pick my favorite portion of the entire Moreau series it would be from this book, pages 16 to 29, Byron's entire presence, esentially one scene. What can I say about him? He's sleek, sexy, sweet, has all the right moves, seems very humble yet extremely confident. He's like James Bond without the swagger and just the charm. It's as if the word "debonair" had been created just for him. It's easy to see why Angel could fall for him. If I was a girl I'd fall for him too. Hell, I practically fell for him anyway. I just loved Byron's character. And his brief passage apexes with the sweetest, most romantic, sexiest love scene I've ever read.And then he's killed. I'm not giving anything away, his death is what set's the story in motion. This is where the "hate" section of my Love-Hate relationship begins. I love the whole moreau concept and characters. The action and intensity and everything that comes with it, but the price that comes with that is that there are so few characters that are likeable and even fewer that you get to know. I fell in love with Byron so much that I think I was more heartbroken than Angel when he died.As Angel investigates Byron's death, dangerous things start to hapen all around her. If you've read a Moreau book, you know the drill. I wanted this book to go into so many different directions than it did. I still liked it a lot. It was just as exciting as either of Nohar's adventures in most places, plus it had more breathing room for character development. It's just that I didn't like where some of the characters ended up (especially Byron, in more ways than one).This is a testament to Swann's writing ability. If he can make me fall in love with a character after a meer 14 pages and make it unforgetable, you know the guy's got tallent. It's just that the way he directs his tallent can be frustrating. This book has more closure than most of the other Moreau books, but some things still apear cloudy and needed to be resolved.I recomend this book to anyone who likes cool, action heavy sci-fi with a furry twist, but prepare to be heartbroken.

Let's see. We've got a foul-mouthed, Spanish speaking,anthropomorphic rabbit, a hypocritical politician, a burn-out, psychocop, a Japanese techno-hacker, and let's not forget those aliens- allset in a near future where genetically engineered animals are the norm. Swann delivers some truly unique and entertaining stuff!The story is set in a futuristic but recognizable San Francisco and follows the exploits of Angelica, an anthropomorphic rabbit of South American extraction. Her kind were bred for lightning fast speed and used as light infantry in one of the wars used as background in the book. It turns out that Angelica is the running buddy of everyone's favorite butt-kicking tiger- Nohar Rajasthan. Angelica's working as a waitress in a dive run by an even crappier human, and one day runs afoul of some customers. A sly, debonair fox with a big gun comes to the rescue, and one thing leads to another, and Angelica is suddenly imagining what the kids will look like. Then suddenly, the fox is killed under gruesome and mysterious circumstances, and Angelica is determined to find out who killed him, and why.The book is a combination of mystery and action, with some thrills and aliens thrown in to boot. Contrary to all logic, Swann makes it work, and throws in some compelling characters and humor too. The plot twists and the action will keep you turning the pages, and the ending will catch you totally off guard.This book, though not nearly as good as Forests of the Night or Fearful Symmetries (no one compares to Nohar and his trusty Vind), has some interesting moments. It will entertain fans of action, mystery and sci-fi simultaneously. If you can however, read Forests of the Night first to get some background on Angelica, then read this book.Find a quiet place, a nice chair, a good drink, and sit back and enjoy this one slowly- Angelica will grow on you and eventually, you'll cheer her on. END