The Myth Manifestation / Lisa Shearin

The Myth Manifestation by Lisa Shearin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

2020 Re-Read

First SPI self-published volume. I'm happy that the same cover illustrator continued on. Julie Dillon outdid herself with this cover. Even if I didn't know the series, I would have bought the book based on that artwork! It probably would have been more suited to the previous volume with its Formorans & tentacle beasts, but its still awesome.

Plenty of plots and supernatural creatures to go around in this installment. Vivienne is back in her dragon glory this time around, ruling over a supernatural summit. Circumstances shut out her formidable vampire lawyer, Alain Moreau, this outing. I miss him when he's not included! On the plus side, the Viking team comes to town to assist with security. They are always fun.

Not all authors can manage to tie their series together as neatly as Shearin does in this book. It's a natural fit, not requiring too much massaging of the previously written material. Achieved with her trademark humour.

So far, Shearin seems to be committed to continuing this series, for which I am a grateful fan.


ORIGINAL REVIEW

I’m still enjoying this series--there’s plenty of action in each book, but somehow the overarching plot line moves along very, very slowly. But this seems to be a Shearin thing, as her Raine Benares series is exactly the same in this regard.

Speaking of the Raine Benares series, this is the volume where the two series come together. One of Raine’s piratical relatives shows up as a diplomat here in Mackenna’s universe and Mac’s goblin love interest, Rake, turns out to be a cousin of Raine’s one-time love interest, Tam.

I’m not entirely sure, but it seems that Shearin has had to publish this book (and later volumes of Raine Benares) as an independent, rather than with a traditional publisher. My public library wouldn’t order this volume, because their policy is to only purchase from traditional publishers, so I had to put out my own cash for this adventure. Not a big deal, since I’ve purchased the entire series, but it makes me a bit sad that people who depend on the library can’t continue on.

I think I’m safe in saying that if you liked previous volumes of the SPI Files, you will also enjoy this one. If I have any critique, it’s that I didn’t get nearly enough of Mac’s partner, Ian, in this volume. The Mac-Ian show has been entertaining and I’m sorry it got short shrift in this outing. I’m also a little disappointed with Rake, who seems to be going all ooey-gooey good guy. Where is the dark mage that Mackenna fell for in the first books?

Despite these concerns, I don’t think there’s any doubt that I will put out the money for the next volume!

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