Product Description

Fans of Kim Harrison and Laurell K. Hamilton won't want to miss this action-packed supernatural debut featuring a young woman who discovers she has the ability to detect evil and a perilous destiny as a member of the enigmatic Zodiac. Joanna Archer knows all about darkness. Raped at age 16, she's spent the last 9 years watching the dark side of humanity. By day she's an heiress and photographer in Vegas. By night she prowls the forsaken streets looking for revenge...and the chance to exorcise the demon within. Until a chance date turned horrific reveals a world beyond the bright lights and big action of Sin City - an otherworld filled with supernatural forces where Light and Dark war with each other. Only the brave members of the Zodiac - twelve men and women endowed with magical abilities - can keep evil at bay. And with a mysterious legacy from her mother and preternatural fighting skills, Joanna could be one of them...if she survives long enough. Because the demons are hunting Joanna, and the powers of darkness want her for their own.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #363415 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 464 pages

About the Author
After ten years with the Tropicana's Folies Bergere, Vegas native Vicki Pettersson traded in her sequins for a laptop. But she still knows all about what really happens behind the scenes in Sin City.

Customer Reviews

A rollicking good urban fantasy read
Where to begin because there is an awful lot packed into this book. Joanna Archer has a destiny of which she is unaware. Attacked at 16 and left for dead, she survived against all the odds. But unbeknownst to her time was still running out - now it's almost up. On her 25th birthday she'll be faced with a choice - live or die, fight for the light or the dark. Now as she discovers her family secrets and finds out who she is, she'll take her place in the Zodiac.

This is one of the best books I have read this year, combining superheroes and urban fantasy into an edgy, compulsive read. Joanna is a flawed heroine, she complains, she bitches and she's got a smart mouth, but she's human, she's real and you empathise with her. And when push comes to shove she gets on with it. It's the fact that she isn't perfect that makes her so interesting to read about. She has a duality, drawn to the light and the dark, and she acknowledges the part of herself that is frightening.

The other characters are equally interesting and well written - Olivia the perfect sister, Warren the mentor with a disturbing past of his own, Chandra the jealous initiate who feels Joanna has stolen her place. What lifts this story above others is the fact it's made clear that though you may be born to the light or dark Zodiac you still have a choice, you can change. Shades of grey are nearly always more interesting to read about than black and white.

Must quickly mention here the comic shop scene which is one of my favourites from the book (reminiscent of a similar scene from The Lost Boys movie). Joanna tries to find out about being a superhero (agent of the Zodiac) from the comic books that have been written about them (called manuals). Just a wonderfully written segment.

The story isn't perfect, after I finished the book it occurred to me that there were not necessarily plot inconsistencies but certainly confusions (though this could be a personal thing). Especially as regards who did and did not know who Joanna was, hopefully this will be made clearer in future books. But this is such a fantastic read that I don't really care too much and the first thing I did after I finished it was order book #2. Highly recommended.

Book #2 The Taste of Night (April 2007)
The Harvest - short story in Holidays are Hell (Nov 2007) featuring Joanna's mother.
Book #3 The Touch of Twilight

Book One. Excellent.
Every generation twelve men and women are born, raised, and trained to keep order in their part of the world. When all twelve positions are filled, there is peace and cosmic balance. Every major city in the world has a Zodiac troop, though the suburbs are patrolled by independents (rogue agents). Think of them as the paranormal police force.

Joanna and Olivia Archer maybe sisters, but they seemed to be complete opposites. Olivia is the socialite and favorite of their father, Xavier Archer. Xavier owns the casino-hotel Valhalla in Las Vegas. He represents the city's finest in business. Joanna's life has been rougher. Since she was attacked as a teen and left for dead, Joanna has turned to photography and the art of dirty street fighting. But everything changes on Joanna's twenty-fifth birthday. She dies.

The next day, Joanna learns that there is another world beyond the glamour of Sin City. Warriors of the Light and of the Shadow battle in an immortal war. The good news is that Joanna is The One, the first real sign of the zodiac. She is half Light and half Shadow. She may very well be the city's greatest warrior. The bad part is that she wants nothing to do with any of it.

***** Paranormal Romance gets no better than this! Author Vicki Pettersson actually gives life to her characters! My heart ached whenever Joanna grieved and I even gave out a loud "YES!" as she fought the Shadow Warriors. I was pulled into the story without even realizing it. I can hardly wait for the next installment of this bright new series! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Book 1. Excellent!
Every generation twelve men and women are born, raised, and trained to keep order in their part of the world. When all twelve positions are filled, there is peace and cosmic balance. Every major city in the world has a Zodiac troop, though the suburbs are patrolled by independents (rogue agents). Think of them as the paranormal police force.

Joanna and Olivia Archer maybe sisters, but they seemed to be complete opposites. Olivia is the socialite and favorite of their father, Xavier Archer. Xavier owns the casino-hotel Valhalla in Las Vegas. He represents the city's finest in business. Joanna's life has been rougher. Since she was attacked as a teen and left for dead, Joanna has turned to photography and the art of dirty street fighting. But everything changes on Joanna's twenty-fifth birthday. She dies.

The next day, Joanna learns that there is another world beyond the glamour of Sin City. Warriors of the Light and of the Shadow battle in an immortal war. The good news is that Joanna is The One, the first real sign of the zodiac. She is half Light and half Shadow. She may very well be the city's greatest warrior. The bad part is that she wants nothing to do with any of it.

***** Paranormal Romance gets no better than this! Author Vicki Pettersson actually gives life to her characters! My heart ached whenever Joanna grieved and I even gave out a loud "YES!" as she fought the Shadow Warriors. I was pulled into the story without even realizing it. I can hardly wait for the next installment of this bright new series! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.