Customer Reviews

City of Souls (Sign of the Zodiac, Book 4)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

City of Souls, the latest in the Signs of the Zodiac series, is the best in the series to date. I can't wait for the next installment because "J'Olivia" has pretty much hit rock bottom here and I'm wondering what she's going to do to climb back out. The concept of Midheaven is intriguing and I loved that we got more of a glimpse into it in this book. I know there are lots of folks out there wanting a Hunter/J'Olivia HEA at the end of the series but this is UF (and dark UF, at that)so there's no guarantee of that. And, quite frankly, I'm okay with it. This book shows that even super heroes, no matter how 'super' they are, they're still human with very real human flaws in their make-up. Vicki's writing has improved with each book and the plot twists have me guessing at what else could possibly happen before Jo snaps.Throughout the series I've come to love to hate some of the characters (Reagan and Warren) and at the same time hold out hope that others will do the right thing (Hunter and Jo; even Warren). The ending was gut-wrenching and although I felt a sense of betrayal in one of the characters, I hated that I was at the end because I wanted this character to be able to redeem themselves. I don't want to have to wait till next year to read what happens next. You can be sure that come release day, I'll be there with bells on (and money in hand) to snatch up book 5! You rock, Vick!

Miki

This is the 4th book in the Signs of the Zodiac series by Vicki Pettersson. It was my least favorite book in the series so far. Joanna is confused and is running around not accomplishing a whole lot for most of the book.

Joanna broke her changeling in the last book and because of that the Manuals of Light can't be written and the Light agents have lost all their safe zones. Needless to say the Agents of Light are in serious trouble. Warren tells Joanna that she better fix it ASAP and hints that Joanna will find her answers in Midland and that she should find the new tulpa (her doppelganger from the last book).

First for the good stuff. It was cool to learn more about Midland. It was also nice to have the doppelganger involved more. A lot of the plot elements relating to how the changelings affect the Agents' powers were really interesting.

Joanna screws up a lot in this book. Those who thought she was changing as a character in the third book will be disappointed. Even worse is the fact that many of the Agents of Light are not what they appear to be. By the end of the book I felt like there were no Agents of Light. I thought many of the characters acted very out of character; there weren't really any characters that I liked by the end of the book. The deal with Joanna and Hunter was kind of whacked; I can't say more without revealing spoilers. Also I thought it was odd how Joanna is trying to convincingly play Olivia's lifestyle in the beginning of the book but then she (kind of) forgets about being Olivia. There were some small parts where she has to "act like" Olivia; but there aren't really any repercussions for her walking out on the bachelorette party in the beginning or of her doing any other un-Olivia actions. There is one spoiler I need to address cause it irritated the heck out of me so...

SPOILER START-------------------------------------------
What was with the amount of time spent on Joanna losing pieces of her soul and powers? It seemed like it was going to play a really important part in the story; like getting her powers back was going to be a major plot point. Then at the end of the book she looses all of her powers. Well then what was the point of angsting over some small power loss. The only thing I can think of is that now she can go and get the lost power back or something like that. The way the book ended really made me wonder if this is the last book in the series.

Okay, I need to comment about Hunter and Warren too. Hunter was such a sincere character, what was the point of having him do a complete 180? Also what was the point of Warren aiding this whole twisted set-up?
SPOILER END----------------------------------------------

So overall I though the book was okay. Some of the plot line was interesting and the plot definitely twists and turns enough to keep your mind engaged (or at times just plan confused). The characters don't really act like themselves and the bizarre end to the book leaves you wondering if there will be anymore books in the series. Kind of a disappointing book but still kept my interest.

J'Olivia is stubborn, but strong.... she doesn't always make the best choices and in the past I have often found myself yelling at her in my head. She has grown as a person and character over the last 4 books and I can't wait to see where she ends up after book 5. I adore Hunter as a character, even with his flaws as considerable as they are - they make him real. (After reading this book you MUST read the short story Dark Matters from the Unbound anthology). Great strides and great setbacks in the relationship between Jolivia and Hunter in this installment. I am holding out hope for a Happy Ever After for the two of them, but being the dark urban fantasy that I consider this to be I realize it may not be possible. This book takes us through trust, betrayal, love, friendship, and more. I think it is easily my favorite of the series because of the emotional blow it deals to Jo. I look forward to where she can go from here.... She isn't a quitter. Somehow, Vicki Pettersson has the amazing ability to tear your heart out and leave you wanting more.

this series is my favorite hands down! i have been reading daily and voraciously for about the past 10 years, and it takes a lot to really make me sit up and want to say "wow.". after looking at all the negative reviews left on this fourth installment i felt i had to leave a positive one. honestly, i have no idea how anyone could rate this book below 4 stars. i find that after the first few books in a series, it generally starts to lose it's appeal, there are no surprises left, and nothing really keeps me excited because the story line just seems to fade out. like the first book, this new installment knocked me on my ass. such a great read, and the story was nothing i had been expecting and i love that! it's so fresh, unique, intriguing and creative. ms. pettersson really out did herself, and she only seems to get better with each book. some reviewers didn't like the way she ended this fourth novel, but it makes perfect sense. the end is a beginning, and i can't wait to meet Zoe in Cheat the Grave and see what becomes of Joanna, the troop, Midheaven, etc etc etc. the series is nothing like you've ever read before, and City of Souls is amazing.

you've outdone yourself ms. pettersson, and i don't know how i'll make it a whole year for the 5th book. excellent writing, excellent characters and character development, excellent pacing, excellent everything. the only thing that would make me happier about her zodiac series is if HBO picked it up and turned it into a tv series a la True Blood.

While I've liked the first few books in the series, I'll admit... the charm has begun to wane for me. The general idea of the series has been done before, but it had been a while since I'd seen anyone do it with a zodiac spin to it. Unfortunately this book has killed off a lot of the series' charm for me.

As you know, Joanna has caused her changeling harm that can't be healed in the last book. This means no more Manuals of Light for the good guys, which means that the Agents of Light are at a *serious* disadvantage. Joanna has to figure out a way to fix her changeling & restore the balance... but unfortunately some nasty changes are about to happen.

I don't mind a bit of "kick the character around", but that seemed to be all this book was really about. Joanna reverts back to her old form of being standoffish & distant from the other characters, which was a bit frustrating for me. Plus as others have said, Joanna keeps forgetting that she has to act like Olivia, which wouldn't be an irritating thing if the author had addressed that. (Maybe people will finally start asking questions in the next book?)

The bottom line is that while I'm willing to give this series another chance with the next book, I'm just irritated that Joanna's character hasn't grown any. Maybe the events at the end of this book will change that, maybe they won't. I'm not asking her to turn into someone completely different, but a little growing would be nice.

If you've followed the series this far, you might want to check this out from the library before plunking money down on a purchase. If you haven't read the series at all, don't start here. You won't know what is going on.

I highly recommend you read this series in order (The Scent of Shadows The First Sign of the Zodiac, The Taste of Night The Second Sign of the Zodiac and The Touch of Twilight, The Third Sign of the Zodiac and also Vicki's short story in the anthology Unbound) before tackling this book.

One thing I can say for this book....it was in no way predictable. This installment had so many twists, turns and surprises I couldn't put it down. If you are a Sign of the Zodiac fan, this is a must read! Joanna has most level-headedness and maturity in this book, than the past books combined.
Joanna Archer is a survivor; chaos reigns in Jo's life and she thrives off of it. However, this chaos is at the expense of everyone who depends on her.

The changelings are still broken. Without having a changeling to record the Agents in the manuals and the lack of belief and imagination to refuel their existence is, causing The Agents of Light to weaken significantly.

Although the doppelganger, Skamar, is no longer trying to rip out Jo's heart and eat it, Skamar is still ineffectual at defeating the Tulpa. The more power the Tulpa and Skamar both expend by battling each other is shifting the environment off balance. The energy they expend must be reabsorbed into the universe or reused but it's just hanging out waiting to be claimed.

To find the solutions to her many problems, Jo crosses over to a neither here nor there reality, an alternate world called Mid-Heaven. The Agents of Light are unraveling and the stakes are high for Jo. The price for the journey to find the answers she seeks may cost be Jo's her soul.

The concept of this whole series just blows me a way. The clever world building of Mid-heaven was ingenious. If you are looking for a break from the usual vampires, weres, witches, fae, demons (although I love my fae and demons) then give this series a try. This series is creative, original, action-packed, exciting and innovative. I highly recommend this book and series to dark urban fantasy readers and I can't wait for the next book in this series Cheat the Grave due out 6/8/2010.

I also recommend:
On the Edge (The Edge, Book 1)
Awaken Me Darkly (Alien Huntress, Book 1)
They Call Me Death
Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1)
Dark Time: Mortal Path Book 1

For everyone talking as if this is the last book, a quick look at Vicki Petterson's website confirms that at least 2 more books have been slated in the series (Cheat the Grave comes out summer 2010). Of course it would be a bad series-ender, but as a game-changing installment, City of Souls was excellent. There were a lot of reveals, which was really nice after several books hinting at behind the scenes goings-on. There was also some hearty character development going on for several zodiac members. There were some times when I wished the surprises had been a bit more fleshed out, but that would be my only complaint. Really, I think a lot of people's complaints with this book come from thinking it was the last one. Instead, I suspect this is a case of tear the heroine down so you can build her up stronger in the next books. With Jo's acting invincible many times in the first 3 and getting herself and others into trouble for it, something like the events of book 4 were bound to happen eventually.

Great twists, great plot, great characters. Can't wait for next summer!

This book. Wow, this book. If you read the other reviews of it on Amazon, you will see that it was very polarizing: you either loved it or you hated it.

I kind of hated it.

The whole thing with trying to fix Jasmine - why couldn't that have been wrapped up in the last book?

The freaky weirdness of Midheaven. Time stands still there and let me tell you, it stood still while I was reading that part, too. I can see where Pettersson was heading and what she was trying to do, but it flopped in terms of reading it.

The whole thing with Hunter. Hmmmm.

Suzanne and Cher provide comic relief again. More people are found to be who they're not. And the Tulpa, who is so scary to everyone, continues to let Joanna live.

I think it's still an important book to read for the series, but you might hate yourself for doing it.

This series just keeps getting better and better! This book is imaginative and fun. It has plot twists that will keep you guessing and have you begging for more. Urban fantasy books are flooding the market and Vicki Pettersson has created a world that is unique and fascinating. Her heroine Jo Archer is tragically heroic as she battles Shadows and her own agents of Light to find her right path. And City of Souls opens up a whole new world called the Midheaven that will boggle your mind. Try these books. You won't be sorry!!

CITY OF SOULS is the kind of book that grabs a hold of your emotions and refuses to let go. Vicki Pettersson's hero, Joanna Archer,(a superhero) is one tough chick who takes all that's thrown at her and throws it right back in a way that we all wish we could. With twists and turns and gut-wrenching emotional scenes, this is Pettersson's BEST BOOK YET. She puts Jo through hell (a place called Midheaven, actually) and back, and at the climax, Jo is faced with making a sacrifice that will show just how human a superhero can be and will shock you to your own core.

If you like dark fantasy with violence sex and gore, and haven't started this series yet, then you need to start it NOW. The writing is fantastic and Pettersson will surprise you at every turn, keep you up WAY past your bedtime, and leave you hungry for more.

This book is the best one yet in an already great series!