Customer Reviews

Forbidden City (Rogue Angel, Book 5)

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Another installment in the adventures of Annja Creed. Annja is up to her neck in murder, mystery and mayhem again, this time from California's gold rush ghost town to the desert of Eastern China.
Annja is asked by Huangfu Cao to help find the remains of a Chinese immigrant who was murdered in Volcanoville, a gold rush shanty town in the hills around San Francisco.
Cao claims he is searching for the remains of an ancestor to return him home for burial. Annja agrees to help, because that ancestor happened to own an ancient plaque carved by the Scythian people thousands of years ago. When Annja finds the plaque she is targeted for murder by Cao. It seems no one is what they seem.
Huangfu Cao fails to kill her, leading to a chase through the forested hills. Annja'a knack for survival, not to mention the Sword of Joan of Arc, keep her alive an one step ahead of death. Annja escapes the killers and is rescued by park rangers.
The police try to protect her, but fail and she loses the plaque, but our girl is smart, she took pictures. Her investigation leads her to a local historian who knows something about the plaque and its curse.
No good Rogue Angel story is complete without Roux, who puts in an appearance. He wants the plaque also. The plaque is the key to an ancient city in China, the City of Thieves. The City of Thieves was home to a group of assassins that worked for the ancient Emperor of China, Qin. Qin fought and won wars and eventually forged the nation that is now China. He was a great warrior, who had the services of these assassins and their leader, Sha Wu Ying.
Sha Wu Ying betrayed Qin, but in doing so, led to his own destruction. His cabal of assassins died with him and the City of Thieves disappeared into history and mythology. Enough hints have survived that can lead back to the treasure of the thieves and Cao works for a ruthless Chinese crime lord, Ngai, that wants that treasure for himself. Roux wants the treasure also, but only to keep another mystic talisman from falling into Garin's hands. Garin aligns himself with Ngai and the hunt is on.
Another new character is Kelly Swan. Kelly is the daughter of a poor Chinese fisherman who is murdered by Ngai and she is out for revenge. Lucky for her, she is a CIA trained assassin who has the skills and drive to go for it. Her character is interesting. Interesting enough to warrant her own book or at least further appearances in the Rogue Angel series.
The only negative comment I have is the cover. It is spectacular artwork, but it shows Annja submerged in water, her head and sword barely peaking above the surface. But nowhere in the book is there a scene like that. As a matter of fact, the climax of the book is in a desert! Other than that one little thing, I loved the book. Good job,Alex.

"Rogue Angel: Forbidden City" is a brisk, no-nonsense adventure and mystery double play. It's got everything you expect from the Rogue Angel franchise and whole lot more.

The action in the first sixty pages is some of the best in the Rogue Angel series. It starts with a bump in ancient China and sweeps on to forested goldfields of California. There is a host of bad guys, dazzling chase sequences, and the flashing sword of Saint Joan of Arc, and that is just for starters. The rest of the story is a compelling turn toward adventure and mystery. With a strange heirloom belt plaque as a guide, Annja unravels a mystery that leads her beyond the Silk Road in search of a lost treasure city that was built by assassins and thieves ages ago.

"Forbidden City" explores a theme of possibility and the likelihood of change. China, with its thousands of years of tradition and current headlong plunge into modernity, is the perfect canvas for the story. When the clues don't make sense, the pitch of battle sharpens to a razors edge, and events turn their darkest, Annja is forced to grow as a character. This isn't a teaser, this is meaty and substantial. Then Annja allies with Kelly Swan, a trained assassin on a mission to even the score with those who murdered her father. Kelly is so richly drawn that she's a perfect counterweight to Annja. Kelly is a character fully deserving of a spin-off novel of her own.

For the first time since the beginning of the Rogue Angel franchise, we really dig into the inner workings of Roux and Garin Braden. The theme rings true even in the smallest details when Garin partners with the villain. While bowing only once to its own mythology, this story very cleverly does more than has ever been done before to deepen and broaden its principal characters. Alex Archer's commitment to plain prose drives this point home and makes this story a fast, fun read.

The greatest strength of this story is in its telling. The pacing is spot on. The author's expert use of action and language makes this a fun read for all readers. Highly recommended!

It seemed like a great job offer. Archeologist Annja Creed takes some time off of her TV career to help a Chinese businessman look for the bones of his relatives who were lost in a racist incident during the California Gold Rush. When she discovers bones--along with an ancient artifact, though, Annja's client attempts to kill her. Annja doesn't think the bones are worth that fuss--which means that the artifact--something that appears to be of Sythian design, must be important.

Annja is not unfamiliar with important artifacts. She is the current carrier of a sword which once belonged to Joan of Arc. This weapon has the handy ability to be summoned from thin air--useful if you're being attacked, which Annja frequently is.

The Chinese gangster looking for the artifact is also seeking other clues--clues that might lead him to the rediscovery of an ancient city of assassins along the silk road in China. This lost city may be full of treasures, but it may also be subject to ancient curses, including the curse of the Fox Spirit Woman. What he doesn't realize is that he's stirring up a lot of trouble. Annja is a lot more dangerous than he'd anticipated and he also makes an enemy of a Chinese-American CIA assassin. But making an enemy out of Annja comes with one positive result--from his perspective. Annja has powerful enemies including a man who fears his immortality is threatened by Annja's sword.

Author Alex Archer continues his ROGUE ANGEL series with an exciting thriller. CIA Assassin Kelly Swan is an intriguing new character to the series--one I hope we see more of in the future, and the Chinese setting and the Chinese legends underlying this investigation give the story an exotic feel--but also remind us of race problems in American history--problems that are too-frequently ignored in popular history books.

I've found the ROGUE ANGEL series to be of consistently high quality and FORBIDDEN CITY is definitely a welcome addition. If you enjoy kick-butt female protagonists, non-stop action, magic, exotic locations, and powerful shadowy underworld villains (and who doesn't), you'll definitely want to grab FORBIDDEN CITY.

I was a little disappointed in this one. I have been following the series and find this one much less satisfying at the end.

Unfortunately, the books don't seem to build on one another aside from the premise of the sword (and even that is explained/summarized in every book to allow readers to jump in at any place in the series), so we'll never really know what tragedy was averted.

Escapist reading... it was enjoyable, just not as much as the others.

Nothing is ever easy with archaeologist Annja Creed. She sets out for a deserted Chinese mining town in California to help Huangfu Cao recover the bones of his ancestor while seeking an unusual belt depicting Scythian art. Soon she finds herself embroiled in a deep archaeological mystery with roots in China. When Roux joins in on the search, Annja realizes that the stakes are much higher than a mere belt. Annja's most recent adventure may be her deadliest one yet.

Rogue Angel is a series that only deepens with each ensuing book. FORBIDDEN CITY takes readers into the heart of Chinese mythology and history. Once again, the history is provided through a series of flashbacks, internet postings, and dialogue between the characters, all of which makes the complexity of the storyline much more palatable than one would expect. Normally, one would not expect a story about Chinese miners to be entertaining but when you throw in assassins and a possible treasure, well, what more can you ask for?

The strength of the Rogue Angel series rests solely on the phenomenal combination of action and superb character development. Annja's role as a modern day Joan of Arc continues to take some unusual twists and turns as new revelations are made in the relationship between Annja, Roux, and Garin. Kelly Swan is a fantastic secondary character and one hopes she makes a reappearance in future Rogue Angel books.

FORBIDDEN CITY is another powerful addition to what is quickly becoming one of my favorite series. Annja Creed is an almost superhero-like female heroine but yet she manages to remain likeable and realistic, despite being the reincarnation of Joan of Arc. FORBIDDEN CITY is one thrill-packed adventure in this highly addictive series!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Was a good fast pace book. It gets confusing at times who the person in the book is. Hard to put down to go to bed. Good Readin type is a bit small.

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

A CK2S K2 Recommended Read!

Annja Creed is working a dig in California to find an old gold mining camp but uncovers the greatest mystery she's faced yet. A discovery of an ancient belt plaque that shouldn't exist sets off an attack, nearly killing Annja. Now she's trying to find the connection these miners had to an ancient legend about Forbidden City of Thieves in the deserts of China.

Annja is off to China, with ally Roux at her side to find the answers. With enemies from all directions, Annja must find the answers before they all end up dead. What does the belt plaque mean and why are one band of assassins and another assassin working alone interested?

While Forbidden City seems to start out a bit slower than other books in the series, don't let that fool you. It picks up pretty quickly and we are on an ever-changing road to answers. We have another brief lull, more like the calm before the storm, later in the book that is giving us a chance to catch our collective breath before taking us forward to the explosive final battle. We also get to meet still more compelling characters in the Rogue Angel saga, one in particular who especially stands out and deserves more attention, hopefully in future books.

Roux and Garen are two favorite characters of mine and I am always disappointed if they don't put in an appearance in the books. Here they not only show up, but have significant roles to play with just heightened my enjoyment of the story. Since they are so highly visible in this story, it's especially exciting to finally get a little bit more background on these two mysterious people. We also have some answers at last to a few questions about their significance in Annja's life now that she has Joan of Arc's sword.

Two of my absolute favorite aspects of the Rogue Angel series are the history and mythology surrounding whatever artifact Annja is searching for or has found. This adds such a different twist to the stories when we can learn, in a fun and aventurous way, all about ancient legends in a variety of cultures and time periods. These tidbits are always fascinating to me and make me wish I knew more about them. The descriptions are so vivid that I could see the desert city in my mind it is was incredible!

I love the Rogue Angel series and Forbidden City is another wonderfully exciting installment in the life and times of Annja Creed, modern crusader. I hope the series continues for a long time to come.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, November 2008. All rights reserved.

This is one of my favorite books in the series. The historical aspect of the Chinese culture alone makes this an enjoyable book. The plots for the Rogue Angel series are routine, but what sets each apart are the historical and mythical aspects of the books. I am not going to go into details of the plot since others have done this so well. In Forbidden City, a new character is introduced, Kelly, a Chinese woman with some deep issues and a kick butt personality of her own. Great new character and I hope she will be around again. You would think that with so many plots and interlocking storylines, the book would get convoluted, but Archer handles them with ease without me ever feeling lost.

I know I am not alone in thinking these books would make a great movie series. A woman who can hold her own, fight like a fiend and still have compassion and caring for others. WOW!

I know I've found a gem of a book when I start turning down pages so I can investigate the information contained within the book i.e. Emperor Qin's death, City of Sand, RazorClaws gang, Chinese history in American/California gold-mining towns. If a book is fiction, based on real historical events, it make me want to find out more. I think an author who stokes curiousity in the reader enough to motivate them to research further is considered a success in my book. Almost all of the Rogue Angel books have this effect on me.

Update - Just found Alex Archer is a pseudonym used by the publisher, but the books are written by various authors. This explains why so many of the books are uneven and made me wonder why Annja's personality and actions seemed in variance to the original book.

Definitely would recommend this book.

I really like this series. Annja Creed is a fascinating character. I won't go into the plot or backstory - plenty of other reviewers have done that much better than I could. The stories are fast paced; the characters are well drawn and believable; the history has been well researched (or at least seems that way!) The understanding of martial arts is great - I've studied a version that has a very similar philosophy about body mechanics that Annja uses.

This is fun escapist lit. I hope the rest of the series is as much fun as the first 4 books.

I fell behind in this series but have picked it up again. When people see the nams Forbidden City and China together they tend to think of things other than thos in this book. Annja has decided to help a Chinese man find out if an ancestor was murdered in the old West. Annja talents as an archeologist are put to good use and she soon discovers the right location. One of the things recovered on the dig is a belt plaque that Annja thinks could help prove a pet theory. Unfortunately for her the dig is a sham and everyone wants the artifact. Meanwhile in China a young woman is returning to see her father after too many years. She arrives just in tome to find that he has been murdered. She vows vengeance on those that killed her father. The belt plaque seems very important to many people. Even Roux and Garin get involved on opposite sides as they have motives of their own.

The artifact may have the clues to find a city lost in the deserts of China. Once known as the City of Thieves there should be large amounts of treasure to any who find it. But is there more than treasure in the old city? Surely Roux and Garin would not go to such leangths for mere wealth. You will have to read the book to find out what it is all about.

This is a very well-crafted tale. Multiple plots are woven together seamlessly. The action is fast and wild. It was good to see Roux back as more than just a cameo. Kelly, the young Chinese woman, is a wonderful character and I hope we see more of her in future volumes. All in all I found this to be the best volume in the series to date. Check it out.