A Rush of Wings: Book One of The Maker's Song (Paperback)

by Adrian Phoenix (Author)
Key Phrases: beer gut, shaded gaze, bondage collar, True Blood, New Orleans, Bad Seed (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Set in the brooding New Orleans area long established as the best location for all things vampiric, Phoenix's lively debut has it all: Rogue [FBI] agents, Bureau-ordered hits, mad-scientist experiments in psychopathology, vampires and fallen angels and a slicing-dicing serial killer. Smart, sexy FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace has been trying to catch the Cross-Country Killer for three years when the trail leads to New Orleans and Club Hell, where Dante Prejean performs with the Inferno, an industrial/goth rock band. Dante is a Cajun and a born vampire whose memories of his terrible past have been erased, leaving him vulnerable to the psychopathic killer, E, who knows all that Dante has forgotten. As E begins targeting Dante's loved ones, Heather must swallow her skepticism and work with Dante's vampiric friends and family to save him. Phoenix alternates romantic homages to gothdom and steamy blood-drinking threesomes with enough terse, fast-paced thriller scenes to satisfy even the most jaded fan. (Jan.)
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Review
"If you read only one debut novel this season, make it this one."
-- Kristine Kathryn Rusch

"A Rush of Wings is a dark, rich, sensual treat...Adrian Phoenix uses a perfect blend of suspense, romance, and lyrical prose to keep readers up until late, late at night turning the pages."
-- Jenna Black, author of Secrets in the Shadows

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (January 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416541446
• ISBN-13: 978-1416541448
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #565,018 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Maker's Song Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice Effort , January 8, 2008

By	Maigray - See all my reviews

I picked this up at the airport, and was immediately sucked in. So I bought it (despite the outrageous airport prices) and pretty much finished it off in the day I was traveling.

The first third of the novel is quite good: the crime, police involvement, the introduction of our two protagonists, as well as various other plotlines, are deftly woven in.

Both of the leads are about as cliched as they come; one gorgeous but determined police detective - check; one stunningly sexy, dark and mysterious vampire male - check. They are, at least initially, saved by the complexity of their backgrounds, characterizations and motives.

Unfortunately, about the second third of the book, things go downhill.

Heather Wallace is supposed to be an FBI profiler who is heading the investigation into an infamous serial killer - but damned if I can figure out why. I'm honestly not sure how a profiler is heading a case, instead of a detective; but the point is, she's not a field agent. So what she is doing hot-dogging it around solo is beyond me. It also becomes clear that she is far too young (and oh so coincidentally gorgeous) to be doing this job.

She makes several very stupid mistakes; her gun magazine is stolen and she doesn't even realize it; she walks into a fight with her purse; etc. There is also the fact that she hooks up with her main subject after two days; this despite knowing he is a possible pschopath.

As for Dante Prejean, he has a fascinating build-up. But he also makes some very stupid mistakes, at least one of which resulted in the person he was trying to save being killed. There's a definite angry teenager here rather than an actual adult, complete with massive amounts of melodrama and angst. It also cannot help but call into question even further Heather Wallace's judgement in getting involved with him.

The supporting characters are numerous and generally well fleshed out. I actually thought De Noir would have been far more attractive as the main male lead. His backround, history and involvement come out gradually, but are never fully explained. Also, fair warning to the reader; there are several strange terms he uses which require referral to the back of the book.

The last third of the book picks up again. But at this point, a lot of connection with the story has been lost. The author, I think, tried to take on too much for her first novel. But all the various subplots do come together and most questions are answered.

The characters do not impress you with their intelligence, and the book lacks in the realm of realism, originality and consistency. You can find reworkings of these themes in other novels and fanfiction all over the web. The melodrama is high, the romance is overdone, and the police procedural fizzles badly. But it's still very entertaining, fairly interesting, and has good charaterization. The writing is above average, and the author manages to hold onto the complex plot.

Bottom line; nice effort for a first time author. If you like Kim Harrison, Carrie Vaughn, Mary Janice Davidson, Tanya Huff and Karen Chance, then you'll want to check this out. It's a fairly solid addition to the genre, and holds promise for improvement.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...will have readers of urban fantasy begging for more, January 12, 2008

By	Mipster (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews

For the past three years, FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace has been on the trail of a sociopath serial killer known as the Cross Country Killer (aka the CCK) , but when a body turns up outside a local club, Heather follows the CCK's path of destruction straight into New Orleans and Hell itself.

Club Hell is New Orleans's popular Goth club for vampire wannabes. Because after all, everyone knows that there are no such things as real vampires. Right? The only problem with that theory is that at Club Hell, it's not only the wannabes that hangout there. Dante Prejean rules supreme at Club Hell. He's also the lead singer of the popular Goth band, Inferno, and his hordes of fans adore and worship him.

In an attempt to find out more about Dante, Heather begins to investigate his past, but things just don't add up. Dante has a juvie record a mile long, yet no social security number, no known birth date, and no license. It's almost like he doesn't exit, or so it would seem. To top things off is the mysterious man who always seems to be in Dante's shadow -- Lucian DeNoir. What exactly is his connection to Dante? Lover? Close friend? Something...more?

I loved this first book of Adrian Phoenix's as-yet-unnamed series. I found that not only was the chemistry between Dante and Heather sensual, but also profound. Due to Dante's horrendous upbringing and his subsequent inability to trust others, he's taken aback when he looks into the depths of Heather's eyes to find she is sincere in both her claim to not only want to protect him but also to befriend him. Having experienced a tragic loss of her own, Heather finds she can relate to Dante's pain.

It's not often that I find a character with such a tortured past as Dante's and I found myself aghast with what Dante has had to endure, yet filled with compassion and awe for his ability to move forward at all.

Adrian Phoenix hits the jackpot in her first full-length novel. A Rush of Wings is a very dark, gothic, and original tale that will no doubt have readers of urban fantasy begging for more. Unfortunately for us, book two will not be released in 2009. Regardless, I, for one, cannot wait to dive back into Dante and Heather's dark world.

Reviewed by Mippy Carlson
ParaNormal Romance Reviewer

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read--more, please!, February 29, 2008

By	Lupa (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

"A Rush of Wings" is Adrian Phoenix' first novel. I dearly hope it won't be her last.

Phoenix drops us right into New Orleans with a murder mystery-somebody is picking off local Goths, killing them in horrid ways, and leaving cryptic messages. Pretty straightforward, right? Toss in a strong-willed vampire/club owner/musician with an adoring following, a slightly confused FBI agent, and a host of original supporting characters, and the story starts to rise above the usual pulp. Have it written by a talented author who baits the reader with every page, and you have a recipe for a real page-turner.

One thing that I really admire about Phoenix's writing is her ability to make me care about her characters. The setting is nice, the plot is fast-paced, and she adds just the right amount of erotica to make it tasty, but without turning it into the overflogged vampire smut that's been going around. However, where Phoenix's strength really lies is in her character development and presentation. Her characters feel real, even the supernatural ones. They have believable flaws, and their interaction flows naturally, rather than feeling like a bad movie script. What really hit me, though, was now much I cared about what happened to them-when a couple of the supporting characters died, I felt sad, and I could get a good sense of the grief of those who cared about them. Phoenix evokes emotions like few others.

Her world-building skills are strong, too. I'm picky about my supernatural content. However, I was impressed by how she handled vampires, as well as other supernatural entities, and I'm hoping she continues to write in this world, because I'm curious as to how she'll develop it further. I think my only complaints are that she does fall into some patterns that have been done to (un)death. While she shows a totally different side to New Orleans than Anne Rice did, it's still-New Orleans. (With all the French undertones-why are vampires always French?) There's a vampire council that's alluded to a couple of times, though she doesn't put much development into it in this book. And her main vampire character isn't just a run of the mill vampire-he's a True Blood, a rarity (though he has enough flaws and believability to keep him from being a male Mary Sue). I realize it's kind of tough to write about vampires without hitting some of the modern conventions, though, and overall I think she did a good job of writing a really good vampire novel.

I'm very much looking forward to more from this author; if you want a good read to get you through a commute, plane trip, head cold, or other instance where you can let yourself sink into a good read, this is a good choice. It's got a lot of re-reading potential, too-I know I'll be coming back to it every now and then.

Four and a half out of five.