I’m back to catching up on series I’ve already begun, so this is one of those neat spin off novellas/short stories that crop up nowadays, since the advent of the ebook, and the freedom to publish a book, whatever its size. Yay!
THE MERCENARY is a prequel to Elicia Hyder’s Soul Summoner series, currently standing at 6 novels plus 2 shorts, all of which I have read and enjoyed immensely.
So, without further ado, here is my review of the latest, which can be read as a standalone intro to the series.
The Mercenary: A Warren Parish Story by Elicia Hyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sergeant Warren Parish is a dangerous man, and not just because he’s a soldier with super sharp instincts and great aim. He has other – abilities. Abilities even he can’t explain.
How is it he can tell, just by looking at someone, whether they are good or evil? How many kills they have under their belts? How many dead bodies are around an area, even when they’re out of immediate eye line?
And thank goodness he’s worked out that his presence near injured men only makes them worse.
Warren can’t explain what he does, but he’s hellbent on using his talents on their latest mission in Iraq, to help his unit recover one of their own after the enemy seize him during a raid. But life gets more complicated when civilian security contractors, Claymore, get involved. It isn’t just that the military don’t like working with civilians, but this crew includes a woman: Fury – a hot, capable and very deadly woman.
I love the series this book supports. Warren is one of the main characters in The Soul Summoner series, and this spin off fills in some of his background – most notably, how he first encounters Fury. The military jargon sounds spot on, and yet easy to follow for someone who had only come across it in American films and TV series.
We see how efficient Warren is at his job, how strong his bond is with his brothers in arms, and how confused, yet accepting, he is about his freaky abilities. His reactions, as a male in a warzone, to Fury’s appearance in a place no woman should be, rang true: angry that she’s there in the first place, distracting men with her feminine figure and smell, mixed with the lust of a sex-starved male for the ultimate hot female fighting machine.
This is a short novella length story that stands well on its own but is ultimately a companion piece to the main series. Like the rest, well written, with great characterisation and dialogue, and just that hint of the paranormal, like the earliest in the series.
If you’ve read the Soul Summoner books, you should read this one too. If you haven’t, and you like paranormal stories about angels and demons, then I strongly suggest you try them out.
Find THE MERCENARY HERE
You can find my review of Book #1 in this series, THE SOUL SUMMONER HERE
Or take a look at it on Amazon HERE
deborahjay 