I Said I Want The Knife … Please: Seressia Glass’ Shadow Blade

When her academic resource from London flies to Atlanta to bring Kira Solomon an artifact to appraise, she is glad to see her old chum. Bernie Comstock is a funny, smart man who Kira would love to work with if she wasn’t already occupied with saving the world for her day job. The item he brings her is something special, a four thousand year old dagger, which is both magical and oddly aware.

Kira Solomon was born with a gift. Her hands are capable to affecting energies, giving her the opportunity to see psychic impressions. This talent makes her life hell, since she cannot touch other people without getting flooded with impressions about who they are and what they’ve done while also possibly rendering the person she’s touched unconscious from the feedback.

The ancient weapon gives Kira plenty of impressions of its bloody history. For much of its span, the dagger has been in the possession of a single warrior, a bold, brawny, beautiful, and bloodthirsty man who has put men, women, and children into the ground. This is a weapon she will want a little more time looking into. It may well be an object of interest to the Gilead Commission, a supernatural hunting society she was raised to work for when her parents left her on their doorstep while she was just a young girl with no control of her powers.

When Bernie later turns up dead, slain by a powerful seeker demon and its summoner, Kira is soon on the warpath. She needs to keep the dagger out of the wrong hands, find the Shadow aligned bad guy, and levy justice upon him. Along the way, she has to deal with a nigh-immortal Nubian warrior, old man Nansee who is far more than the frail fellow he seems, a couple of former military civilians who want dearly to help (even if it means their own lives), and a section head who’s not necessarily looking out for Kira’s best interests. It sure isn’t easy being a Shadowchaser, a warrior of the Light.

Seressia Glass’s Shadow Blade is the first of three fantasy books following the adventures of kickassitude protagonist Kira Solomon. The novel first appeared in 2010 as a part of Pocket Books’ Juno imprint, a line dedicated to releasing dark fantasy and urban fantasy books. I reviewed several Juno books for the now defunct HorrorReader.com, back in the day. Shadow Blade is predominantly set in Atlanta, but it has feelers spread across the globe since the characters have gone a variety of places and have a global set of experiences. The cosmology is a rich one, with characters drawing divine patrons and alliances. Kira is tied to the Egyptian goddess of Truth, Ma’at. The Nubian warrior Khefar is a servant of Isis. The old man Nansee has deep connections with West African deities. This provides a rich tapestry from which to draw upon, and Glass uses this to add layers to the characters and their world.

On top of this, there’s the secret society angle. The Gilead Commission is very bureaucratic. Its members occupy an office building, wearing suits that make them look like the Men in Black. They have been operating for a long time, trying to keep the balance between the Light and Shadow, between Order and Chaos possibly since the early days of mankind. They’ve got the Shadowchasers in their back pockets, weapons against the worst that Shadow has to offer. However, Shadowchasers are notorious for their inherent disestablishmentarian outlooks—they are little fonts of Chaos all their own—so controlling people like Kira requires a light touch. This is not something current section head seems capable of but given some time and experience she might learn. And it doesn’t hurt that the supernatural heart and soul of this organization, a woman called Balm, views Kira as her own child …

And interacting with these sources of stress are only the beginning of Kira’s troubles. All evidence is pointing toward something big and bad coming to Atlanta, possibly one of the big deal agents of Shadow, fallen angels or gods who walk the earth thanks to mortal Avatars. If Kira is going to stand against such a power, she’s going to need worthwhile alliances. One of these has to be the Gilead Commission she is a part of. The others will be from unaligned individuals …

Kira is your typical type-A personality woman. She’s quick on her feet, pushes herself to excel, does not believe herself capable of failing, and has the magic and training to back up her words … mostly. When she gets in over her head, which is often, she can usually find her way out of trouble again. No wilting daisy, she’s got a battery of weapons, a cool ride, and a home base that plays to her many interests.

Khefar is Kira’s complement, an over-protective, old school warrior. He’s charismatic but not yet wise enough to keep his foot out of his mouth when he’s trying to give pointers. A sexy, savvy, and capable fighter, he’s also got an agenda relating to the blood he wrongfully shed some time back. In the final arc of a redemption cycle, his path has met up with Kira’s not from chance … but from fate.

Seressia Glass’ writes clean, uncluttered prose. She does both action and dialogue well, and the descriptions are evocative and play to all the senses. The tone of the book is surprisingly upbeat, despite the ticking clock of massive Big Bad doom incoming, Kira and Khefar’s relationship goes through a few phases of distrust, shaky ground, before achieving a proper coming together. Along the way, mistakes are made and assumptions turn up to bite each of them. Glass has a knack for drawing out humorous situations, particularly when she employs a secondary character to voice the observations we readers are already making. Nansee is a trickster through and through and is a terrific vehicle for these sorts of observations as are Wynne and Zoo, a couple of Kira’s friends.

There’s an positivity to the material that’s also well done, engaging. As cynical and damaged as Kira might seem, she’s nevertheless a character in search of connection. When she finally makes one with the most unexpected person, she is thrown for a loop, but she recognizes the opportunity for what it is. Glass spins a fun, sometimes sexy, sometimes eerie yarn.

Sometimes the stakes are a little too big for my preference. I’ve seen enough world threatening baddies in my reading life. Shadow Blade’s nemesis certainly fits the bill as a typical dark fantasy baddie, someone who could crush the world. Does it have to be that big? Not really. Plenty of drama can be wrung from smaller situations. For a first book, invoking one of the big gun Avatars seems a tad self-defeating—where are the characters going to go from here to top this adventure? I have full faith in Glass’ ability to spin an interesting yarn for the follow up books, however. This is more or less a personal qualm. The story as written is a fun one. I just wish it hadn’t felt the need to threaten the world right out the gate.

In the final analysis, Shadow Blade brings several well drawn characters into an engaging adventure with larger than life stakes and opponents. It evokes an effective and intriguing cosmology, from which allies and enemies can be drawn. However, it doesn’t skimp on the small, telling details to draw out these people’s humanity. All told, we get relatable characters worth empathizing with and cheering for pitted against some nasty evildoers. Glass’s novel is a fast paced page turner with plenty of heart and a feisty spirit.

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Shadow Blade is available in eBook, paperback, and audiobook editions.

We will return to Kira’s world with a look at the second novel, Shadow Chase, in two months’ time. It is available in eBook, paperback, and audiobook editions.

Next week, we take a look at an advance copy of Sarah Daniels’ The Stranded, a YA science fiction novel that melds future dystopia and generation ship sf ideas into a thrilling, intrigue-laden adventure. The book is available for pre-order in eBook, paperback, and hardcover editions.

WORKS CITED

Glass, Seressia. Shadow Blade. Juno Books. New York: 2010.

“I Said I Want The Knife … Please: Seressia Glass’ Shadow Blade” is copyright © 2022 by Daniel R. Robichaud. Cover image taken from the Juno Book paperback edition, released 2010.

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