Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris
Ace Fantasy
Copyright: 1995
0441003044
According to the back of the book:
An ancient order reawakens. A modern evil returns...As usual with the Adept series, the back of the book is rather over dramatic. Especially so for this book.
Deep within a sea cave, sacred texts of the black arts have been recovered from the corroded hulk of a World War II German submarine. Within these pages lies the power to spwan a new, demonic Third Reich - and make Aryan world conquest a terrifying reality. Now they rest in the hands of the Phurba, a vile Dagger Cult older than Christianity itself.
Only Adam Sincalir can prevent the deadly blades of the Phurba from piercing the heart of humanity. Only he can quell the darkness that lives in
Dagger Magic
Dagger Magic is the fourth book in the series. The other books are The Adept, The Adept: The Lodge of the Lynx, The Adept: The Templar Treasure and Death of the Adept. There's also Lammas Night, short stories in two anthologies, The Temple and the Stone and The Temple and the Crown set in the same world.
The authors did something new for this series with this book: they split the storyline. The book starts with the event that will set off the mystery, the death of two Irish Fisheries officers, then moves to Peregrine's wedding reception where things start to be set up for the rest of the story. There's the main line which starts with Peregrine and Julia on their honeymoon. That one starts with the two of them discovering a dead body washed up on the beach. However, there are some hints that come earlier of another plotline where there are a mysterious series of accidents happening along a particular road. I don't want to go into detail lest I spoil the book though. Either way, the two combine to make a book that's twice the size of any of the previous three volumes in the series.
As I said with the previous books in the series, I think it would be neat to have visited Scotland, as the author has thrown in little details that would make it easier to see the places described if I'd already seen them. It's something I've noticed when I've read books that show places I've been, there's just that little extra bit of enjoyment there when something you've seen is well described.
The cover of this book, I found when I was reading it this time can be rather off-putting to anyone around you. It stars a rather gruesome dagger and the Nazi swastika on a vivid red background. I found passers by asking what I was reading, mostly I think, through disapproval of the cover being in a public place. Funnily enough, it's never bothered me. Neither has the cover of Lammas Night, which is similar in layout and subject.
I wish I knew of books with a similar style to this series as I keep reading and re-reading it, enjoying it more each time.
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