Cisco Suarez now has the distinction of starring in a completed story arc. Fire Water marks the end of the main story line. That’s 5 books for urban fantasy fans to devour and enjoy, with plenty of closure. Check the new one out:
Notice
I’m Cisco Suarez and this is the end of the line.I’ve been beaten, shackled, killed once or twice, but hey, who’s counting? I put my foot down at being lit up like a candle at my daughter’s tenth birthday party. Some things you take personal.
Revenge won’t be easy. The Miami voodoo underground turned on me. An uppity wizard cartel is creeping into my business. If that’s not enough, I keep seeing the same damn black cat everywhere I go. Talk about crummy luck.
None of it matters. I’ve got laser focus on my archenemy, a jinn with a knack for fire. News flash: I’m done being burned. Connor Hatch is going down for good, even if I have to drag him to hell myself.
8 comments
Skip to comment form
OK, I’m on the home stretch with Firewater and I’m not liking this world as much as the extreme Voodoo world of book 1 and the nether of 2 and 3 but I’ll reserve judgement till I finish. Nevertheless the character building is good and the pacing of the action and the action itself is just stellar across the whole story arc. Trying to write my own UF and I have to literally put your story out of my mind else I’ll wallow in the suckage of my own writing and not get anything done. Perhaps one fine day, after many books I’ll be able to put together a story of that quality. Congrats on your Simon & Schuster deal. That is really awesome. Cisco has it in him to go farther and reach higher.
Thanks, Theodore! I put a lot of work into the events and pacing of the series. The alternate world stuff of Fire Water is actually a part of that too. I do worry about some readers not liking it as much since, yes, I love the gritty street-level action of most of the series. But Powder Trade was a fairly straightforward drug dealer shootout, so I wanted something very different for the next book. Plus, as a finale, it’s hard to top.
Ok, I’m done with firewater. The aether was a bit of a slog in the beginning although it picked up nicely and gave the background needed for the next section to literally move like lightning. A lot of things began to snap into place and then the whole Taino background began to materialize. Un-put-downable by this point. And then the catharsis when he finally meets you-know-who almost brought a tear to my eye. I think an epilogue was in order. A chapter 49 maybe even a 50 was needed to tie up the loose end of the relationship with his daughter (who he went through a lot of this for anyway) and maybe to show him enjoying some lighter time with Emily, Milena and Evan bringing him back full circle. A fantastic finale though. The only other work with a Jinn that I liked as much is Helen Wecker’s “The Golem & The Jinnie” (Totally different theme, world building and setting) which has a similar climax where the antagonist ends up being tricked/forced back in the bottle because he’s un-killable.
One thing that began to throw me out of the train of the story was Cisco’s snarky analogies and wit in the face of monstrous danger simply because his responses didn’t seem to mature to match his growth in experience and understanding. Some of them remained at the adolescent level when it seemed that at that juncture his quips should have expressed more profound understanding.
Great,consistent story telling across this series. I look forward to more.
Thanks for the analysis! The Aether is a solid third of the book at least so I can understand your feelings. It definitely came out longer and more fleshed out than I initially intended, but I’m happy with the result (and it opens up the world for much more in the future). You’re probably right about the epilogue. I do love me some epilogues in general, but it hasn’t been a tradition with my Black Magic Outlaw books. Check out my Sycamore Moon books for more traditional epilogues, although I never like to end too happy.
Interesting comparison with the Golem and the Jinnie. I’ve seen that book around but never read it. I think the climax is a natural and fairly clever conclusion because of pop culture’s knowledge of genies. In my case I wanted the answer to not come out of nowhere but actually have been a part of the series for a long time.
I can see where you’re coming from with Cisco’s quips. Part of me couldn’t resist (just like Cisco) but in my defense I *do* have Connor call Cisco out at the end of the book because of it. If this was truly the last we’d ever see of Cisco Suarez, I probably would’ve shown more growth there and shown him happy with the family, but he’ll be around again with even bigger problems, so we wouldn’t want to fix EVERYTHING.
Cheers.
Amazing series. I had to stay up late to finish it. I actually really enjoyed the aether. Tell me there will be more Cisco Suarez books? Perhaps in meatier bigger books?
Thanks, Adam! There will definitely be more Cisco Suarez books in the series. He’s just taking a little breather, is all.
I just finished this book on audible and I loved it. I finished listening in about a day and a half. I hope that Cisco will have more adventures in the future. I’d like to hear more about the society and how things go with his family. Maybe he’ll finally get over Emily and his daughter will find out who he is? Regardless, I have my fingers crossed :)
Thanks, Denise! Cisco will definitely be back. The Society will be around (they’re ALWAYS around). And you know how dealing with family goes!