Marked, by S. Andrew Swann (DAW)
Reminiscent of Roger Zelazny’s Amber series, this “portal
to another world” fantasy begins as a police procedural with a twist. Detective
Dana Rohan’s life is filled with secrets. One is the intricate, tattoo-like
Mark across her back that has grown in complexity and extent since the time she
was found as an orphaned child. The other is what the Mark does. By an act of
will, she can travel across time and alternate worlds. She’s been using this
ability to solve crimes, at the risk of attracting the suspicions of the police
higher-ups, even the distrust of her partner when she almost gets caught hiding
a revolver used in a crime in a parallel world when one exists in police custody
in this reality. Her problems quickly fade to insignificance when a series of
bizarre encounters, including near-fatal assaults by zombie-like, cannibal “Shadows,”
propel her from her ordinary life into a multitude of different realities. From
formless, roiling Chaos to a world in which Napoleon III rules the Western
World, her only hope of survival is turning the tables on the culprit behind
the assaults.
I’m a fan of stories that start in the everyday world, often
with a character with a mysterious past, and end up in increasingly more
fantastic settings. I mentioned Zelazny’s Amber series, also Anne
McCaffrey’s Restoree, and let’s not forget all the magical-door stories
like C. S. Lewis’s Narnia. This one has the added features of a woman
detective who is more than capable of defending herself, a slow-simmer romance,
and the usual quirks of alternate histories. It’s fast-paced and full of plot
twists and drama. All in all, a quick but satisfying read.
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