Hellforged
Hellforged by Nancy Holzner
Deadtown #2
A demon is stalking Vicky's dreams-just as several of Deadtown's zombies are viciously attacked and become really dead. And when Vicky realizes she is the only connection between the victims, she suspects that the demon is somehow working through her dreams to become Deadtown's living nightmare.
The description of this book, while accurate, really only portrays a very small part of what Hellforged is really about. Yes, Vicky has to deal with a demon in her dreams, and yes zombies are dying nasty terrible deaths, with Vicky being the connection between each victim. Yet, the book is more about Vicky's path to Wales, and learning to overcome a nasty prophecy designed to enslave her. In a sense this book is mostly about Vicky finding herself and learning to believe in her own worthiness, rather then focusing on an actual in your face threat. It made for a slower read at first, but very rich on the character development.
So I really enjoyed Deadtown, and I was quite eager to read Hellforged as a result. However, for the first half or so everything just seemed to drag, and I had to force myself to keep on reading in hopes things would pick up eventually. It took a long while, but once things got started, everything took off with a bang and the action was nonstop and quite heart pounding, enough so that it made up for the extremely slow beginning. I'll be honest that I had expected the book to only gain a two star rating in the end, but yet I found myself upping it to a three by the end. That right there should show just how full and fantastic the last third of the book was, in that it was enough to more than carry the rest of it. I still hope that the next installment is a little bit more balanced in being able to keep my interest for the entire book, as that would make for a much more enriching read.
I think the biggest reason why Hellforged dragged so much for me was the change in setting. For much of the book, Vicky was in Wales training with her aunt due to some personal demon problems. This would have been fine and dandy in my book, except for the fact that the tediousness of the training was stretched out over and over. I realize any good training takes time, and yet as a reader, we don't really need to see that to appreciate it. Also, the romance area fell even more flat than the previous installment. I had had high hopes for the romance to pick up based on the events in Deadtown, but unfortunately they really didn't. Vicky spent most of her time kinda liking both men, but really unsure of either of them. That being said however, (and I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but) I think things might just be finally changing in that department. One of her men really steps up to the plate and declares himself, and seemingly takes his place in her heart. Only time will tell in the end I guess, but I hope to see things pan out for them.
Hellforged is one of those books that you just have to have the determination, plus the foundation of the first book, in order to persevere through the slow and rough beginning. I am very glad to have stuck it through, and am in no way disappointed. I cannot wait to dive into the next book to see how things pan out in the aftermath of both the resolution of the demonic activity and Vicky's unsteady love life. So, if you enjoyed Deadtown, then trust me, you will want to read Hellforged, just make sure to hold on to your hats once the action gets started as you won't know what hit you.
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