THE IMMORTAL QUADRILOGY

I've just finished reading Valjeanne Jeffers' IMMORTAL IV: COLLISION OF WORLDS. And what a great time I had!

The world of Tundra has been altered, changed, and reshaped in the demon Tehotep's image. Oh, yes, he's back and badder than ever. This sucker is one mean dude, and he has a nasty agenda, too. We again meet up with Sonya, Joseph, Opal, Consuela, Joan and the whole gang. Karla and Joseph have been transported to a steam-powered world.

Did I mention that Karla has become Tehotep's reluctant concubine? And then there's the Guardian William, who's cut off from the life he once led and imprisoned in a strange mansion, where he stares into a mirror that is his only contact with the outside world. He can see people, see The Others, and sometimes swears they can see him, too. And the front door seems to move closer at certain times, and then recedes at others.

As usual, there are plenty of wonderful vampires roaming the streets, preying on anyone unlucky enough to cross their path. Demons rule and android enforcers make sure the laws of Tundra are upheld. Like the first three books in the series -- IMMORTAL, IMMORTAL II: TIME OF LEGEND, and IMMORTAL III: STEALER OF SOULS, Jeffers once again offers up another fun and yet terrifying world of werewolves and demons, and various shape shifters. Her splendid 4-book series has more than you could imagine, more than you could hope for: street gangs and drug addicts, drug rehab, political and social upheaval, revolution, corporate overlords, and vampires who drink blood and steal time from their victims.

And before I forget, let me mention her cast of demons, centaurs, mermen, merwomen, folks who "walk between the raindrops," and mirrors that are actually portals into other realities . . . well, you have more imagination, more characters, more plot, more theme, and more to offer in these 4 novels than most door-stop novels of 1000 pages. Jeffers' prose in lean and mean, with the poetic rhythm that is her unique voice. She uses no more words than are needed to describe her world, letting the story and the characters bring it all to life and invoke the images in your mind.

Her narration moves like a speeding steam-powered train, and her dialogue breathes life into her characters as well as propels the story -- and transports the reader inside the magic of her writing. This is my introduction to steampunk, and this series ROCKS!!!!! It has a definite street flavor and a 1960s feel with an ultra modern as well as futuristic sensibility. Valjeanne Jeffers is the real deal, and these novels are the real thing. Four-star rating for the whole quadrilogy. Excellent stuff you can get totally lost in, a world you would like to visit, but will surely walk its streets looking over your shoulder.

Joseph P. Bonadonna ( )