Smoke and Summons

As a human vessel for an ancient spirit, Sandis lives no ordinary life. At the command of her master, she can be transformed against her will, into a raging monster summoned to do his bidding. To stay alive, she must run. In a city fueled by corruption and smoke alike, she finds a surprising ally. A cunning thief for hire, Rone, owns a rare device that grants him immortality for one minute per day – a unique advantage that will come in handy for Sandis’s fight for freedom. Sandis’s master knows how powerful she is and will stop for nothing in order to get her back in his grips. Now, to outwit her pursuers, Sandis must put all her trust in Rone and his immortal device, for her master has summoned more than men to hunt her down.

Smoke and Summons was an amazing read. Although I wasn’t completely sold on the premise of the novel in the beginning, that completely changed by the end. As the novel progressed and the adventure began to ramp up, I was sucked into the world of Smoke and Summons, making it difficult to set down the book until the very end. The characters remained interesting throughout the whole novel, and the two main characters, Sandis and Rone are well thought out and reliable, and a constant in the action-packed world. Holmberg paints the world of Smoke and Summons with a fine brush, describing the world and all the people in all their glory, never stopping until the very end.