Modern Disciples
(Volume 2)

Ian Anderson

Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)

Jane Dotter has spent the last few months in Las Vegas trailing a man who may be in league with the Titans. He is a well-known mobster who controls more than half the drug trade in the city. She is joined by Lisa Mikoto, a fellow disciple she met on her previous journey. Her suspicions are confirmed when she has an encounter with the spawn. Jane and Lisa soon learn that Ryan Hunter is gathering their group back together in Vegas.

They are soon joined not only by Ryan, but Angie, Sajaad, and Armand. Jane's mother Freya appears and confronts Jane with a new task. Not only does Jane receive a new mission from her mother, but she must also deal with her developing feelings for Ryan. When an encounter with an old enemy brings a new sense of urgency, Ryan decides to split the group up into three teams.

Jane and Ryan embark on a mission to investigate the mobster's camp in the middle of the desert. Jane will soon not only have to confront her feelings for Ryan, but an impending catastrophe that will surely mean her death.

Volume 2 of Modern Disciples continues the story of six disciples who fight their patron's cold war against the Titans and their spawn.

The story is told from the perspective of a different character that has been hailed as many readers' favourite. Through her eyes you will see her love unfold as well as her fears. New spawn enter the fray as well as some familiar ones. Battles will rage, drama will ignite, and a goal will be set for the disciples that will determine the fate of far more than just their world. The Titan's plan begins to take shape as we see how it affects the mortals and takes advantage of their weaknesses.

Monsters from Norse Mythology, from Dark Elves to Fire Giants, make an appearance in this story, as well as new gods and disciples. Once again, the reader will be tempted to skip ahead to see how the disciples escape their peril. From the scorching sands of the Las Vegas desert, to the turbulent waters of the Florida Keys, the disciples will be tested even harder than they were in the previous story. No longer do they have a simple task of slaying a monster. They must learn to see that humanity can be found in the most dangerous of adversaries, especially if one is related to them.

Review by Paul Lappen (280215) Rating (9/10)

Review by Paul Lappen
Rating 9/10
This is part 2 of a series about a group of average humans who are actually offspring of the gods of antiquity. It is not just Greek gods, but also Norse, Japanese and Aztec gods, who are alive and well, and mating with present-day humans.

In this book, the group of six has been given three different tasks, forcing them to split up. Jane and Ryan head into the Nevada desert, looking for a drug factory that is creating a very powerful and very addictive drug. It happens to look and taste exactly like regular tap water.

After several days of hiking, they find the drug factory (by being taken prisoner). Among the other prisoners are several women who are used in all sorts of unspeakable ways, and members of a US Army unit who were ambushed while on a training exercise. They are guarded by a number of dark elves, and members of the Army unit who were induced to go over to the 'dark side'. It is run by Andre Wittenburg, the local crime boss, who knows exactly what Jane and Ryan really are.

To call conditions 'brutal' is a huge understatement. Jane and Ryan free the other prisoners, and destroy the camp. They have to fight a mythical creature or two along the way. After a few days to recover, the six are back together and off to their next challenge. The tears of Freya (Norse goddess and Jane's mother) were encased in amber a millennia ago. It is very important that they not fall into the wrong hands. The group heads to a very restricted part of the Atlantic Ocean, just off the Florida Keys. It's the sort of place that no sane ship's captain would ever visit. There they meet another couple of mythical creatures (who really are not so mythical).

Most times, literary sequels are not as good as the previous book. That is not true in this case. If anything, this book is better than Volume 1, because the reader gets more of the back story. This is very much worth reading.
Paul Lappen (28th February 2015)