Magic Lantern

Rogue Angel #36

by Alex Archer (pseudonym)

The theatrics of an illusionist conceal a sinister truth...

In late 1700s Paris, a young but promising illusionist dabbles in the arcane art of phantasmagoria. But at his moment of greatest triumph--unveiling a magical lantern said to open a door to the Chinese spirit world--he is violently struck down by a vengeful phantom....

On assignment in London, archaeologist Annja Creed is hunting down a man who claims to have discovered the Jekyll and Hyde potion. On the trail of one curiosity, Annja finds herself pulled toward another mystery...the origin of a strange, old-fashioned projector once used by eighteenth-century illusionists. As Annja delves into its rich history, a dark past begins to emerge. And someone wants to harness the power of this cursed artifact...risking everything for the treasures it promises.

But Annja has a little magic trick of her own. One that she wields with deadly accuracy....

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Adventure, Fiction, Audiobook, Action, Ebooks

314 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

A house name for the Rogue Angel series, published by the Harlequin Publishing's Gold Eagle division.

The first eight novels were written by Victor Milan and Mel Odom. New writers joining the series starting with book nine include Jon Merz and Joseph Nassise.

Reviews

[Paraphrodite · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

What I really liked is Fiona, the experienced female fixer Roux referred Annja to assist her in recovering her friend from the bad guys. I can just see Helen Mirren in this role. What doesn't make sense is how she lost touch of Roux when she's got that amazing network of contacts and Ollie, her boy genius assistant.

Another action-packed instalment. I wonder why this series hasn't been made into a TV series or movie franchise?

[John Hanscom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the better adventures of this series, written by a conglomeration under the name "Alex Archer." There were two things surprising about this book - the "body count" was much higher than usual, and more than the sword was used; and, it was mentioned that one of the "draws" of the TV show was that her co-host keeps losing her clothes. This had never been mentioned before in any of the dozen or so books in the series I've read, and does not make a lot of sense in the context of the show's content.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What really perked this one up was the introduction of the character Fiona Pioche. Hopefully we will see her again in future books!

[Michael Rohrer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the introduction of Fiona Pioche. I thought she really added to the story line and hope she will appear in future books.

[Susan Beamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished the next in this series waiting for a flat tire repair/ This is my waiting line purse book, so it can take me months to finish one/ I read the series because each book is focused on the action within it and that makes it easy to pick up where I left off from the last waiting room reading time/
In this book, Annja is in London acting as bait for a serial killer who is presented by the media as a reincarnation of Dr Jeckle, although the serial is calling himself "Mr Hyde", a different man entirely/ He doesn't show, but she gets an invitation from a magician who gives her a more interesting mystery/
A long dead magician had an artifact he used in his phantasmagory shows/ This magic lantern disappeared after the magician's death/ Legend had it that the lantern could show the location of a vast treasure hidden in the Paris catacombs/ Rumors had started that the lantern had been located, and two separate groups of villains were determined to get that treasure, even if it meant kidnapping and threatening people/
The search for the lantern and the treasure takes Annja and crew to China/ They follow the path the magician took, including his years as a banker/ This trail takes them to the decedents of the magician's bank manager/ Actually finding the treasure uses the lantern and returns than the Paris catacombs/
I think I liked this volume of the series better than the others I've read/ I especially liked what the treasure contained, which, while with a quantity of gold coins and gems, was not what the world generally calls treasure/ But I do call them that/ Those things are my treasures/ Read the book to find out what I call high treasure, if you want

[Kathy Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirty-six in the Rogue Angel urban fantasy series that revolves around Annja Creed, an archeologist/TV show host who falls into one adventure after another.

My Take
Another fun and exciting adventure with the intrepid Annja. Kidnappings, torture, car and sewer chases... I'm kinda surprised the professor didn't die… I've gotten rather accustomed to her boyfriends dying. On a more solemn note, the revelations about Roux and Fiona are rather sad and make me very curious as to what might transpire in the future!

You must read the prologue as it provides the background on the magic lantern. For those of you fascinated by magic or film, there's a nice bit about the history of phantasmagoria as well as an interesting example of journalism in late 18th century France.

I really don't understand why Westcox is so belligerent with Annja. Sure, as far as he's concerned she's a journalist, so why isn't he harassing the others as well?

Too funny...you definitely want Annja and Fiona on your side in a bar fight! It seems you shouldn't play against Annja in Trivial Pursuit, either! I do hope Archer brings Fiona in on more adventures---I like her!

What I particularly enjoy about reading this B series---think Saturday afternoon at the movies!---is how Annja metes out justice. The bad guys get theirs, I love the inevitable tidbits of odd history, and I just love that it's a woman who is tweaking the noses of both bad and good.

It's lively and entertaining fun.

The Story
There's a serial killer in contemporary London and Doug has sent Annja to investigate, er, well, honestly, grab sensational footage that Doug will turn into a conspiracy for the show. However, life gets much more sensational when a Chinese gang kidnaps Annja and the professor, demanding the whereabouts of the lantern.

With Westcox unwilling to help, Annja turns to Roux who, in turn, provides her with Fiona's direction. A very unhappy and jealous Fiona whose life appears to be as exciting if not more so than Annja's.

It's a chase through Paris and its sewers, to Shanghai and back, to see who can snag the lantern next, and following the clues that unfold without getting killed. Clues that lead to a history and a treasure.

The Characters
Annja Creed is an independent archeologist---in every sense of the word---and finances her travels and digs by working as a television show host for Chasing History's Monsters. She provides the voice of scholarship and reason as opposed to her co-star whom we have never met. Doug Morrell is the show's producer and, as far as he is concerned, the more sensational, the better!

Professor Edmund Beswick at Oxford University is an expert on film, literature, and myth with a passion for magical props. Gaetano Carlini operates Carlini's Magic Bullet Club, a restaurant for which you need an invitation. Mrs. Rollison purchased Dutilleaux's diary at the same auction. An expert in Chinese written languages.

Detective Chief Inspector Alfred Westcox is in charge of the case of today's "Mr. Hyde" and very unhappy about Annja's interest. VERY unhappy.

Jean-Baptiste Laframboise is a black marketer who specializes in drugs and human trafficking and has been hired to find the magic lantern; Gilbert Campra is his second. Magdelaine de Brosses is a fortune-teller whom Jean-Baptiste has consulted for years, the one who taught his mother. Puyi-Jin leads a Chinese gang in London which is also interested in the lantern. Zhang is his right-hand man. Neither man will shy away from torture or murder to get what they want.

Anton Dutilleaux is the pivot in this story as it's his ownership of the magic lantern in 1793 Paris around which all the action results. Tsai Chien-Fu was Dutilleaux's partner at the bank in Shanghai. Xiaoming is his descendant.

Bart McGilley is an old friend of Annja's and a detective with the NYPD. Roux and Garin Braden are the two men who have been involved with Joan of Arc and her sword from the start. Garin was squire to Roux back then in the 1400s. Now, they're mostly deadly enemies.

It's Roux who is making an appearance in this installment and we learn more about his back history. Including a brief stint as Raymond the Red, a magician who once frequented the Magic Bullet.

Fiona Pioche is a very upscale private detective. Back in the day, she and Roux had been lovers---yes, she knows how old he is. For eighteen years before he just dumped her and disappeared. Now Roux is asking her a favor. To help Annja. Oliver Wemyss is Fiona's extremely efficient assistant. Paddy McGurk runs a snooker hall in the East End and has an ear to the criminal ground. Georges is her very useful contact in France with an assortment of unexpected weapons.

The Cover
The cover is more shades of blue than the usual yellows and browns as Annja prowls the nightscape of a city street clad in form-fitting black and knee-high boots carrying her sword and a lit lantern.

The title is what all the fuss is about, a Magic Lantern which holds the key to a treasure.

[Sheila Carsins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! Miss Creed is talented enough to put a kink in any would-be world despot's plots! You have to respect a strong female hero with all of the right moral codes, and the strength, skill, and cunning, to pull off a potential doomed caper yet another time! Fabulous book!

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Genre* Fantasy, Adventure, Thriller
*Rating* 4.0

*First thoughts*

Magic Lantern was a surprising nice change of pace after being quite disappointed with the past few installments. Yes, I have actually read 36 books in one series and there are plenty more that follow Magic Lantern. Yes, I continue to enjoy the fact that Annja Creed is something of a serious badass who carries Joan of Arc's Broadsword while looking to protect the innocent and just can't help but to get involved in situations where others would have walked away. This book also happens to be longer than what's usual for this series which was a surprise to me as well.

In this lovely installment, we find Annja traveling to London to track down information on the mysterious formula that supposedly created Mr. Hyde. This is all thanks to her erstwhile Chasing History's Monsters producer Doug Morrell who has an obsession with all things supernatural and bizarre. It seems that a handful of women have been brutally murdered, and Annya wants to track down the mysterious Mr. Hyde before the police do. Naturally, we have the annoyingly intrusive Chief Inspector Westcox standing in Annja's way and even threatening to deport her if she gets in his way.

As if that wasn't enough of a challenge for Annya to deal with, she meets Professor Edmund Beswick, a literature professor who dabbles in magic, and who just happens to have found a powerful Magic Lantern once belonging to the 18th Century phantasmmagorist Anton Dutilleaux. This is where the fun begins as Annja is given assistance by Roux to have Fiona Pioche, a private inquiries specialist, assist her in every way imaginable. For the record, I found Fiona's presence absolutely bloody brilliant and hope that we get to see her again really soon. Searching for the origins and treasure behind the Magic Lantern is said to carry, takes Annya, Fiona, and Beswick from London to Paris and Shanghai while being chased by dastardly villains Jean-Baptiste LaFramboise and Puyi-Jun.

One of the dangers of being a supporting character introduced in this particular series is that you will either die a horrible death, or Annja will end up walking away from you since her very presence carries inherent dangers that nobody can imagine. In this case, Professor Beswick, as well as Fiona, somehow manages to survive numerous encounters with the bad guys, and helps Annja finally find a treasure that she doesn't have to worry about losing to the likes of Garin Braden, or be betrayed by Roux who is supposed to be an ally.

There are several reasons that I really liked Fiona, besides the fact that she spent so much time with Roux. One is that she understands and knows about Joan of Arc's sword. She's also not the type of person who is going to try to steal it away from Annya like many others have tried to do. Just the opposite in fact. Fiona truly believes that Annya and the sword were meant to be together. She also enlightens Annya to the fact that she's come to fully expect extreme violence in her life and Annja rushes in to helping others rather than running away. Another fact that's come to light is that Annya is a school kid who loves the hell out of hunting for History's hidden treasures and stories.

Shall I just say, onward and upward to the next book Library of Gold (Rogue Angel #37)!

Published May 1st 2012 by Gold Eagle

[Lianne Burwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Magic Lantern actually has two stories in it, but one basically gets dropped before fifty pages in, then pulls it back in right at the end.

Annja Creed is in London to film segments on a serial killer claiming to be Mr. Hyde, having recreated the Jekyll formula. He's killed several women by stamping them to death. When Annja goes to get some information from a literature professor about the Hyde legend, she ends up getting pulled into the story of a chinese lantern that may be cursed. The professor recently bought it at an estate sale, and someone in China wants it. When he refuses to sell, Puyi-Jin hires a French gangster to get it for him, but the gangster decides he wants the lantern and whatever makes it valuable (even though he has no clue what that would be).

Annja ends up on the road, first to rescue the professor, who the French gangster kidnaps, then to recover the lantern, and finally to find out what the lantern is a clue to.

The book could have used a better editor. At the start of chapter 5, at the latest murder scene, it says "Despite the number of people, Annja got close enough to see a middle-age woman sprawled half on the curb and half in the street between parked cars". And yet, two pages later she is saying the the victim was a twenty-seven year old waitress. Now, maybe the body was too badly damaged to tell what age it was, but if that was the case, why specify middle age at all? Someone should have caught that.

As well, Annja starts the book with a cameraman/bodyguard, who disappears the moment that the main plot starts, and is never seen or mentioned again. There's never really any indication why he had even been there to begin with, other than the fact that if she's filming an episode, she needs a cameraman. She jets off to France, then Shanghai, without once considering what the cameraman is doing or thinking back in London. Not to mention that the cop who is pissed off at her probably was making his life miserable

And finally, by midway through the book, the cop is trying to get her deported as an undesirable from England, and she ends up being hunted by the French police as well, but there is no real information on how this is overcome. Heck, by this point of the series, she's probably on the watch list of half the countries in the world. At least mention of a book she's writing (and not the first), as well as the reward she gets at the end, helps to explain how she affords her New York loft and frequent travel.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

With an interest in both old and the "modern" pulp fiction genre I was more than willing to give this series a try. While this installment is not an outstanding read (or in this instance listen) it is better than most of the "modern" pulp that I have tried so far.

Anja Creed is an archaeologist and star of a reality television series (think exploring/exploding myths type of show). Somehow, like the old pulp characters she finds the time to engage in adventures, in this case battling thugs in a race to old Chinese treasure trove.

As this is the 36th installment there is some back story, but there are enough exposition dumps, small ones, for the casual reader to easily feel filled in. Anja herself has a couple of refreshing takes on the pulp heroine.

She is not extraordinarily blood thirsty as were some of the action heroines introduced during the 1970s (if you reference Brad Mengel's very good Serial Killers and Vigilantes which explores that era of fiction you'll see what I mean). Nor, is there a new, or old, love interest to stall the story or that Anja relies on.

Yes, Anja might be uber competent in both her field and as a fighter. So were Doc Savage, The Shadow and The Avenger in the pulps, so there's no reason why she can't be also. And, as The Shadow had his twin .45s, and Doc his gadgets, Anja has her sword and laptop.

She handles both French and Chinese gangsters well, and the introduction of Fiona gives the listener a fun supporting character.

Unlike most audiobooks there is not a single reader. This is a cast recording, so think olde time radio here.

As for those publishers who push their books as the answers to your Indiana Jones fix (points a finger at characters such as Amelia Peabody and Dirk Pitt) this is a better match for your pulp fix.

[Laurla2]

-multi-author series. this one written by mel odom. i enjoyed this one, it was fairly fast paced. and everyone didnt die. the two people she was working with both survived the end of the book.

"i don't have a lot of time."
"neither do i. i'm in atlantic city and the tables are running hot. i've got a private poker game set up in twenty minutes."
"i'm in london and the police are looking for me. do i win?"

"no! pigs will fly before that happens. on second thought, there will be flying pigs and it still won't happen."

"what i have to wonder is how much that sword influences your sense of judgment. i'm thinking perhaps it pushes you in the direction of helping others rather more than you would if left to your own devices."
"couldn't i just be a good person?"

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It surprises me that I have read 36 books in this series and am able to differentiate they writing styles of each ghost writer. This book took a bit for me to get into, I think I picked up and put it down 4 times before I actually said "we are reading this". Overall it was enjoyable and how the story wrapped up I was pleased with but it seemed a bit spotty in some areas. I would consider this a middle of the road read in the series and devote fans may like it.

[Stasia Bruhn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one has been hard to keep my interest..I put it down and don't want to come back to it but I do because I'm halfway done..I don't recommend this one at all..It didn't get any better so skip this one..

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyed all the extra characters. they made for a excellent adventure

[Vicki Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action packed and fun, one of the better ones.

[Alysa Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know this was not the first book, I just picked it up because it looked neat! now looking forward to reading more of these adventure books!

[Laura]

This book references iCarly. That is noteworthy to me. :P