Archive of Fire

by Betsy Dornbusch

Twins Aidan and Kaelin didn’t realize until they got to university that most guys don’t learn five ways to kill a man by the age of fourteen. Still, since their estranged father descends from the demon Asmodai, it's probably worth knowing how to defend themselves. But as years pass and threat never materializes, the twins suppose their mom is just paranoid - until she disappears. Their father tells them Asmodai has taken possession of their mother in order to infiltrate Sentinel, a treacherous coalition of demidemon rebels determined to protect humankind from the demon legions. The twins form a grudging alliance with Sentinel to rescue her, but when Asmodai murders their father to incite war, Sentinel starts to implode and Aidan and Kaelin must battle an enemy who wears their mother’s face.

413 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

http://betsydornbusch.com

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Archive of Fire, Sentinel Book One by Betsy Dornbausch is a dark urban fantasy. Twins Aidan and Kaelin have been trained by their mother to fight and kill since they were young kids. She has told them their father descended from the demon Asmodai. When the book starts, they are teenagers and nothing has ever happened. Until their mother disappears and they are kidnapped by their father. They reluctantly join their father and the Sentinel, a coalition of demidemon rebels who work to protect humans from demons.

The twins end up separated and unsure who to trust. They join with the demidemons to protect humankind, but that means trusting their father. And when their mother returns, they’re not sure they can trust her either.

Humans can’t detect the demons and demidemons, so they don’t see what goes on around them. The story is complicated, but woven well. The twins get separated and aren’t sure if either will survive.

I don’t know if this is classified as adult or YA, but either group could read it. There’s a lot of fighting and pain, and in places it was intense. On the other hand, it’s also a tale of two brothers finding their way in a world they didn’t know existed.

I give Archive of Fire by Betsy Dornbausch a rating of Hel-of-a-Story.

[Aaron Ritchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Betsy Dornbusch's Archive of Fire was the perfect companion for my trip through television's Supernatural. By day I would watch Dean and Sam fight demons, and by night I would read Dornbusch's own brothers, Aiden and Kaelin, unraveling the mysteries of their family and an ancient war between humans and demons. Archive of Fire is far more intrigue then warfare, though it does have battle scenes. The main point of the story, though, is figuring out the alliances, who is good, who is bad, and who is morally ambiguous. Gray. Like most of us, our longing for a white we may or may not achieve.

[Ed]

Very compelling characters. I love how the book jumps between point of view in short chapters, filling in details that would be missed only knowing one side of the story.