Serpent's Kiss

Rogue Angel #10

by Alex Archer (pseudonym)

Some say they are a cursed people. But those who try to find them will be just as unlucky…

Working on a dig on the southern coast of India, the last thing Annja Creed expects is to be hit by a tsunami. Or to strike archaeological gold. But that’s exactly what happens when several objects wash ashore in the storm. The relics carry unfamiliar markings that hint at a legendary city. Excited by the prospect of discovering a culture believed lost to civilization, Annja embarks on a perilous journey deep into the heart of danger.

She learns of a mysterious artifact that could provide clues to the whereabouts of the lost city, which means trekking through an inhospitable jungle and forbidding terrain. But nature’s denizens and death traps are not the only threats: someone else is also pursuing the prize. Just as Annja’s grail comes into view, she must ward off an even greater evil. Because deep in the Nilgiris mountains is a race of people that the world forgot.

And they don’t like strangers.

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

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

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

[Karen Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

After being slightly disappointed in the previous novel, the saga of Annja Creed bounced back with a solid adventure story set in India. Taking a break from her television duties, Annja is helping out at an archeological dig in the coast when a tsunami strikes. She is able to save the college students working on the dig, but the wave uncovers a centuries old shipwreck that contains artifacts from a long lost civilization that worshiped demons. The artifacts also draw the attention of the leader of a modern day pirating operation, who is determined to discover the lost city and the treasure that is rumored to exist within.

There is a pair of good subplots in that, after the tsunami, Annja's television producer declares her dead and tries to make a profit off of that fact. The other involves a British Maritime Agency agent who is investigating the piracy operation and his search will bring lead him to using an unaware Annja as bait to trap the criminals.

Mel Odom has a good feel for the character of Annja, keeping her use of the sword of Joan of Arc to a minimum and highlighting her other attributes. The dialogue is crisp and keeps Annja, Garin and Roux in character. Highly recommended for fans of the series and those who like adventure novels in the style of Clive Cussler.

[Paraphrodite · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This one has pretty much everything. A sunken treasure ship. Blood-thirsty pirates. A cannibalistic tribe. An ancient city with booby traps and a mystical half serpent/ half human goddess.

Annja was in the midst of uncovering a sunken ship when she's kidnapped by pirates who believe the ship has information that will lead to an ancient city filled with treasures.

This time around, Garin and Roux were only present on the phone. Annja did have some help from the Indian military and an International Maritime Agent who's chasing after the Pirate King.

Another action-packed episode from the series.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my favorites by far in the series. It had all of my favorite Rogue Angel elements Garin, Roux, appropriate amount of ass-kicking and an ACTUAL story line. There was also a lot of actual archaelogy which is what Annja lives for. There weren't too many near death experiences and Annja actually had a purpose in this story and didn't fall into bed with a random stranger!! Mel Odom is by far my favorite author in this series, I feel like he knows Annja best and her limitations with the sword.

[Terri Benedict · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like Mel Odom, Jon Metz, as authors. The ones by Victor... forgot last name but Solomons Jar and The Chosen- I think are a bit disjointed/choppy and tend towards being more graphic in the fights. To be fair, though, his secondary characters are generally well done. But, So far, I prefer the other two authors with their emphasis on history and character /plot development and story continuity. Enjoyed Serpents Kiss, God of Thunder, Destiny, and Spider Stone very much. Some I cannot get via paperback without paying $20-30 ( ouch! These are not old books) I got lucky to find 37 of them at a second hand store. I will likely get a couple that interest me on kindle Even though I don’t like electronic reading. I’ve been finishing these books in about 2 days or 2 sittings - where I can fit time.

[Me · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was rather fun, and a much needed escape from the dry non fiction research stuff I've been propping my eyelids open to struggle through.

Not sure why I like this series so much. It reminds me of Indiana Jones meets Laura Croft meets Mack Bolan meets a scary urban fantasy protagonist that kicks butt with Joan of Arcs sword. Like I said, rather fun.

About 40 more books in the series to go.

[Edythe Herrington · Rating 2 out of 5]

This may be getting too picky, but in Southern India, they Don't. Speak. Hindi. It's usually tamil, kannada, telugu, etc. Common language? British English.

Please ensure some language accuracy if you're going to write about a region! Makes my palms itch.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book from beginning to end! I loved all the characters in this one. Not a boring read. I won't give out any spoilers.

[Paschalis]

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[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: Working on a dig on the southern coast of India, the last thing Annja Creed expects is to be hit by is a tsunami. Or to strike archaeological gold in the form of a sunken ship. But that's exactly what happens when several objects wash ashore in the storm. Excited by the prospect of discovering a culture believed lost to civilization, Annja embarks on a perilous journey deep into the heart of danger.

This episode wasn't that bad. The writer actually stuck to the archealogy aspect of Annya this time around and let her actually find a long lost city vs just finding something and then having to fight either the villians, or Garin for it. Garin actually does play a big role in that he finances the search for the lost ship in lieu of financial gain from putting the story to Tape. Otherwise he's not stealing the thing Annya has searched hard for.

The unusual part, Annya is declared dead after the Tsunami hits their excavation site. This leads to the attempt by Doug, trying to sell the best of Annya Creed DVDs. Of course, our girl's not dead. Not even close so he gets in deep kimchee with the marketing department. Leave it to Doug to be slightly silly.

She then survivies pirates who want the treasure she finds, including a book that plots out where the lost city of Kumari Kandam, the home of the snake people. These people are somehow linked to the head pirates son but after 2500 years, they are barely human.

There's no romantic angle this time around, which suited me just fine thank you very much. I love Thrillers without all the unnecessary sappy love scenes, and this time around I got it. Probably why I rated it a 4 star vs 3 the last several times around.

Onward and upward to the next adventure! And, to think, there's 32 books in this series!

[Kathy Davie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yup, definitely a stable. Garin's pushing a bit as well with the deal he makes with Annja for his financing the salvage dig offshore in India. After Doug and company, metaphorically, shot themselves in the foot, I'm curious as to what happens when Garin's company premieres the video footage of the 500 BC wreck. Will there be better conditions for Annja at the production company or..?

I rather like Fleet. It will be interesting to see how this relationship develops and if he becomes interested enough in Annja's martial side to participate in it and help himself with his own physical issues. Curious to see how Annja's experiences in Japan (Warrior Spirit) influenced her actions in this novel. Perhaps Fleet, Ken, and Annja will explore the ninjitsu together...

[Jessica Meigs · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I was going to come back and leave a review on this book, as I'm doing with all the other books I've read this year thus far. Except it seems that, out of all 38 (and counting) books in the Rogue Angel series, this is the ONE BOOK that's out of print that I actually pirated (and no, I don't condone pirating, but seeing as how the book's unavailable...). As I deleted the file after reading, I no longer have the book and, it seems, I can't refresh my memory on what I liked/disliked about the book that warranted a 3 star rating. So the 3 star will have to stand with no explanation, sadly enough. Maybe the publisher will realize their oversight and get this book out in ebook so I can legitimately purchase it alongside the other 38 books in the series that I've purchased.

[Jeff Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serpent's Kiss does well with the formula set up for the series. It does little to further the bigger story, but as a side adventure it is quite fun. It is everything you want from these pulpy adventure novels. A simple plot, easy to read action, and a bit of old school adventure. Just like the other books in the series, this isn't deep reading, but makes for a great quick read when you don't have the time or mental effort to pour into something deeper. And just like previous efforts, this one really takes off about half way through when it appears that there is more than just history and dusty artifacts at the center of the action.

[Chompa]

This was an impulse pickup from the library. The cover art of the hotty with the sword drew my interest.

This is basically a Tomb Raider knockoff in most respects. I had decided after getting it home not to even read it, but then I got the flu and ran out of things to read.

I honestly found the book pretty good. It was brain candy, but the story, the characters, etc. were a good time. This is I think the 9th book or so of this series and I think I'm going to pick up at least the 1st and 2nd book and see what I think of them.

[Stasia Bruhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Annja was working at a sacrificial pit in the southern coast of India a Tsunami hits. After the Tsunami hits one of the college students helping with the dig finds a Naga statue.Other artifacts are found that leads Annja to believe it might be part of a sunken ship's cargo. She has to fight off thieves and modern day pirates. She soon learns that the artifacts might come from a forgotten, sunken city called Kumari Kandam.

This is the best one in the series I have read so far..

[pdarnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a mixed bag for me. On one hand I loved the setting, strife between father and son, the "lost world" concept and the archaeology dig. On the other, I'm just not into the whiny overzealous student or Doug in this. The deal made with Garin seems too easy. And as usual Roux is distant and disinterested. Plenty of action, on sea and land. I give this closer towards a 3.5 star rating.

[K.A. Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm starting this series in the middle, so I know there's a lot I have to catch up on with this character. The story was a fast read, but there were some very predictable elements in it. I'm interested and I loved the glimpse into Indian history this provided. There were just a few anti-climactic moments at the end and a bit of a forced romance is trying to start. We'll see how it goes.

[Michelle Kampmeier · Rating 3 out of 5]

They seem to be getting more and more into the lives of the other people, the bad guys specifically. This one is set in India, off the coast. Not a bad one, with it being under the water for a ship recovery, but it was a little convoluted.

[Ruby Ridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how to write a rogue angel book. Annja Creed showing us her archaeological skills as well as her fighting ones and no pathetic romance to spoil the enjoyment,
Recommended for all y'all who have never read a rogue angel book but beware they are addictive.

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bottom of the barrel. Includes human/gorilla hybrids

[Trea · Rating 4 out of 5]

a female indiana jones

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story however I felt the ending/climax was rushed and the middle was a bit slow and predictable. Much better then #6 book though!

[Heather Willson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting. Kept me hooked. This is the Rogue Angel style I like...

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cool plot idea I wish it had a bit more meat at the end, but I loved the read!!! Well done! On to the next...

[David A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful Archaeologist, a disappearing sword, gold, jungle, this book has it all.
Like the rest of the series has been this was a good read.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

at times the switch between characters to much. I get confused as to who is the topic at which time. But enjoyable

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this one more than most of the even numbered volumes of this series. Easy, quick, enjoyable read.

[Laura Herrold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read, fun characters with limited down time . . .

[Sarah Alawami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anya once again finds herself in the middle of a life threatening situation. The plot is good, but when will garron relax and not try and kill her? Or so it seems?

[Amy Webster-Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

really love her annjia creed is awesome,

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than the last book. This book returned to the Annja style that I've come to love.