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Fantasy & Forensics #5
Forgery of the Phoenix: Book Five of 'Fantasy & Forensics'
C.S. Lewis continues to meet CSI…when Amazon Bestselling author Michael Angel presents the fifth installment in his series, ‘Fantasy & Forensics.’ Andeluvia needs Dayna’s talents again. When a fiery phoenix appears in the King’s throne room, Dayna’s called in to save the species before their flames gutter out. She must heed Albess Thea’s warnings of treachery even as she travels to the mysterious Vale of the Seraphine with her centaur, fayleene, and griffin companions! And Dame Chrissie’s life just got even more complicated. Dayna finds out that she’s been joined to the pathetic knightly organization, the ‘Order of the Weasel.’ Worse, she’s now liable for their mountain of unpaid debts. To top it off, she’s blamed for setting knights against one another in combats to the death. A trail of dark magic leads her back to Los Angeles. Revelations about the role of the phoenix – as well as one of Dayna’s supposed allies – threatens to upend all of her assumptions about the Old War. And just as everything hits rock bottom, newly elected Police Chief Robert McClatchy begins his campaign to destroy all that Dayna holds dear! Dayna must triumph against her enemies in both worlds before the Creatures of the Dark strike another devastating blow!
- GenresFantasy
306 pages, Paperback
Published July 28, 2016
About the author
Michael Angel
148 books53 followersMichael Angel's fictional worlds range from the former Soviet province of Ozrabek to the magic-filled realm of Andeluvia.
His eBooks, audio books, and paperbacks populate shelves in 12 different languages. However, despite keeping a keen eye out for globe-trotting epidemiologists, unicorns, or galactic marshals, none have yet put in an appearance on Hollywood Boulevard.
THE PLAGUE WALKER PANDEMIC MEDICAL THRILLERS~
The Devil's Noose
The Reaper's Scythe
The Blood Zone
The Wildfire Pathogen
The Plague Walker (A Leigh Austen Short Thriller)
FANTASY & FORENSICS ~
Centaur of the Crime
The Deer Prince's Murder
Grand Theft Griffin
A Perjury of Owls
Forgery of the Phoenix
Assault in the Wizard Degree
Trafficking in Demons
A Warrant of Wyverns
The Conspiracy of Unicorns
Dragon with a Deadly Weapon
Forensics and Dragon Fire (Fantasy & Forensics Novella)
APOCALYPSE WITH A SIDE OF GRILLED SPAM ~
Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
Episode Four
Season One Compilation
STANDALONE SF/F NOVELS~
The Detective & The Unicorn
The Wizard, The Warlord, and The Hidden Woman
I Married the Third Horseman
THE AMANDA LOVE UNIVERSE ~
A Shovelful of Stars
Pay To Pray
Dogfight
A Planet Torn
Fringe Space Tales (Amanda Love Compilation)
COLLECTIONS & SHORTS~
Never Mind the Princess, Save the *Dragon*
Treasure of the Silver Star
Sylph
Gatekeeper and Goddess
So a Dragon, a Muse, and an Alien Walk Into a Bar...
Predators and Prey
Deepest Fears
Three Acts of Courage
Strange Powers, Stranger Places
Crisis Points
Love's Origins
Cyber Son
Cantaloupes and Wild Shoshone
Vala Staffwielder
Little Girl Lost
Love's Labors and Lies
The Haute Couture Time Traveler
Blood, Sweat, and Fears (an 18-story compendium)
Michael Angel's welcome mat is out at MichaelAngelWriter.weebly.com. Or, feel free to stop by and say 'hello' to the kind folks who publish his material at BantyHenPublishing.com.
His eBooks, audio books, and paperbacks populate shelves in 12 different languages. However, despite keeping a keen eye out for globe-trotting epidemiologists, unicorns, or galactic marshals, none have yet put in an appearance on Hollywood Boulevard.
THE PLAGUE WALKER PANDEMIC MEDICAL THRILLERS~
The Devil's Noose
The Reaper's Scythe
The Blood Zone
The Wildfire Pathogen
The Plague Walker (A Leigh Austen Short Thriller)
FANTASY & FORENSICS ~
Centaur of the Crime
The Deer Prince's Murder
Grand Theft Griffin
A Perjury of Owls
Forgery of the Phoenix
Assault in the Wizard Degree
Trafficking in Demons
A Warrant of Wyverns
The Conspiracy of Unicorns
Dragon with a Deadly Weapon
Forensics and Dragon Fire (Fantasy & Forensics Novella)
APOCALYPSE WITH A SIDE OF GRILLED SPAM ~
Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
Episode Four
Season One Compilation
STANDALONE SF/F NOVELS~
The Detective & The Unicorn
The Wizard, The Warlord, and The Hidden Woman
I Married the Third Horseman
THE AMANDA LOVE UNIVERSE ~
A Shovelful of Stars
Pay To Pray
Dogfight
A Planet Torn
Fringe Space Tales (Amanda Love Compilation)
COLLECTIONS & SHORTS~
Never Mind the Princess, Save the *Dragon*
Treasure of the Silver Star
Sylph
Gatekeeper and Goddess
So a Dragon, a Muse, and an Alien Walk Into a Bar...
Predators and Prey
Deepest Fears
Three Acts of Courage
Strange Powers, Stranger Places
Crisis Points
Love's Origins
Cyber Son
Cantaloupes and Wild Shoshone
Vala Staffwielder
Little Girl Lost
Love's Labors and Lies
The Haute Couture Time Traveler
Blood, Sweat, and Fears (an 18-story compendium)
Michael Angel's welcome mat is out at MichaelAngelWriter.weebly.com. Or, feel free to stop by and say 'hello' to the kind folks who publish his material at BantyHenPublishing.com.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 2, 2016
Poor Dayna! Isn’t it enough that she has saved the land of Andeluvia over and over, and never gotten even a “Thank you” for her efforts? I mean, come ON guys! You beat a demon, save a couple of races, and keep warning the whole planet that a war, fought long ago, is heating up once more . . . and all she gets is laughed at!? Wow. Talk about disrespectful!
The Royal Court doesn’t listen. Life back home on Earth is going sideways faster than she can say “Great big gobs of greasy, grimy Griffin Poo!” What is a girl to do??? Oh, and don’t even get me started on the King! Not only does he only intermittently have Dayna’s back. Ohhh no! Since Dayna was given the rather dubious title of “Dame Chrissie” the costs for renovating her tower are going up. Who was to know that, when she turned down tenant farmers and lands, not wanting to be responsible for all that, she was also turning down the income that comes with it. And the King? Well, well well. Being the “Kingly” sort, in the “I’m broke and have to pay all these people, so I am going to stick it to Dame Chrissie” (Really. You honestly didn’t notice that certain parties were draining your treasury?! Sigh.) way, Dayna has been awarded the “Great Honor” of becoming the one and only member of the Order of the Weasel. Whaaa?!?!
Yep, the Order of the Weasel. Or, better known as The Order of the Welchers. Who happened to leave behind nearly a quarter million in debt. Which, of course, Dame Chrissie is expected to pay.
You gotta be kidding me!
And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the Phoenix who pops out of the fireplace during a meeting of the Royal Court is determined that Dame Chrissie shall save his whole species from extinction!
Can a girl not get a freakin’ Break?
Join Dayna and her friends, Grimshaw the Griffin, the Fayleene Protector of the Forest, and Galen the Centaur Wizard on their newest adventure, as they fight off the depredations of evil (If they can figure out what the “evil” is), and take on another wonderful, magical adventure!
If you like your fantasy with fun, you will LOVE Michael’s writing, especially the Fantasy and Forensics series, of which Forgery of the Phoenix is the fifth! And don’t forget to check out all the other books in the series. They are best read in order ;-) Enjoy!!!
I work with Michael on his books. All thoughts are my own.
The Royal Court doesn’t listen. Life back home on Earth is going sideways faster than she can say “Great big gobs of greasy, grimy Griffin Poo!” What is a girl to do??? Oh, and don’t even get me started on the King! Not only does he only intermittently have Dayna’s back. Ohhh no! Since Dayna was given the rather dubious title of “Dame Chrissie” the costs for renovating her tower are going up. Who was to know that, when she turned down tenant farmers and lands, not wanting to be responsible for all that, she was also turning down the income that comes with it. And the King? Well, well well. Being the “Kingly” sort, in the “I’m broke and have to pay all these people, so I am going to stick it to Dame Chrissie” (Really. You honestly didn’t notice that certain parties were draining your treasury?! Sigh.) way, Dayna has been awarded the “Great Honor” of becoming the one and only member of the Order of the Weasel. Whaaa?!?!
Yep, the Order of the Weasel. Or, better known as The Order of the Welchers. Who happened to leave behind nearly a quarter million in debt. Which, of course, Dame Chrissie is expected to pay.
You gotta be kidding me!
And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the Phoenix who pops out of the fireplace during a meeting of the Royal Court is determined that Dame Chrissie shall save his whole species from extinction!
Can a girl not get a freakin’ Break?
Join Dayna and her friends, Grimshaw the Griffin, the Fayleene Protector of the Forest, and Galen the Centaur Wizard on their newest adventure, as they fight off the depredations of evil (If they can figure out what the “evil” is), and take on another wonderful, magical adventure!
If you like your fantasy with fun, you will LOVE Michael’s writing, especially the Fantasy and Forensics series, of which Forgery of the Phoenix is the fifth! And don’t forget to check out all the other books in the series. They are best read in order ;-) Enjoy!!!
I work with Michael on his books. All thoughts are my own.
August 8, 2018
Dayna hasn't had an easy life since being summoned to Andeluvia, but now things are getting out of hand. The Spring Tournament is coming up, which means burly, boneheaded knights are competing for the right to represent her---and they're not good at taking "No" for an answer. King Fitzwilliam has assigned her to a knightly order burdened with enough debt to buy a small kingdom. And a phoenix has shown up in the throne room, asking for Dayna's help particularly to save their species from extinction. Then there's a new wrinkle in LA regarding her worsening relationship with Bob McClatchy . . .
I love how each one of these books has been picking up a different mythological creature and giving them a lot of depth. Their cultures, physiology, mode of speech, and worldview. Their possible motives for crime. This time around we get phoenixes (who are also criminally underrepresented in fantasy). I love that Dayna keeps tripping over the fact that she's assuming intelligent beings means thinks like a human. To a phoenix, time, life, and death have much different implications. And I love that to the phoenixes, all other life is basically just sparks.
I also really like the book's focus on refusing to accept narrow options, and looking for that third choice when an either-or situation pops up. To me this especially comes into play when Dayna finally gets more answers about the ancient war between the Light and the Dark. Which is a variant on "history was written by the winners" as the original sides certainly didn't label themselves good and evil. And now it makes perfect sense why the sides were basically drawn up at a species level.
Although the title kind of gives away that there is a forgery in play, I think it still works as a mystery because Dayna has to figure out why it matters. The phoenixes certainly only have one concern: themselves. Which is a change for Dayna, because the obvious crimes are being shrugged off by the creatures who should have the most invested in the outcome.
Overall this continues to barrel through things at a spectacular clip, deftly balancing mystery, epic fantasy, and plenty of humor. I rate this book Highly Recommended.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
I love how each one of these books has been picking up a different mythological creature and giving them a lot of depth. Their cultures, physiology, mode of speech, and worldview. Their possible motives for crime. This time around we get phoenixes (who are also criminally underrepresented in fantasy). I love that Dayna keeps tripping over the fact that she's assuming intelligent beings means thinks like a human. To a phoenix, time, life, and death have much different implications. And I love that to the phoenixes, all other life is basically just sparks.
I also really like the book's focus on refusing to accept narrow options, and looking for that third choice when an either-or situation pops up. To me this especially comes into play when Dayna finally gets more answers about the ancient war between the Light and the Dark. Which is a variant on "history was written by the winners" as the original sides certainly didn't label themselves good and evil. And now it makes perfect sense why the sides were basically drawn up at a species level.
Although the title kind of gives away that there is a forgery in play, I think it still works as a mystery because Dayna has to figure out why it matters. The phoenixes certainly only have one concern: themselves. Which is a change for Dayna, because the obvious crimes are being shrugged off by the creatures who should have the most invested in the outcome.
Overall this continues to barrel through things at a spectacular clip, deftly balancing mystery, epic fantasy, and plenty of humor. I rate this book Highly Recommended.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
April 1, 2019
It is all heating up
A creature that is considered good makes a plea for help. Dayna Chrissie and her friends answer the call.
This series is getting really twisty as the overall plot moves us along. Can Dayna solve the mystery and can she wriggle out of the machinations around her? It's fun finding out.
A creature that is considered good makes a plea for help. Dayna Chrissie and her friends answer the call.
This series is getting really twisty as the overall plot moves us along. Can Dayna solve the mystery and can she wriggle out of the machinations around her? It's fun finding out.
December 12, 2018
Great reading
I was enchanted by the first book in this series and each subsequent book has improved the series even more. Very inventive and always enjoyable.
I was enchanted by the first book in this series and each subsequent book has improved the series even more. Very inventive and always enjoyable.
July 12, 2020
Intense
Thankfully, this book was much better paced than the last two. It was also much more interesting. It’ll be interesting to see how the main character handles the blackmail.
Thankfully, this book was much better paced than the last two. It was also much more interesting. It’ll be interesting to see how the main character handles the blackmail.
February 19, 2017
New things unearthed, and my own mental 'click'
So, way back in book 1, Dayna described her mind as 'reptilian' in focus... now she's having dream visions?? My conspiratorial mind thinks Michael may be playing a long end-game of Dayna possibly being more than she seems?
Even if I'm wrong, this was yet another fabulous book, and I'm looking forward to book 6 :)
So, way back in book 1, Dayna described her mind as 'reptilian' in focus... now she's having dream visions?? My conspiratorial mind thinks Michael may be playing a long end-game of Dayna possibly being more than she seems?
Even if I'm wrong, this was yet another fabulous book, and I'm looking forward to book 6 :)
August 17, 2016
The Fantasy & Forensics series has been described as CSI meets Narnia and this isn't a bad elevator pitch. As in many series this story is self contained, but if you have read the earlier stories its a lot more layered. The heroine is a CSI specialist who is transported from our world to Andeluvia, who is magically summoned to solve a murder mystery.
In the previous stories we met griffins & centaurs (as traditional fantasy tropes) and deer fae and accountant owls (somewhat less traditional), all of these have been well known to the human population. In this new one a phoenix appears, and they haven't been seen for decades or centuries.
Dayna and her friends have to solve the Phoenix problem and get a bit closer to solving the overarching problem of the Last War.
In the previous stories we met griffins & centaurs (as traditional fantasy tropes) and deer fae and accountant owls (somewhat less traditional), all of these have been well known to the human population. In this new one a phoenix appears, and they haven't been seen for decades or centuries.
Dayna and her friends have to solve the Phoenix problem and get a bit closer to solving the overarching problem of the Last War.
November 28, 2016
Better and better!
I have been reading Sci Fi and Fantasy for some time now. I am throughly enjoying this series. The humor and serious life experiences mixed in with the Fantasy is wonderful!
I have been reading Sci Fi and Fantasy for some time now. I am throughly enjoying this series. The humor and serious life experiences mixed in with the Fantasy is wonderful!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews