Sabina Kane Sates My Hunger for Urban Fantasy

With two books published so far in the Sabina Kane series, author Jaye Wells has introduced a promising new world to urban fantasy readers. While a strong-willed female protagonist is pretty much de rigueur for the genre, leading-lady Sabina is neither trite nor untouchable. Wells adds in an uncommon take on the origin of the vampire race with a healthy dose of Abrahamic mythology (especially Judaic) and struggling relations between the non-human races, making for an interesting book-world that is satisfyingly dissimilar to any other series I’ve read to date. Combined with easy-reading prose and a healthy dose of taboo, interracial romantic intrigue, the series is well worth starting—so long as you don’t mind waiting until 2011 for the third installment.

The Wells mythology

Coming from the school of “God’s wrath produced the dark races,” Wells’ mythology in the Sabina Kane series bases itself on Old Testament and apocryphal stories and is all about betrayal. The vampire race owes its origins to an affair between post-fratricide Cain and cast-out-of-the-Garden Lilith. As a result of their union, vampires are a bloody-thirsty, immortal race of gingers (red hair being the Mark of Cain) who cannot go out in the sun. Furthering the motif of betrayal, the main vampiric kryptonite is apple—apple juice, applewood stakes, etc.

Mages, Sidhe, Werewolves and demons round out the other races we’ve been introduced to thus far. In-depth explanations of their backgrounds are lacking, although there is a small distinction mentioned about two types of demons (disregarding classes and powers)—those that pre-date Lilith and those who are her children, born after she married Asmodeus, king of the demon world.

A war is brewing between the vampires and mages (its cause is integral to the storyline), and the other races are beginning to choose sides. For the most part, the different races do not get along, although they do have interracial treaties. But for many years, they’ve been content keeping separate, frowning on interracial relations—especially romantic ones.

The players

This section has some spoilers for book one. Nothing too major—much of the book is setting up Sabina’s motivation for her actions in the second book, and explaining some of the mythology, but if you don’t want it spoiled, I recommend reading the book before reading on.

Our main protagonist is Sabina Kane, a mix-blood Vampire/Mage who was raised by her vampire grandmother Lavinia Kane, the leader of the vampire’s ruling body known as the Dominae. Because of her mixed heritage, she is an outcast, influenced into becoming her grandmother’s pawn and trained as an assassin.

As book one, Red-Headed Stepchild, unfolds and she begins to understand the extent to which her grandmother has been using her throughout her whole life, Sabina’s world gets a little rocky as she is forced to reevaluate her purpose and desires in life. Guiding her along this journey is mysterious mage Adam Lazarus, a guard of the Mage ruling council, who was sent by Sabina’s twin sister Maisie Graecus. Reeling from the ultimate betrayal by her grandmother, Sabina heads to New York to meet Maisie and learn more about her mage heritage.

The Mage in Black starts on the journey to NY, and follows Sabina as she meets her sister, runs into an old acquaintance, and learns more about Mage life and her supposed destiny. War is looming on the horizon and it may be that Sabina is the key to winning—and preventing mass genocide of the dark races.

Where it’s all going

So, this entire premise of the first two books has me jumping ahead and wondering where it’s all going to lead—especially with some of the literary foreshadowing signifiers. With all the talk of the second coming of Lilith, surely naming our protagonist with a homophone for Cain wasn’t accidental. Combining suggestions of Sabina being the second Lilith and naming her love interest Adam has my mind running off on a million different tangential storylines—after all, I’m sure Sabina likes it on top. And does the surname Lazarus indicate imminent death and rebirth for the mage? It’s all too much to wait for.

The third book in the series, Green-Eyed Demon, is slated for sometime in 2011, although I can’t find an exact date yet. Further flaming my desire to have my hands on the book right. This. Second. Is the note on Wells’ FAQ that claims she’s only contracted for three books at this point in time. Will three be enough? (No.) Will she get a contract for more books? (I hope.) Will we be left hanging with no resolution? (Please no, I’ll be a good girl, I promise.) The suspense is killing me!

While we wait, if you are looking for more Sabina, or even a place to test the waters, there is a short prequel to the series published in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2, but that might not slake your thirst for this interesting series.

Have you read either (or both) of the books? What are your thoughts?

Update: Book 3, Green-Eyed Demon will be released March 1, 2011.