Tagged: the devil incarnate

Giveaway: The Devil of Ponong Series by Jill Braden

The Devil's Concubine by Jill BradenToday I’m lucky enough to be doing a giveaway in conjunction with author Jill Braden and her publisher, Wayzgoose Press.  For my review of The Devil’s Concubine, her first amazing book, see here.  For my gushing review of her even more amazing second book, see here.  The fact that I gushed in both reviews should tell you all you need to know about how awesome Jill Braden’s writing is and how lucky you would be to win a copy of her book.  Just follow the Rafflecopter link below and spread the word!

This giveaway will run from today (September 23) until midnight on October 6.  Winners will be announced on the seventh and in addition to the prizes listed, there might be some more special swag thrown in.  Who knows?

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My Interview with Jill Braden

Jill BradenJill Braden is the author of The Devil’s Concubine and its sequel, The Devil Incarnate.  The Devil of Ponong is her first published series and takes place in Ponong, a tropical island under colonial rule in a fantasy world.  Join us for our interview as we talk about her amazing fantasy world, NaNoWriMo and how writing can be compared to watching paint dry.

1.  QuiTai is a truly incredible woman in many ways.  Was there a woman either in your life or in history that inspired her character?  Or was there something else?

I’m glad you like her. My main literary inspiration is Irene Adler from Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Scandal in Bohemia. I don’t like modern versions of her much (and could go on forever about why) but the original is still wonderful. She was a former actress like QuiTai, and rather notorious, and she outsmarted Sherlock Holmes. I also love Amelia Peabody from Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody mysteries, Miss Celeste Temple from Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, Lisbeth Salandar from the Millennium trilogy, Mattie Ross from True Grit, Joan Wilder from Romancing the Stone, and Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. Each of them are wonderfully sensible in their own way, and they have the added attraction of being so well written that they just about leap off the page. Continue reading

The Devil Incarnate by Jill Braden

The Devil Incarnate by Jill Braden(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

There’s no rest for the wicked… especially the Devil.

While QuiTai recovers from her last adventure, Levapur is turning into a police state. The Ponongese are pushed to the brink of rebellion against their colonial masters, the Thampurians – but who is behind it, and why? As the new Devil, QuiTai must wield her power and use her brilliant mind to outsmart her mysterious nemesis before a bloody uprising erupts.

[Full disclosure: After seeing that I loved The Devil’s Concubine so much after reviewing it for NetGalley, Jill Braden’s editor contacted me and sent me a free paperback copy of this second book in exchange for an honest review.]

After The Devil’s Concubine was so good, could The Devil Incarnate live up to my expectations?  Or would it suffer from the dreaded Book 2 Syndrome?

Once again, Jill Braden blew away my expectations.  I won’t say that the second book in the series was any better or worse than the first book, but it was certainly different.  Different in a good way.  In this second book, there was a much bigger focus on the world of QuiTai in regards to the geography as well as the history.  We get to learn so much more about how Ponong was conquered by the Thampurians as well as QuiTai’s life before becoming the Devil’s concubine as we met her in the first book.  The thing with this backstory is that it’s spread all throughout the book so I didn’t feel overwhelmed at any point in time.

Of course we have our old favourite character QuiTai and Kyam, who spend most of their time apart in this book.  Consequently, we’re introduced to a lot of interesting new characters both directly and indirectly like Grandfather Zul (Kyam’s grandfather), Ma’am Thun and Lizzriat.  Each of these new characters have very different personalities, motivations and backgrounds so they add to the overall plot rather than just existing so the main characters have someone to talk to.

The thing that constantly impresses me about The Devil of Ponong series is the beautiful imagery Jill Braden uses.  When QuiTai roams the streets of Levapur, I feel like I’m there.  I can feel the hot, humid air as she strolls among her people and Thampurians; I can taste the rice and see QuiTai stumbling along in her Thampurian disguise on her way to The Dragon Pearl.  Since Jill Braden chose to write a fantasy set in a non-Eurocentric world, she really did need to convey the completely different atmosphere of tropical climates and cultures.  She most definitely succeeded in that regard.

As always with her writing, I never saw her plot twists coming.  Especially the huge one regarding poor Kyam at the end and QuiTai’s secret victory over her new nemesis.  The plot was a little slower in this book than in the first one, but there’s no point where it really drags, even in the middle.  Instead, Jill Braden chose to slowly ratchet up the tension and wrote from a few different points of view to give us a glimpse at the larger politics taking place on Ponong.  It kept me up reading into the early morning hours, at any rate.

I’m constantly impressed with Jill Braden’s writing and still can’t believe that this is her first published series.  Her third book, Tempt the Devil isn’t out yet but I can’t wait to see her writing improve even more.  If you’re looking for non-traditional fantasy, this is definitely the series for you and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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