Witchblade: Talons

Witchblade Novels #1

by John DeChancie

Her name is Sara Pezzini. A New York City homicide detective with a deadly secret: A few years ago, she came into the possession of the Witchblade, a mystic weapon of unknown origin that has existed for centuries. Grateful to have first used it when her life was in danger, Sara soon learned the lesson every owner of the device has been taught through the years: The Witchblade is not controlled by anyone -- it does the controlling... A series of brutal murders have been committed in New York, and the trail of bodies seems to lead back to Russian mob boss Lazlo Kontra. But are the killings really gang-related, or the work of a mysterious group called the Order of the Raven -- a group that seems to know all about Sara Pezzini's secret...?

At the moment, though, the Order and the Russian Mafia are the least of Sara's problems. Rumors have been spreading through the NYPD about cops on the take, and one of the accusatory fingers has been pointed directly at Sara. Now Internal Affairs is looking into her activities, and they've taken a particular interest in the more unusual aspects of her past cases -- situations in which Sara had been forced to use the Witchblade to bring murderers to justice.

Caught between special prosecutors, gangsters, and mystical killers, Sara must once again call upon the Witchblade in order to survive -- but will it answer that call when she needs its power the most...?

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Action

249 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 29, 2002

About the author

From his website:
John DeChancie is the author of over two dozen books, fiction and nonfiction, and has written for periodicals as widely varied as Penthouse and Cult Movies. His novels in the science fiction and fantasy genres have been attracting a wide readership for more than fifteen years, and over a million copies of his books have seen print, many in foreign languages.

John's first work was Starrigger (Berkley/Ace ,1984), followed by Red Limit Freeway (1985) and Paradox Alley (1987), completing the Skyway Trilogy, one of the most imaginative, mind-expanding series in science fiction. Beloved of SF readers around the world, the trilogy has become a cult classic. It is no exaggeration to say that the trilogy has found a place in the hearts of readers along with the works of Heinlein, Asimov, and Clarke. Jerry Pournelle, co-author with Larry Niven of the classics The Mote in God's Eye and Lucifer's Hammer, has compared the series to the best of A. E. van Vogt, and better written. The convoluted plot takes the reader on a mind-bending journey to the end of the universe and back.

His humorous fantasy series, beginning with Castle Perilous, became a best seller for Berkley/Ace. William Morrow published MagicNet, which Booklist said was "a welcome sigh of comic relief ... shamelessly droll, literate, and thoroughly entertaining. Magicnet is the fantasy genre's whimsical answer to Neuromancer." He has also written in the horror genre. His short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and in numerous original anthologies, the latest of which is Spell Fantastic. His story collection, Other States of Being, was recently published by Pulpless.com, Inc., an online and print-on-demand publisher.

He currently lives in Los Angeles and is at work writing novels, articles, short stories, and screenplays. His latest book was the short story collection THE LITTLE GRAY BOOK OF ALIEN STORIES published by Borderlands Press. John's most recent short story publication was in the original anthology SPACE CADETS, edited by Mike Resnick and published by LAcon IV, the 64th World Science Fiction Convention. The book was published in both limited and trade hardback editions. The book is available here . He has just completed a mystery novel and information on this new book (something different from anything he has ever written) is forthcoming. He will also have two new film articles in the second big issue of the new cult film magazine MONDO CULT, also forthcoming.

Reviews

[Andreea Daia · Rating 3 out of 5]

4-stars for the plot, 2-stars for the execution. I couldn't believe the writing issues this book had: when 3 or nore characters talk, it is useful to know who speaks. Also, the story felt rushed as if the author was limited to a certain number of words. Instead, if he took the time to explain the characters' decisions and give better details, it would have been a very nice read.

Finally I was rather disappointed about the ending: it sounded like the author ran out of time and wanted to finish the book quickly.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review: https://supermonsternovels.com/2019/0...

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this was written by a screen writer who thought he would try his hand at writing a novel.

And it didn't work.

It flowed like a tv show, but whereas sudden cut scenes work in television, in this it just felt extremely jerky.

I actually rolled my eyes at the whole Vlad the Impaler / Dracula very rushed part of it.

I don't actually feel like things were tied together at the end (unless all the mystical bits other than the cult witchblade goddess worshipers were in fact all Vlad.)

Whoops actually forgot hit post on this review. Just goes to show how much of an impression it put on me. I did have other thoughts regarding the plot etc, but they have escaped me now.

I'm being generous and giving it 3 stars because I love Witchblade even after all these years.

[Josh Weil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Late 90's and early 00's cable tv shows rarely had the time to ground the fantastic day to day lives of their characters, or the budget to dream big for their antagonists and showdowns. But the tie-in novels have no such limitations, and that is the biggest strength of Talons. It suffers, however, from taking too long to establish its main plot -- at the 50% mark, I still could not have told you what this book was about, and an ending that feels strangely abrupt and disconnected after such a long, slow set-up.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a weird artifact. A novel based on the Witchblade TV show and/or comic. (Honestly, I don't remember the specifics of either to be sure if this is more in the comics continuity or the TV version.)

It's a very pulpy novel. I guess you could put it in the "urban fantasy" genre. With bits of oddball cyberpunk maybe? I enjoyed reading it. I think the author was having some fun with the concept.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talons was the first prose Witchblade novel. The cover is a photograph of Yancy Butler as Sara Pezzini from the television series that was based on the comics series. It's not a bad book, I remember enjoying reading it, but I thought the pacing and structure kind of wandered and the ending felt a bit abrupt.

[William Crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pezzini tries to keep things real, but that is difficult when reality keeps being invaded by alternate dimensions, assorted creatures, and magic computers. Sometimes this book was bizarre.

[Kame · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing style wasn't my favorite; a bit heavy on the dialogue, a bit blunt and verbose and lacking in finesse. The story line was progressing promisingly until the last few chapters. Then things just went haywire. Incohesive, confusing, and totally illogical jump into the ether. Very disappointed.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange one, I was unfamiliar with Witchblade series or comic books, and so did not know about any of the characters. The novel was interesting enough but tended to go off on a tangent at various times for no apparent reason. It was an abrupt ending also with many of the issues unresolved. Won't remember the book in a month's time, fairly bland. Wouldn't recommend.

[J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a die hard Witchblade comic fan when this and the tv show came out, I was excited then disappointed. I recall throwing the book across the room when she took off the Witchblade. Got rid of the book and turned off the tv.

[Kyra Dune · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be random and nonsensical.