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Rogue Angel #12
The Soul Stealer
Annja Creed jumps at the chance to join a fellow archaeologist on a quest to find a relic. But she's not so thrilled about northern Siberia, where they are hoping to discover something buried in the long-undisturbed soil of Russia's frozen terrain. When they reach the town of Jakutsk, Annja is put off by its gray landscape and highly superstitious inhabitants. They claim they are being hunted. Then one of the villagers goes missing.
The locals blame the Khosadam, a ghost of a fallen goddess said to ingest the souls of the departed. But there are no fresh graves. She is now hunting the living. When Annja seeks to destroy the apparition, she discovers an even more horrifying truth—and may have hit a dead end.
The locals blame the Khosadam, a ghost of a fallen goddess said to ingest the souls of the departed. But there are no fresh graves. She is now hunting the living. When Annja seeks to destroy the apparition, she discovers an even more horrifying truth—and may have hit a dead end.
348 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 13, 2007
8 people are currently reading
544 people want to read
About the author
Alex Archer
99 books236 followersA 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 5, 2020
I believe that this one was one of the weakest in the series so far.
Annja behaves really naive in this one and although she can access a sword from another dimension and has dealt with supernatural stuff before, she doesn't believe the Khosadam can exist?
There was still action and some gruesome deaths, but not even close to the other books in the series.
Annja behaves really naive in this one and although she can access a sword from another dimension and has dealt with supernatural stuff before, she doesn't believe the Khosadam can exist?
There was still action and some gruesome deaths, but not even close to the other books in the series.
September 9, 2018
Enjoyable! Annja Creed is very likable. I love that as an archaeologist, her journeys take her all over the world. Mad scientist - bring it on!
December 22, 2010
Synopsis: Annja Creed jumps at the chance to join a fellow archaeologist Robert Gulliver on a quest to find a relic. But she's not so thrilled about northern Siberia, where they are hoping to discover something buried in the long-undisturbed soil of Russia's frozen terrain. When they reach the town of Jakutsk, Annja is put off by its gray landscape and highly superstitious inhabitants. They claim they are being hunted. Then one of the villagers goes missing.
The locals blame the Khosadam, a ghost of a fallen goddess said to ingest the souls of the departed. But there are no fresh graves. She is now hunting the living. When Annja seeks to destroy the apparition, she discovers an even more horrifying truth—and may have hit a dead end.
Whoever wrote this particular book in the series, has absolutely no clue what he is doing. I found the storyline to be a bit more science fiction with the mad doctor and the return of the cold war in order to breed soldiers that have claws for hands, and steel teeth. It had absolutely nothing to do with Annya archealogy endeavours whatsoever. I hear it's the same writer who wrote another in this series that I found extremely lacking in taste and in storyline.
I've often found myself saying that we need less of Garin and Roux in these stories, but in this case, Garin at least would have been a welcomed relief from dealing with the mad scientist aspect of the story line, and the fact that people were turned into creatures from the black lagoon...ok, so they were actually turned into walking monsters with steel teeth and claws.
Where was the search for a relic? Where was the action that takes place each and every time Annya and her companions find somethign of value? There was absolutely nothing of value to be found her, and the monster wasn't a monster at all. Just another Soviet era creation gone horribly wrong.
I didn't mind the part of Gregor, the spy sent to attempt to bribe Bob, or the fact that the Russian Mafia was involved in the story. Heck, it would have been interesting if the Mafia was chasing Annya and Bob around for a relic they uncovered, instead of working together (sort of). But, nooooooo.......All they wanted in the end was the mad scientist and Annya's sword. Pffft!
I'm truly disappointed in this story and rate it only 2 stars.
The locals blame the Khosadam, a ghost of a fallen goddess said to ingest the souls of the departed. But there are no fresh graves. She is now hunting the living. When Annja seeks to destroy the apparition, she discovers an even more horrifying truth—and may have hit a dead end.
Whoever wrote this particular book in the series, has absolutely no clue what he is doing. I found the storyline to be a bit more science fiction with the mad doctor and the return of the cold war in order to breed soldiers that have claws for hands, and steel teeth. It had absolutely nothing to do with Annya archealogy endeavours whatsoever. I hear it's the same writer who wrote another in this series that I found extremely lacking in taste and in storyline.
I've often found myself saying that we need less of Garin and Roux in these stories, but in this case, Garin at least would have been a welcomed relief from dealing with the mad scientist aspect of the story line, and the fact that people were turned into creatures from the black lagoon...ok, so they were actually turned into walking monsters with steel teeth and claws.
Where was the search for a relic? Where was the action that takes place each and every time Annya and her companions find somethign of value? There was absolutely nothing of value to be found her, and the monster wasn't a monster at all. Just another Soviet era creation gone horribly wrong.
I didn't mind the part of Gregor, the spy sent to attempt to bribe Bob, or the fact that the Russian Mafia was involved in the story. Heck, it would have been interesting if the Mafia was chasing Annya and Bob around for a relic they uncovered, instead of working together (sort of). But, nooooooo.......All they wanted in the end was the mad scientist and Annya's sword. Pffft!
I'm truly disappointed in this story and rate it only 2 stars.
December 3, 2015
Hmm. This one was a dud for me. A character of folklore come to life, sure. Russian mafia, yep. Mad scientist, I'll bite. Presentation, not so much. All these things would make a great Rogue Angel story, but it didn't happen. Annja was just a step up from being a blubbering idiot. Incessantly and repetitively Annja looked for her sword and found comfort or concern because she could or couldn't see it. Constantly she was reaching out to feel if it was there, etc. Yawn. There could have been a good story with the cast of characters, I just can't put my finger on why it didn't work. There was a lot of action, plenty of blood, the characters, for the most part, were believable, the physical alterations of several people are gruesome and not quite conceivable, especially they're "imprinted?" choice for food. Next.
August 27, 2013
This is the 12th of a rather large series. I have read the previous 11.
The story is of Annja who is an adventurer/archaeologist who has the use of Joan of Arc's sword which is hidden from sight but which Annja can reach for at any time. The rules which the sword follows have been laid out in previous books. Unfortunately many of those rules were broken for no reason other than that for the story to continue it had to be done.
I was quite upset about this. If this is a series then Alex Archer should not be breaking his own rules just to keep a story moving.
Other than that is was an enjoyable read.
The story is of Annja who is an adventurer/archaeologist who has the use of Joan of Arc's sword which is hidden from sight but which Annja can reach for at any time. The rules which the sword follows have been laid out in previous books. Unfortunately many of those rules were broken for no reason other than that for the story to continue it had to be done.
I was quite upset about this. If this is a series then Alex Archer should not be breaking his own rules just to keep a story moving.
Other than that is was an enjoyable read.
January 12, 2013
I have read others in this series and enjoyed them. However, that was not the case with this one. I found the character, Annja Creed, very exasperating. She has a supernatural sword. It exists outside of space and time. She can draw energy from it by concentrating upon it. Or draw it to defend herself from attackers. So when Annja and her comrades find themselves in the backwoods of Russia, facing what the locals believe to be the ghost of a vengeful goddess, she is very skeptical. I wanted to shake her.
December 1, 2010
One of the least interesting of the Rogue Angel series. Feels as though it was written on auto-pilot with all the standard formula: possibly supernatural appearances, a good guy dies, truly evil bad guy, faux and real rescues... The best part was Garin's appearance at the end. The worst part was how naive and stupid Anja was in this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2013
This book was brutal. We all know that there are multiple authors writing this series but you'd think they'd at least read each others work so the character was at least somewhat the same from novel to novel. This was by far the worst in the series, and there have been some pretty bad ones.
May 8, 2011
Better than some of the last couple but still, not enough swordplay and inconsistencies with other books. Also, I'm not a fan of the ending. I won't spoil it but it it didn't work for me.
May 5, 2018
Annja Creed accompanies her friend Bob and their guide Gregor on a biking trip into Siberia for an archeological dig. After a stop in a remote small town for the night, their trip is sidetracked by the investigation of a monster that is killing the residents of the village. To say much more about the plot would be spoilers, but rest assured that this is another great read in this series about Annja, the archeologist and television host who has inherited the mystical sword of Joan of Arc. There is plenty of action but also character development, too, as Annja is drawn to Gregor, whose enigmatic background leaves questions on whether or not he has a hidden agenda. The only criticism of this edition is that the conclusion is wrapped up just a bit too quickly almost as if the page limit were being reached. Otherwise it would be a five star review of the book. Highly recommended.
November 6, 2021
Have to say...one of the better books in the series has one of the dumbest character ideas I've ever heard of...a guy who plans a bicycle trip in Siberia. Huh? And Bob the bicyclist is just ..lame.
As for annja...when a bad guy asks you questions, quit giving him more emotional ammunition to use against you!
I sound like one of those b-movie audience people yelling at the screen "don't go into the root cellar!"
Anyway.
But the plot. I think this was the best of the series so far. Actually had some suspenseful moments.
As for annja...when a bad guy asks you questions, quit giving him more emotional ammunition to use against you!
I sound like one of those b-movie audience people yelling at the screen "don't go into the root cellar!"
Anyway.
But the plot. I think this was the best of the series so far. Actually had some suspenseful moments.
September 22, 2023
Writen by the same author as Warrior Spirit, who still hasn't read te other books, apparently.
Especially obvious in this book (and thinking back Warrior Spirit as well) was how Annja suddenly needs to close her eyes to get the sword. Not really conducive to battle situations.
It also really stuck out to me that she didn't know how concussions work and what to look for, despite taking time out in the second book- during a chase- to have someone check her out.
At least her dialogue was better than in the other book.
Especially obvious in this book (and thinking back Warrior Spirit as well) was how Annja suddenly needs to close her eyes to get the sword. Not really conducive to battle situations.
It also really stuck out to me that she didn't know how concussions work and what to look for, despite taking time out in the second book- during a chase- to have someone check her out.
At least her dialogue was better than in the other book.
July 21, 2019
3 stars.
This one has a Frankenstein sort of storyline with Annja and a fellow archaeologist looking into the legends of a female soul stealing goddess in some isolated Siberian town. We really got back to a very bloody and high dead count sort of story with this one.
One take out with this episode, beware of big Russians and small Siberian towns! They can be deadly!!
This one has a Frankenstein sort of storyline with Annja and a fellow archaeologist looking into the legends of a female soul stealing goddess in some isolated Siberian town. We really got back to a very bloody and high dead count sort of story with this one.
One take out with this episode, beware of big Russians and small Siberian towns! They can be deadly!!
July 6, 2019
Great book! I loved Bob and Gregor! Russia was an interesting setting.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
January 8, 2026
Rather disappointing book. If this had been the first book in the series I read, I wouldn't get any more.
November 11, 2023
This book was cruising right along, not stellar but not bad, until it reached about an hour and a half from the end. Then it devolved into utterly ridiculous dreck. It's almost like the author couldn't decide which bad guy he wanted to use so he mashed them all together and used them all. Ugh!
November 2, 2013
I know that a lot of these books don't get very good reviews but I really liked this one. It was not the normal Annja gets killed almost every three seconds. The book takes place in Siberia where she is supposed to go on a dig with her good friend Bob, well things get sidetracked and they end up in a remote village with a lot of secrets. It's really entertaining and not boring in the least. There is cannibals, evil doctors that are immortal and many other crazy things. One of the best Rogue Angels I've read in awhile.
May 2, 2010
This one strays a little bit from the usual Rogue Angel formula, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, I do feel that the resolution of the plot felt more like an old James Bond movie or one of James Rollins' Sigma Force novels (again, not necessarily bad).
But, after all is said and done, Annja Creed is still Annja Creed. She can still give Indiana Jones a run for his money and she can still send Lara Croft packing, even on her worse day.
But, after all is said and done, Annja Creed is still Annja Creed. She can still give Indiana Jones a run for his money and she can still send Lara Croft packing, even on her worse day.
May 27, 2012
I am a huge fan of the Rogue Angel series. I actually think it would make a good t.v series. different locations and i learn a little bit about different countries. I really enjoy all of the stories. However this one has stuck with me. I don't know if its the thought of the human experiments, the creepy town people or maybe the tie to WW2. Either way it creeped me out and kept me turning the pages. Loved it.!
January 13, 2010
The 12th in the series is good but I wouldn't say excellent. It seemed very long and could of ended earlier then it did. It felt to drawn out to me. The story was an interesting concept and there were a lot of unexpected twists. I enjoyed those but again I felt it was too drawn out and long. Not the worst in the series but definitely not the best. The 11th is still by far the best so far.
December 29, 2009
This story was a little more involved with some twists and turns. Why is it now that she's almost sleeping with someone in every book? And I wish someone besides Doug, Roux, and Garin would stick around. The sword is more and more complicated, and with all these people knowing.. I don't know. Doesn't really matter. These aren't works of art here.
December 17, 2011
Annja Creed goes on a scouting w/ "Biker Bob" to Siberia..They arrive at a village called Yakutsk where they find out the villagers are afraid of something called Khosadam..Khosadam is supposed to be a Siberian Goddess who eats souls..What Annja finds out about the Village & priest is a more horrifying..
January 6, 2013
I have enjoyed the other books in this Annja Creed series but this was one was just too far-fetched. Supposedly the Russians were carrying out experiments to create cannibal soldiers with metal teeth and claws. The whole book was a nonsense and I just hope that the others I have downloaded to my kindle are like the previous books and not like this one.
July 29, 2016
Not bad for an even numbered entry in the series, but not as good as some of the odd numbered ones. A little uneven, sometimes Annja knows what she's doing and other times she's an idiot. And half way through the book you're presented with a wrap up, and I'm going, "Well, obviously, this isn't actually all there is to it. I've got another couple of hundred pages to go."
May 29, 2010
This wasn't one of Mr. Archers better books. I found the whole thing rather absurd. Every time I thought the story got as silly as it could get, well the next chapter just got worse. I really hope the next one is better.
October 29, 2011
This book is inconsistent, the sword has always gone into the ether (or wherever) if Annja dropped it, but it falls to the ground an stays there in this book. It also has a different feel than other books in the series but is still a page turner.
January 19, 2012
Really not one of his best. Seemed rushed and not well thought put at all.
May 1, 2012
This Rogue Angel book is not quite as good as some of the others.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews