Emancipation Day! The day that celebrates 600 years of independence. A day that marks the end of a bloody revolt and war between humans and Aeriels. The day that drove the Aeriels, a species superior to humans, back to their home on the planet Vaan. Remaining is but a rebel group of these creatures, still visiting earth and waging targeted attacks here and there. It takes a special task force of humans, the Hunters, to take them out. “He was Ruban Kinoh, Chief Hunter, South Ragah Division. He was a soldier, an officer of the state of Vandram and a servant to her people.” Ruban receives a call to see the Senior Secretary of Defence at the Intelligence and Analysis Wing headquarters (IAW), asap. He is to investigate a leak of information regarding the most powerful weapon against Aeriels, a sifblade that has been secretly developed and is highly sought after. Aeriels sustain themselves primarily on energy derived directly from the sun and the sifblade only needs to touch an Aeriel’s skin and can suck out every last drop of engery from their veins, leaving nothing more than a wrung out carcass. “Because their energy consume is more direct in nature, it grants them greater physical prowess and accelerated powers of healing.” Sif is the world’s greatest and fastest conductor of energy. It’s the only substance on earth that can sap an Aeriel’s energy fastest and its’ formula is stored in fragments in various locations and systems across the country. After an attack on humans at the SifCo facility, surveillance video from SifCo was leaked to the media and it wasn’t just any old Aeriel that attacked SifCo. It was Tauheen, the Aeriel Queen. She is the bearer of the scarlet markings that distinguish her of her monarchy and this is bad news. Now the whole country is buzzing with talk of Aeriel plots and conspiracies. As far as Ruban can tell, the IAW has been compromised. Someone on the inside is feeding information to the Aeriels. Can Ruban and his team end these attacks, find the perpetrator, save humanity and restore peace? You will have to find out! *** This book was amazing. So different from any other urban fantasy that I have read before. A breath of fresh air. I loved the whole concept and was swept away in the streets battling it out right next to Ruban. The idea of beings deriving their energy differently from us, their appearance of wings and the description of their world was such a brilliant idea. The characters seemed exotic, yet rooted in their own systems. There was plenty of characterization, wit and fun in the novel as well as some heartache and suspense. A clean urban fantasy that delivers fast paced and action packed. A few moments in the middle were a bit long for me, but from what I can tell, this novel will hold its water with other well-known urban or paranormal fantasies. In my opinion it fits well in the Young Adult or adult fantasy market and I mean that as a compliment. This is book one of The Aeriel Chronicles and I have a feeling it was just a warm up. Another talented writer, don’t miss out…it’s too good to be missed.