Pacific Fire

The faltering second Daniel Blackland urban fantasy (after California Bones), set in an alternate L.A. where magic is powered by the region’s abundant bones and fossils, opens with exciting and tense scenes of sorcery and code-breaking, but as the plot thickens, the story sinks. Daniel, a powerful osteomancer, killed the Hierarch of Los Angeles and took possession of the Hierarch’s clone-golem, Sam. Ten years later, the morally ambiguous Gabriel Argent, now chief water mage, allies with bone sorcerer Sister Tooth and crime lord Otis to form a triumvirate that rules over Los Angeles. Otis plans to resurrect a Pacific firedrake, but he needs a vast source of osteomantic power—such as Sam. When Daniel is incapacitated, Sam teams up with another golem, Em, to stop the evildoers. In an attempt to build tension, van Eekhout repeatedly changes the rules of the dragon’s resurrection, along with almost every other plot point. All-too-convenient occurrences, questionable character motivations, and other inconsistencies undermine the rich and amazing setting. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Associates. (Jan.)