Ritual of the Ancients

I’m excited about this new series “Changing Bodies” already, can’t wait to see what Roan Rosser has planned for book two “Bloodline of the Ancients”.

Everett Boesch is in all types of trouble, some of it he can’t even remember. How did he wind up being mugged, in a dumpster, lost his keys to his apartment, why won’t his roommate let him in, and he’s bitten a person? Fortunately, for Everett his neighbor has stopped him from doing anymore damage until he actually bites him too.

Former cop, Jack Smith, is a member of PCA (Paranormal Creature Alliance), he has a lot to explain to Everett, first and foremost he is now a vampire. With the devastation of his apartment all the stolen artifacts are now gone. Everett’s not really a bad guy, he’s shy and a little lost and overwhelmed. He was also looking for a way to make extra money to get his top-half transition completed. His job at the Portland Art Museum has him steeling artifacts for mobster Lady Ann.

Before all the troubles of that night started, Everett hid an amulet in a secret pocket and that’s all he has left. He finds himself being very possessive of the amulet. It doesn’t get any easier for Everett. Can he trust Jack? Can he trust the PCA? Lady Ann’s mobsters are gunning for him and he can’t trust the police. There’s so many questions about how he became a vampire and what it all means.

“Ritual of the Ancients” started off fast with all Everetts troubles. I wished at that point the author had gradually introduced them. It left me thinking, Everett was going to be a nitwit but the more I read, I was totally surprised how things started to change. I also thought it was going to be humorous, but there is a little more serious subject matter: dealing with new creatures, vampires, werewolves, shifters, mages, investigation, archeology, history of artifacts and an interesting amulet and an ancient book. Not all myth and lore about vampires and werewolves rings true, in this novel. There’s lot’s of action, danger, suspense and a start of a friendship.

I was also glad this was not an insta-love between Everett and Jack. At one point I didn’t feel a connection between them. Their connection was very gradual because both have had and continued to have issues of the heart to deal with. Especially Everett, being a trans-man and dealing with transitioning, becoming a vampire that leaves him with so many questions and no clear answers, and the love of family that denies him because of who he truly is.

Some interesting characters that form The Paranormal Creature Alliance are: Vampires: Stacy, Ted, Werewolves: Zoe, Jack and Dave the mage. PCA is a secret organization to help those who become part of the supernatural world. They have to stay completely hidden from the human world.

At the end of the novel there is: “Bonus Concept Art” by Beleoci of Everett and Jack and a drawing of the Amulet by Lychgate. The artistry is fantastic, I think it should have been at the front of the book. There’s also a schedule of the up coming novels for this new series “Changing Bodies”.

For readers who like vampires, werewolves and other creatures this is a must read. I searched for Roan Rosser novels on a couple of sites and didn’t find anything but this new series. So I’m calling “Changing Bodies” a new series, with the debut novel “Ritual of the Ancients” that has very high potential of being a hit!

This book was excellent. It was easy to digest and fast paced enough to keep me entertained from the moment it began. I would definitely recommend this book to any mature reader interested in fantasy, especially those of the transmasc variety.

I just have to mention that it brought back warm memories of my teenage/young adult years reading Darren Shan’s Cirque du Freak series, and even reminded me of my childhood years reading R.L. Stine’s books.

I can’t wait to see where Roan Rosser takes me next in his upcoming releases!