Published: March 20, 2011
Words: 110,233 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781458022752

Short description

Vallon Drake, American Geological Survey agent, harnesses a power that can rewrite the landscape—or protect it. When she discovers her ex-partner murdered, she must solve a case with too many links to her own troubled past. If she can't solve it, and fast, Seattle will be written right off the map.

Extended description

Afterburn is an exciting and original addition to the urban fantasy genre. A unique form of magic, a hidden and powerful race of beings, and a kick-ass heroine carrying a dark secret--Afterburn will keep reading long past your bedtime.

-- Adrian Phoenix
critically acclaimed author of The Maker's Song series and Black Dust Mambo.

For lone-wolf Agent Vallon Drake of the American Geological Survey, the job is never simple when you use vellum and ink to stop terrorists from erasing the American landscape.

Things get personal for Vallon when someone murders her ex-partner and police and Homeland Security triangulate on her. But when Mount Rainier shifts closer to Seattle, something larger is clearly in play.

Forced to go rogue, Vallon must find her way through layers of deception and past a mysterious man in black to order to unravel a secret history and stop the western US from being written off the map.

Tags

romance, urban fantasy, fantasy, paranormal, magic, seattle, novel, underground, earthquake, homeland security, earthquakes, karen abrahamson, maps, mount rainier, american geological survey, adrian phoenix

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Reviews

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Review by: Secret Fire Press on Jan. 26, 2012 :
Karen Abrahamson's Afterburn is a grab-you-by-the-collar, won't-let-go urban fantasy with a compelling heroine in Vallon Drake. She does what she believes to be right no matter the consequences.

Vallon's agency polices the changes caused by "Gifted" with the ability to reshape the world. With agents dying and a battle shaping up between her agency and Homeland Security, Vallon must solve the mystery of a new force more powerful than anyone has encountered to save her friends, her love, herself, and hundreds of thousands of innocents.

Rich with original magic and a gritty, well-drawn world, and spiced with mystery, suspense, and sexy romance, Afterburn is a hell of a read.

Looking forward to the next Vallon Drake book!
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Secret Fire Press on Jan. 26, 2012 : (no rating)
Karen Abrahamson's Afterburn is a grab-you-by-the-collar, won't-let-go urban fantasy with a compelling heroine in Vallon Drake. She does what she believes to be right no matter the consequences.

Vallon's agency polices the changes caused by "Gifted" with the ability to reshape the world. With agents dying and a battle shaping up between her agency and Homeland Security, Vallon must solve the mystery of a new force more powerful than anyone has encountered to save her friends, her love, herself, and hundreds of thousands of innocents.

Rich with original magic and a gritty, well-drawn world, and spiced with mystery, suspense, and sexy romance, Afterburn is a hell of a read.

Looking forward to the next Vallon Drake book!
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: seekeen on Sep. 20, 2011 :
I've read several books by this author, and have not been disappointed. Magic is a part of all the books I've read - but each story offers something entirely different. Although there is a touch of romance, this is truly urban fantasy. I enjoyed it and was quickly immersed in it - now I want a sequel to find out more about these characters.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: JJ Press on Sep. 08, 2011 :
Karen Abrahamson's "Afterburn" is an urban fantasy with an original premise: There are people out there who can reshape our world simply with vellum and ink. Many of these "Gifted" work for the GSA and keep the nation's borders in their proper place.

The world and the characters are well drawn, especially the heroine, Vallon Drake. Vallon finds herself in the center of a power struggle in the Department of Homeland Security (which wants to control the GSA)and a murder suspect to boot.

Along the way, she uncovers a plot to destroy Seattle and must find a way to put a stop to it while dodging those who want to arrest or detain her.

The book is fast paced and while the romance was "spicier" then I like, overall the writing is fantastic. I hope this is not the last we see of Vallon Drake!
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: White Sun Press on July 04, 2011 :
Really fun and original urban fantasy novel, with a tough heroine and one of the most fascinating worlds I've read about in a long time. Once I got past the initial confusion as to Karen Abrahamson's version of Seattle, I was completely hooked on the world and its characters, and read the entire story in 24 hours.

The idea of redrawing the "map" of the world in kind of a cold war stalemate occurring between and within countries totally fascinated me. Rather than a "magical" world, this felt very grounded and real to me...I found myself sucked into the power struggles between this off-shoot of Homeland Security and the rest of the agency, as well as between the different characters within the branch itself.

The main character, Vallon Drake, is an agent of the GSA and one of the "gifted" tasked with holding the nation's boundaries and correcting accidental changes to the landscape by nascent gifted who are unaware of their abilities. In her world, if one is gifted they can access an ability to remake the physical...erase a house or change a building into a parking lot with some basic tools and their inherent abilities. But woe to the person (or people) who happen to be inside the building being redrawn! The story opens with Vallon looking for a colleague of hers who is caught in just this predicament. While trying to save his life, she ends up a murder suspect, and in the course of trying to clear her name uncovers a wider plot to destroy the NW coast of the United States.

It's a fun ride, and I'm really looking forward to more books in this world!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Banty Hen Publishing on July 04, 2011 :
Karen Abrahamson crafts a superb fantasy thriller with a spicy note of romance thrown into the mix.

Vallon Drake's one of the Gifted, a woman with the power to 'edit' the world so that buildings, neighborhoods, or entire landscapes can come into - or be erased out - of existence. This gives rise to a fun and entertaining conceit: that the American Geological Survey is in fact the most powerful group in the Homeland Security agency.

But Vallon's faith in the agency and her powers are challenged the night that one of her fellow agents - and a recent ex-boyfriend - is murdered. Specifically, murdered by someone with that same awe-inspiring cartographic ability.

Afterburn's an original and engrossing take on urban fantasy. It'll keep you reading through the night as Vallon must solve the case...and in the process, put her life and loyalties to the test.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Fiero Publishing on July 02, 2011 :
Gripping fun. Abrahamson has created an exciting new entry into the fantasy genre with characters who can call on the power of the earth to redraw reality with vellum and ink. And she's got a great kick-ass heroine leading the charge.

I was totally into the magic, the characters, the politics of Homeland Security trying to draw the Gifted into their fold. It's an engrossing read with a mind-blowing climax that will have you rethinking just how safe you are if you live in any of nature's danger zones.

Looking forward to the next book with Vallon Drake!
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

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