The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Psychic powers and political intrigue meet in this ever-shifting companion/sequel to 2005's Imprint. Simpleminded barmaid Jennie Height's journey to understand herself and her strange precognitive dreams dominates the narrative, wrapping around a core of dissent and power struggles. As her lover and employer, Walter Vellum, rises in the ranks of fighters resisting the oppressive government of an unnamed country whose population is rigidly controlled by any means necessary, scenes of harsh violence entwine with Jennie's spiritual experiences. Many of the interesting characters could stand fleshing out, such as wealthy resistance leader Carpathia Coyle and the young woman named Anastasia whom Jennie innocently calls the queen of the gods, and Bates' strength purpose fails to push through the rougher sections of unsteady plot and first person run-on sentences.