Cipher (1001 Dark Nights #101)

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Synopsis

Unfallen angel and tech whiz Cipher had been working with the guardian angels known as Memitim, offspring of the Grim Reaper, Azagoth, hoping to earn his wings back, but it's now been seven months since he was dragged into Sheoul and became a True Fallen. During that time, he's been tortured by the Fallen angel, Bael, who wants Cipher to give up the location of all Azagoth's children. He's been fighting against his newfound dark side, not wanting to betray his former boss or his Memitim friends, while hoping that they might find him before he's too far gone. However, a new torturer takes a crack at breaking him, leaving Cipher with no doubt that she'll eventually get what she wants. She's only stopped by Cipher's handler, Lyre, a beautiful fellow Fallen angel, who isn't quite like all the others he's encountered since entering Sheoul. He makes a deal with her to give up the list of Azagoth's offspring, knowing that they'll have to give him access to his computer to do so, and he's hoping that small bit of freedom will make it possible for him to plan an escape.

After her Heavenly family betrayed her and caused the death of the demon she loved, Lyre willingly fell in order to seek revenge on them. However, she's been regretting her decision to work for Bael. Although she tries to tell herself she shouldn't care, she doesn't really like the way they've been torturing Cipher for information. She decides to take a gentler approach by trying to gain his trust, which is why she stopped the latest round of torture. She's surprised when Cipher agrees to her boss's demands, but when he tells her that the list contains the names of innocent kids who'll be murdered, Lyre balks at letting Bael have it. Instead, she agrees to help Cipher find a way to escape, while falling for her new partner. But their efforts will uncover a sinister plot that could have repercussions throughout the Underworld and beyond.

Review

Cipher is the seventh book in Larissa Ione's Demonica Underworld series, which is a spin-off or sub-series of her greater Demonica world that follows characters who live in the Underworld, and it's the eighteenth book in the larger combined series. Cipher was an Unfallen angel who'd been living in Sheoul-gra amongst the Memitim and working for Azagoth as a computer/tech guy. At the end of the previous book, Her Guardian Angel, he was abducted and dragged into Sheoul where he's become a True Fallen. For the past seven months, he's been tortured by the Fallen angel, Bael, who wants information on the location of Azagoth's offspring, which is housed on Cipher's laptop that only he can access. So far, Cipher has resisted their efforts, unwilling to betray his Memitim friends back in Sheoul-gra. During part of his time in Sheoul, his handler has been Lyre, a fellow Fallen angel, who isn't quite like all his other handlers and torturers. Although she willingly fell to seek revenge on those in Heaven who betrayed her, she still seems to have some goodness left in her. After rescuing him from particularly egregious torment that was being inflicted upon him, she talks Cipher into giving Bael what he wants. In order to gain access to his computer in hopes of finding a way to escape, Cipher agrees to turn over a portion of the list, which he believes only contains the names of Memitim who've already been brought to the relative safety of Sheoul-gra, but things don't entirely go as planned. When Lyre discovers that Bael intends to use the list to murder innocent children, she agrees to help Cipher instead. Together, they work to find a way out of their predicament while falling for each other. But they'll have their work cut out for them stopping Bael from enacting his greater plot that could change everything.

Cipher is best friends with Hawkyn (Hawkyn) and I believe he was first introduced in that book. He also played a significant role in Her Guardian Angel, putting his computer hacking and technical skills to good use. He's been Bael's prisoner for seven months, alternately being tortured and put in a bloodsport arena to fight death matches, but no matter what they've done to him, he hasn't yet broken. Although he doesn't entirely trust his handler, Lyre, he is attracted to her and recognizes that she's not like the others they've assigned to him. Rather than tormenting him, she takes a gentler approach, trying to earn his trust. Impatient to gain access to Cipher's computer, Bael sends in Flail, a Fallen angel whose methods are particularly brutal. Lyre saves him from the worst of what Flail intends, but knowing that she'll be back and probably will break him after all, Cipher makes a deal with Lyre to give her the names Bael wants, although without telling her his true intentions. He turns over the partial list, which gains him access to his Fallen angel powers and a little more freedom to move around in Bael's realm. Cipher begins to make a plan for escape, and he wants Lyre to come with him. After she finds out Bael's true intent for the list, she agrees to help Cipher, and together, they work to find a way out. I liked Cipher, but couldn't help but feel that his character was somewhat underdeveloped. We learn about why he fell, and we've known from the previous books that he was trying to preserve his Unfallen status in hopes of earning his way back into Heaven. That being the case, I didn't feel like we got a great sense of how he's feeling about being a True Fallen now. Not much more is revealed about him aside from him gaining a new Matrix-style Fallen angel power that was pretty cool.

As a Heavenly angel, Lyre fell in love with a demon, one of the good ones who was actually using his powers in a positive way. However, Lyre made the mistake of telling her sister about him, which led to him being killed and her eventually losing her wings. Burning with a need for revenge against her sister and those who betrayed her, Lyre willingly fell and went to work for Bael, a decision that she quickly came to regret. She doesn't particularly like his methods and doesn't really support his grand plan for Sheoul, so she's pretty miserable but unable to leave. She's had to become somewhat cynical in order to survive, but then Cipher comes along, intriguing her. Since he hasn't been able to access his Fallen angel powers yet, he isn't totally evil like everyone else with whom she comes into contact. When she finds out that Bael has sent Flail to torture Cipher, Lyre disrupts the other Fallen angel's plans, but she knows it's only temporary. That being the case, she convinces Cipher to give up the list. When she finds out that all the names on the list are minors, though, and that Bael intends to kill them, she can't stomach it anymore and decides to help Cipher find a way to escape their hellish prison. Lyre is a better developed character than Cipher with a fairly complex backstory, but I was a little disappointed that how she had avoided becoming completely evil after falling was never really explained. Otherwise, she was a pretty good heroine and I liked her.

Like nearly all the books in the Demonica Underworld series, Cipher is novella-length, although on the longer side. Normally Larissa Ione is very tight with her plotting and characterizations, and therefore can utilize this shorter format in a way that's still satisfying. However, with this book, I felt like something was missing. In addition to the aforementioned issues I had with the characterizations, I also thought the romance was underdeveloped. It's very much an insta-love story. Although Cipher and Lyre have known each other for months, we didn't get to see any of that build-up, and as the story opens, they still don't trust each other. Therefore, it seems like they fall in love in a matter of only a few days time. I additionally had some problems with the plot, as there are things that happened a bit too conveniently and/or with little explanation. Honestly I felt like Cipher and Lyre's relationship got somewhat lost in the midst of what ended up being mostly a transition book that appears to be meant to fill in world-building details that will lead into the next one, Reaper, which seems like it's probably going to be a showdown between Azagoth and Moloc/Bael. Azagoth and Lilliana get a number of their own scenes in this story. Don't get me wrong, I love this couple and I'm so glad that they've finally reconciled in time for the birth of their child, but I did feel like they took valuable time away from Cipher and Lyre who are supposed to be the main couple. It also doesn't seem like the timeline on Lilliana's pregnancy quite lines up either. Therefore I felt like there were several uncharacteristic missteps by the author in this book. That said, though, I did still like it overall. Ms. Ione is one of the strongest authors I've read in the paranormal romance genre, and I look forward to finding out how the events that were set up in this story play out in the next one and how the main Demonica series wraps up. Not to mention, I love Azagoth, so having him back at the helm should be interesting.

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Larissa Ione

Themes

Geniuses, Scholars & Scientists aka Geeks - Heroes