For three years, Ranger Lana Eloy of the United Confederation of Planet's Intergalactic Rangers had been tracking the murderous predator of women, Sadin Quyz, and when she finally caught up with him on the planet Ata Prime, she knew she was in for trouble. Because of her sex, the male dominant barbarians would not allow her to personally collar her villain, but instead selected a male ranger of their own to track down the serial killer for her.

Chosen for the task by the Rex, Corin Thantos, captain of the guard, was not an ordinary man. He was a seven foot tall walking mountain of testosterone, whose presence, while Lana might not have minded him in her bed, was really annoying to a woman who was known to be the best in her profession. She needed a guide, not a really big (really big) baby-sitter. And Corin was not someone who could be easily ignored, at least not by a woman who was still breathing. Plus he was the kind of man who could look down at our five foot nine inch one hundred and sixty pound heroine, and call her little one and mean it.

After her royal audience, Lana managed to lose Corin when she went back to her ship. She set out with her computer, laser and DNA tracker to hunt alone. On the first night, when she was approached by a stealthy stalker, she flipped him head over heels; and when she realized it was Corin that she had caught, she took complete advantage of her strategic position straddling his torso. And then Corin obligingly returned the favor. After Sadin killed on Ata Prime, Lana witnessed some of Corin's interesting, almost supernatural skills. Combining their talents, they made quite a team as they hunted the delinquent chameleon during the day and each other at night.

When New Concept labeled The Forest Whispers "explicit, with graphic sex, strong language, and violence," they weren't kidding. Fortunately it is the sex that is graphic. The language is no stronger than it needs to be and the violence is fully appropriate to the plot, in fact, much less gory than it could have been.

You will only like this story if you want to read about strong capable heroines and disgruntled soft-spoken super-Alpha males throw together on a quest. For such a macho man, Corin is drawn with a very subtle brush; rather than being your typical grunting, overly pushy super-sized barbarian, Corin is really endearingly mystified at Lana's off-worlder ways. Definitely a satisfying read.

Reviewed By: Maitresse
© August 2004