Jaz Parks series
Encyclopedia
The Jaz Parks series is an urban fantasy
collection of spy-fi
novels by American
author
Jennifer Rardin
. The story presents a contemporary world in which mythological beings such as vampire
s and several less famous creatures are real, and follows the efforts of the Central Intelligence Agency
to combat paranormal
threats to national security.
The focus of the tale is CIA operative Jasmine "Jaz" Parks, who is regularly partnered with her boss, the enigmatic vampire Vayl. While on missions, Jaz and Vayl are tasked with stopping paranormal or mythological beings who've taken criminal roles in human society, or humans engaged in related activities.
Upon being presented with the first novel, Orbit Books
offered Rardin a contract for two additional Jaz Parks stories as well. The publisher wished to release each of the first three books only two months apart from one another, prompting Rardin to focus heavily on completing Another One Bites the Dust and Biting the Bullet before the series debuted. The next two novels, Bitten to Death and One More Bite, were commissioned soon afterwards.
Rardin died unexpectedly on September 20, 2010. Her final work in the series, which concluded the story, was released in June 2011.
, aikido
, and taekwondo
. In addition, she is a noted sharpshooter and possesses an ability to detect the presences of vampires, while also being highly resistant to several of their powers. She gains more powers as the books continue—she has something called an "Spirit Eye" which gives her more gifts as it opens further. She can leave her body as an astral projection, visit the heavenly and hell realms (during which she finds out her old fiance is an Eldhayr, a form of angel) and sense the presences of all magical beings as well as sensing spells and their casters. Also, her powers are enhanced due to blood exchanges—with a werewolf called Trayton she gains the ability to call fire when angry. When Vayl takes her blood, her abilities are heightened exponentially, and gains new abilities.
During the course of the series she is forced to come to terms with a night when her fiancé, her brother's wife, and several of her teammates are killed in a vampire attack, after which she is inexplicably paired with Vayl and moved from vampire hunting to assassination. Though she and Vayl work well together, she is traumatized by that night and has several trust and relationship issues, not helped by Vayl's secrecy. It is slowly revealed that she is Vayl's avhar (a sort of partner chosen by fate, one for each vampire.) He gives her his ring, Cirilai, in order to protect his soul, and through the course of the novels they become closer, eventually falling in love and becoming lovers. However, due to their work there are several obstacles, particularly Vayl's extremely vicious ex-wife Liliana, and his only fledgling Disa. They also face several criminal and supernatural foes, including the CIA's most-wanted—Edward "The Raptor" Samos, a vampire of extreme power.
in 1744, Vayl is now a CIA official who regularly serves as Jaz's field partner and direct superior. His record is so diverse and secure that only the president and head of Jaz's department is allowed to see it. His transformation came at the hands of his wife, Liliana, who reappears and is killed during the series' present-day story. She hates him, though desires his ring Cirali because of the power it will grant her—when Jaz receives it, she attempts to kill her. He is a generally guarded, enigmatic figure who harbors trauma relating to the past and his children, whose deaths he unwittingly caused. In a fit of grief, he attempted to summon a creature in order to take revenge on his children's killer, but his wife was turned into a vampire by the creature he summoned. She in turn turned him. After being told by a seer he would see his sons reincarnated, he became obsessed with finding them, though this desire has lessened as he and Jaz have gotten closer. He is also shown to share Jaz's sense of humor at times, though he rarely smiles. Like Parks, Vayl is highly adept at his job and is considered one of the agency's top operatives. At the beginning of his and Jaz working relationship he was distant and formal, but eventually reveals he is her sverhamin and they are bound together. To protect his soul he gives her Cirilai, which was forged by his family when his mother saw he would lose his soul. He is fiercely protective of Jaz and eventually the two fall in love. Though he appears around 35, he is over 250 years old and is described as dangerously attractive. He is also one of only two vampires to escape from a vampere household alive and has fathered one fledgling. Due to his extreme age, he often uses outmoded phrases and words, and he is terrified of snakes and sleeping in coffins.
He has a degree of magical ability, though he rarely uses it, preferring to rely on his swordsmanship and vampire abilities. He can move faster, is stronger, and has better reflexes and senses than any human. Through blood consumption of the target he can read their motives and emotions, and so he always does this on the job to prevent him from killing an innocent. His eyes change color depending on his emotions, e.g. emerald green for desire, black for extreme anger (but only Jaz is able to tell). Due to an attempt by his fledgling, Disa, to get him to return to his vampire house, he no longer sleeps through the entire day, instead waking up a couple of hours before sunset and being unable to fall asleep until a couple of hours after sunrise. He is also the only vampire to have two cantrantias or core powers. His original one is called wraith, the ability to manipulate how cold the temperature is. This works on an atmospheric and local scale, though the bigger the area the more it tires him. After taking Jaz's blood, which also temporarily increases all his powers, he has the ability, through blood, to absorb and use permanently the cantrantia of another vampire, making him, potentially, the most powerful vampire in the world.
, Canada
, and the United States
, with the US and Canadian releases being simultaneous.
Urban fantasy
Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural elements. However, the stories can take place in historical, modern, or futuristic periods...
collection of spy-fi
Spy-fi
-Definition and characteristics:It often uses a secret agent or superspy whose mission is a showcase of science fiction elements such as technology and ideas used for extortion, plots for world domination or world destruction, futuristic weapons, gadgets and fast vehicles that can travel on land,...
novels by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Jennifer Rardin
Jennifer Rardin
Jennifer Rardin was an American author. Rardin lived in Robinson, Illinois and had a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Eastern Illinois University. She is best known for the Jaz Parks series of urban fantasy novels...
. The story presents a contemporary world in which mythological beings such as vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s and several less famous creatures are real, and follows the efforts of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
to combat paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
threats to national security.
The focus of the tale is CIA operative Jasmine "Jaz" Parks, who is regularly partnered with her boss, the enigmatic vampire Vayl. While on missions, Jaz and Vayl are tasked with stopping paranormal or mythological beings who've taken criminal roles in human society, or humans engaged in related activities.
Production
During her two years of initial work on the series' debut novel, Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Jennifer Rardin's motivation was to "explore a character who’d survived the death of not one, but multiple dear ones in a single blow. I wanted to talk about how we let the past control us so overwhelmingly, and the torture we sometimes go through to free ourselves from it." According to the author, the decision to have the lead character narrate was made about 100 pages into her original draft, leading to one of many rewrites. "I like Jaz's voice. She's sassy, cynical, prone to violence. And yet there's a vulnerability and humor about her that emphasize her humanity despite her growing paranormal abilities."Upon being presented with the first novel, Orbit Books
Orbit Books
Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company...
offered Rardin a contract for two additional Jaz Parks stories as well. The publisher wished to release each of the first three books only two months apart from one another, prompting Rardin to focus heavily on completing Another One Bites the Dust and Biting the Bullet before the series debuted. The next two novels, Bitten to Death and One More Bite, were commissioned soon afterwards.
Rardin died unexpectedly on September 20, 2010. Her final work in the series, which concluded the story, was released in June 2011.
Jaz Parks
The series' wise-cracking protagonist, Jasmine Elaine Parks is a CIA assassin who is regularly assigned to paranormal cases. Having been born into a military family, she experienced frequent travel while growing up, which has made her something of a loner. Her mother was abusive and her father was away serving his country, and she was the main support of her twin brother Dave and little sister. Her extensive martial arts background includes training in kung fuChinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...
, aikido
Aikido
is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
, and taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
. In addition, she is a noted sharpshooter and possesses an ability to detect the presences of vampires, while also being highly resistant to several of their powers. She gains more powers as the books continue—she has something called an "Spirit Eye" which gives her more gifts as it opens further. She can leave her body as an astral projection, visit the heavenly and hell realms (during which she finds out her old fiance is an Eldhayr, a form of angel) and sense the presences of all magical beings as well as sensing spells and their casters. Also, her powers are enhanced due to blood exchanges—with a werewolf called Trayton she gains the ability to call fire when angry. When Vayl takes her blood, her abilities are heightened exponentially, and gains new abilities.
During the course of the series she is forced to come to terms with a night when her fiancé, her brother's wife, and several of her teammates are killed in a vampire attack, after which she is inexplicably paired with Vayl and moved from vampire hunting to assassination. Though she and Vayl work well together, she is traumatized by that night and has several trust and relationship issues, not helped by Vayl's secrecy. It is slowly revealed that she is Vayl's avhar (a sort of partner chosen by fate, one for each vampire.) He gives her his ring, Cirilai, in order to protect his soul, and through the course of the novels they become closer, eventually falling in love and becoming lovers. However, due to their work there are several obstacles, particularly Vayl's extremely vicious ex-wife Liliana, and his only fledgling Disa. They also face several criminal and supernatural foes, including the CIA's most-wanted—Edward "The Raptor" Samos, a vampire of extreme power.
Vayl
A vampire who was born in RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
in 1744, Vayl is now a CIA official who regularly serves as Jaz's field partner and direct superior. His record is so diverse and secure that only the president and head of Jaz's department is allowed to see it. His transformation came at the hands of his wife, Liliana, who reappears and is killed during the series' present-day story. She hates him, though desires his ring Cirali because of the power it will grant her—when Jaz receives it, she attempts to kill her. He is a generally guarded, enigmatic figure who harbors trauma relating to the past and his children, whose deaths he unwittingly caused. In a fit of grief, he attempted to summon a creature in order to take revenge on his children's killer, but his wife was turned into a vampire by the creature he summoned. She in turn turned him. After being told by a seer he would see his sons reincarnated, he became obsessed with finding them, though this desire has lessened as he and Jaz have gotten closer. He is also shown to share Jaz's sense of humor at times, though he rarely smiles. Like Parks, Vayl is highly adept at his job and is considered one of the agency's top operatives. At the beginning of his and Jaz working relationship he was distant and formal, but eventually reveals he is her sverhamin and they are bound together. To protect his soul he gives her Cirilai, which was forged by his family when his mother saw he would lose his soul. He is fiercely protective of Jaz and eventually the two fall in love. Though he appears around 35, he is over 250 years old and is described as dangerously attractive. He is also one of only two vampires to escape from a vampere household alive and has fathered one fledgling. Due to his extreme age, he often uses outmoded phrases and words, and he is terrified of snakes and sleeping in coffins.
He has a degree of magical ability, though he rarely uses it, preferring to rely on his swordsmanship and vampire abilities. He can move faster, is stronger, and has better reflexes and senses than any human. Through blood consumption of the target he can read their motives and emotions, and so he always does this on the job to prevent him from killing an innocent. His eyes change color depending on his emotions, e.g. emerald green for desire, black for extreme anger (but only Jaz is able to tell). Due to an attempt by his fledgling, Disa, to get him to return to his vampire house, he no longer sleeps through the entire day, instead waking up a couple of hours before sunset and being unable to fall asleep until a couple of hours after sunrise. He is also the only vampire to have two cantrantias or core powers. His original one is called wraith, the ability to manipulate how cold the temperature is. This works on an atmospheric and local scale, though the bigger the area the more it tires him. After taking Jaz's blood, which also temporarily increases all his powers, he has the ability, through blood, to absorb and use permanently the cantrantia of another vampire, making him, potentially, the most powerful vampire in the world.
Book releases
Installments have typically been released during the same month in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with the US and Canadian releases being simultaneous.
| Book # | Title | UK release | US/CAN release | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Once Bitten, Twice Shy | October 18, 2007 | October 8, 2007 | ||
| In the series opener, Jaz and Vayl are tasked with finding a plastic surgeon who uses his skills to disguise criminals. In the process, they become targeted themselves, and are faced with matters from their respective pasts. | |||||
| 2 | Another One Bites the Dust | December 6, 2007 | December 12, 2007 | ||
| In an attempt to recover stolen biotechnology, Jaz and Vayl go undercover as they search for an ancient vampire from China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... . |
|||||
| 3 | Biting the Bullet | February 7, 2008 | February 11, 2008 | ||
| Edward "The Raptor" Samos, one of the CIA's most formidable opponents, has resurfaced, prompting a major collaborative effort between Jaz, Vayl, and a Special Ops unit led by Jaz's brother David. Vayl and Jaz face respective personal distractions, while at the same time, other paranormal factions and individuals with agendas of their own begin to emerge. | |||||
| 4 | Bitten to Death | September 4, 2008 | August 12, 2008 | ||
| Jaz faces family issues as her brother's career is put in jeopardy and her father's sanity lies in question. In addition, the battle with The Raptor continues in Patras Patras Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... , where a new player arrives as the team meets a woman with ties to Vayl's past. |
|||||
| 5 | One More Bite | January 5, 2009 | January 5, 2009 | ||
| With power suddenly up for grabs, various paranormal factions begin a struggle for supremacy. In the interests of keeping things balanced, Parks and Vayl must step in to protect one of the world's leading witches from assassination. It appears that the assassin, however, is a woman whose skill rivals that of Jaz. | |||||
| 6 | Bite Marks | October 2009 | October 2009 | ||
| The sixth novel, where the team has to protect the NASA program from the attack of gnomes, and discover why Jaz keeps hearing voices in her head that are not her own. | |||||
| 7 | Bitten in Two | November 2010 | November 2010 | ||
| The seventh novel. Soon after starting their next mission the team finds that Vayl is stuck in his past and thinks it 's 1700. | |||||
| 8 | The Deadliest Bite | June 2011 | June 2011 | ||
| The Deadliest Bite concludes the story. | |||||