Hellbent, Cherie Priest, Ballantine Books, ISBN 978-0-345-52062-3, 338 pgs., $15.00, mass market paperback

The Vampire Deutsch: Der Vampir (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Raylene Pendle is a thief.  She’s also a vampire.  She’s also the keeper of a band of misfits who probably would not survive without her help.  One of the misfits is Adrian deJesus, an ex Navy SEAL/drag queen who assists Raylene on jobs totally for the purpose of getting her to help him find his sister who was part of a secret government experimental program trying to figure out how to gain the benefits from vampires without actually having to turn people into vampires. While Raylene is a thief she’s no ordinary thief, only pulling jobs that net a huge return in cash.  This time she’s on the hunt for a handful of dried werewolf penis’ that are currently in the hands of a schizophrenic sorceress  out for revenge.  As you can see, Raylene does not do ordinary snatch and grab.  While she’s on the hunt for the artifacts, she’s also trying to resolve some internal vampire politics involving one of the other members of her little band of misfits, a blind, older vampire, who is next in line to be the head of the San Francisco house but is blind and would not survive the inevitable fight for power.  Besides, his brother is currently running the house  and that just makes it all even more complicated.

As you can see, Priest weaves a fairly complicated plot, driving three or four different story lines at the same time.  She is adept at this, but then, again, she is no beginning author.  the story moves, partially due to the multiple plot lines, at a fairly fast past.  Priest writes with some humor as well, never leaving an inside joke alone.  In the end it all works.

You do have to suspend your initial belief that a vampire would ever need to be a thief or that a vampire who so insistently states that she works alone ends up with a houseful of broken beings needing her care.  So, either she’s not a reliable narrator–if you can’t believe her in this realm why should you in others–or there’s something else going on that is not evident yet.  But this is a niggling kind of thing that is just as easily ignored.

In the final analysis, which is really what drives one to either enjoy a book or toss it across the room, it all works out to a fun and fairly quick read.  Definitely recommended.  One of the better books out there in the supernatural/vampire/noir vein.  Heh, I made a funny.

To order your own copy, go here–Hellbent

The Fall (The Strain Trilogy), Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, Harper, ISBN 9780061558252, $9.99

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This is the second book in Del Toro and Hogan’s trilogy retelling of the Dracula mythos. Eph Goodweather leads a ragged band out to destroy the vampires which have infected Manhattan–and the world. The Master, an aged vampire who has gone against centuries of vampire culture to make a play for world domination, has come to New York in order to put his plan in place. He’s going to get rid of the rest of the other old vampires and build things new again.
Humans don’t stand a chance since it seems that many of the weapons talked about in vampire lore don’t work. Even direct sunlight only made the master smolder and did not kill him. Now, Eph and a few others, are faced with a growing vampire population in the city that they have to work through to try to find and kill the master. If they succeed the world may survive, but only if they do it fast enough. If they don’t then everyone is doomed.

Del Toro and Hogan have taken Stoker‘s Dracula and revamped it, as it were, for the modern age. The book suffers a bit from middle book syndrome in that the pacing is a bit off, the story is in a flat period–the introduction is all finished and you know a third book is coming which contains the big finish so what is going to happen in this, the second book? And it’s a big book. They’ve also trapped themselves a bit by stretching this over three books. Certainly it is a big story but not big enough for three big books. Heck, Stoker did it in one medium sized book.
As for the story itself, it has all the implausibility of a movie script. But this should surprise no one since Del Toro is a director. I’m leaning heavily now on not letting movie directors write books. Sure the imagery is great, I mean, that’s what they do, but the plot is always full of holes because they are going for the pretty picture and not what makes sense for the characters to do.

I really liked parts of this book but I also yawned through big parts of it too. I thought the first book was very well done and I imagine the ending will be a big Hollywood finish, but getting there is going to be a bit tedious. There is a real lack of energy in this book. I found myself skimming page after page of description. The flashbacks did not move the story forward and the characters became uninteresting at times. This is very hard to do considering we’re talking vampires taking over Manhattan. But, if you remember, movie directors have done this in the past with the American Godzilla movie which was made to be tedious and illogical.

If you are a hard core vampire or Del Toro or Hogan fan then I guess you have no choice. Otherwise I think your time is better spent elsewhere.

The Strain Trilogy
* The Strain
* The Fall
* Eternal Night

To get your copy, click here: The Fall (The Strain Trilogy)

Wait For Dusk, Jocelynn Drake, Eos, ISBN 978-006-185181-0, $7.99

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This is the fifth Dark Days novel, and it continues the story of Mira. Mira can control fire, a rare thing among vampires, which makes her incredibly dangerous to everyone. And when she is teamed up with vampire slayer Danaus, her power grows exponentially. This is one reason everybody wants her–either to kill her to keep her from interfering with plans, or to use her as a means to bring about the end days. Either way, Mira finds herself surrounded by people she can barely trust and thrust into situations that constantly require her to make decisions that put those she loves into danger. Death, it seems, is around every corner, and this time the corners are in Hungary. Mira has few places to turn and fewer people she can depend on.

This book returns the point of view (POV) to Mira, after switching, for no apparent reason, to Danaus for the last book. Once again, Mira is faced with the Naturi who want to use her to open a portal to the place they were exiled to so they can return and cleanse the Earth of everyone. She also has to deal with the Elders, among who she is now one, as they use their centuries of living to manipulate and plot against each other. There is, it seems, no low they won’t sink to in order to get a little revenge. And then there is Mira’s love interest, the man who is dedicated to seeing her killed but who finds himself working with her more than against her. It’s an odd relationship to say the least.

I have to say I enjoyed the first three books and that the last book, due to the POV switch, kind of threw me. While this book returns to the formula of the first three there is also a lot jammed in here and it seems to cover little new ground, although it does inch along some character development. That said, if you really enjoyed the first three books then you will also enjoy this one.

I think series are tough to maintain because the writer either had a grand tale to tell or not and can get lost in the telling or just lost in the selling. Seems to me there are plenty of stories out there relating to Mira and Jocelyn Drake has proven that she can write so she should feel free to tie some of these story lines up and move forward. I’m hoping the next book does some of that.

Recommended, especially if you loved the first couple of books.

Click here to purchase the book from Amazon. Wait for Dusk (Dark Days, Book 5)

Black Magic Sanction (Hollows Series), Kim Harrison, Eos, ISBN 9780061138041, $7.99

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This is the eighth book in Kim Harrison‘s Hollows series. This time witch Rachel Morgan has to deal with the coven, which has shunned her and wants her imprisoned or at least lobotomized so she’s no longer a black magic problem for them. Rachel also has to deal with Trent Kalamack, elf and tycoon industrialist who wants Rachel on a short leash or incapacitated as well. And then there’s the demon who has marked her and who is showing her black magic. Add in Pixie Jenks who has his own issues to manage, Ivy who is a vampire and similarly engaged, Pierce a dead witch in another person’s body who is a black magic user and apparently on his own side, and some men from Rachel’s past who are proving much more trouble than they are worth and there’s a lot going on that Rachel has to manage.

Rachel’s plans seem to continually come to bad endings and her power over her own destiny seems small. If she’s not able to pull together many of those who are working against her then there is no way she’ll be able to get the coven to change their mind. I’ve enjoyed this series up to now. This time though the book feels overly fat, overly fluffy, and in need of a good edit. It’s hard to tell whether this is the writer going on unchecked or a change of editors
or just market forces which say bigger is better, but as I read I could not help but keep saying to myself this should be shorter. There’s a lot going on but much of it is ancillary to the main plot which could have also been tightened and made sharper in focus. The one feeling I kept coming away with was that the author didn’t have a solid plot but did have three subplots and decided to weave them all together. This is pure speculation on my part of course but that’s certainly what if feels like.

I think that there is enough here for long time fans to still enjoy. The characters that they have come to know are all present, and if the overall situation for Rachel has not significantly changed it is at least a side note which they could enjoy.

If you are new to the series, I would not recommend this book as the jumping in point. Go back to the first book and start there. By the time you get here you will have decided for yourself. I have the next book in the series in my read pile and I do plan to read it so take that into consideration when you read this.

Buy Black Magic Sanction by clicking here

More by Kim Harrison
The Hollows:
* Dead Witch Walking
* Every Which Way But Dead
* The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
* A Fistful of Charms
* For a Few Demons More
* White Witch, Black Curse
* Black Magic Sanction
* Pale Demon
Graphic Novels:
Blood Work
Madison Avery:
* Once Dead, Twice Shy
* Early to Death, Early to Rise
The Anthologies:
* Dates From Hell (anthology with other authors)

Bloodshot, Cherie Priest, Ballantine Books, ISBN 978-0345-52060-9, 359 pgs., $15.00

Raylene Pendle is a vampire and a world-renowned thief. Go figure. She does not hang out with other vampires, until she does, because she is too busy stealing priceless art and rare jewels for clients. I guess because she has a lot of time on her

Image by Cherie Priest via Flickr

hands, what with being immortal and not doing any hanging out.  And, while her heart does not beat, it is soft as she allows a couple of street urchins to inhabit the vacant warehouse she owns where she stores a lot of the stuff she steals. She’s also incredibly paranoid which explains why she has chosen a low exposure vocation like grand theft. In any case, one day the urchins who live in her warehouse notify her that there is a thief in the building. She investigates and just barely manages to

kill him. Seems the thief was a parcour aficionado and who knew that this skill was a vampire neutralizer. So, while investigating the thief and how the thief came to be in her building she also gets recruited by one Ian Stott, another vampire who asks her for help. Luckily for him, Raylene is not avoiding vampires on that day and agrees to help him retrieve missing government files related to secret biological research that was done on vampires. Before you know it, Raylene is involved with a cross dresser, hanging out in gay bars, trailing after power-hungry scientists, and trying to avoid all the government agents who, apparently, have no trouble locating her whenever they want, except when it’s not convenient to the plot.

Wait, I need to take a short break and find pry my tongue out from my cheek where it has become imbedded. There, now we can move forward.

Don’t get me wrong. The book is entertaining. It’s just got a few plot holes in it. If you can manage to ignore them then you’ll do fine. Otherwise it’s going to be a tough haul for you.

The writing is fine here. Cherie Priest does a good job of developing her character and creating an interesting story to set her in. The pacing is fairly fast and the dialogue flows in a natural way even if the character motivation is a bit suspect at times. And, unlike in the human race where people can do all kinds of things with little reason, logic or motivation when we read we expect these things to be there otherwise our ability to suspend disbelief cracks.

This is the first book of a series and it’s somewhat obvious in places that Priest is setting the stage for that to happen. Maybe you see that when you read it and maybe you don’t and maybe it bothers you and maybe it doesn’t. The bottom line here is that if you like vampires and you like female protagonists and you like urban fantasy and you like a bit of crime noir thrown in you will probably enjoy this book. I managed to get from page one to page end so that says something as nowadays I am likely to fling a book across the room after 40 or 50 pages of unsatisfying prose.

In the end you need to make these decisions on your own. You can still do that, right? Go, do, enjoy.

And, if you want to buy a copy you can use the link below.

Bloodshot

The Hollows Insider, Kim Harrison, Harper, ISBN 978-0-06-197433-5, 301 pgs, $25.99

Image by programwitch via Flickr

Kim Harrison is nine books in on her Hollows series. The books twist on Clint Eastwood movie titles and are best classified as urban supernatural fantasy since they involve witches, werewolves, vampires, pixies, elves, and other fantastical creatures living in an alternate version of Cincinnati. The series has generated a loyal following and, I have to admit, I have enjoyed the books myself, at least up to the one before the most recent (which I have not read yet). The writing is done skillfully, the characters are well developed and interesting, and the setting is uniquely enjoyable.

Now we have this book which contains new fiction, facts, maps and a plethora of tidbits large and small about the Hollows universe. You’ll find memos from the characters to each other, newspaper articles, spell recipes, cookie recipes, case files, inside dossiers, and much, much more. For those of you who just can’t get enough then this is the book for you. And there is plenty of book to be had here. It’s hefty, illustrated and chock full of stuff.

I’m always of two minds when it comes to books like these. On the one hand it’s an artifact of overindulgence. Do you really need to see memos from one character to another or fictional security reports? It’s a bit of unhealthy obsession. On the other hand it is interesting to see just how deeply authors develop their worlds and just how much material is created to put together a work of fiction.

In the end I find these more interesting than not. I don’t think I have ever read one from cover to cover but they are fine coffee table books and interesting to skim through, stopping here and there to absorb the brief tidbit of fictional fact. In the long run I find that I would rather be reading the next novel in the series though.

Definitely recommended. If you are a fan you positively, absolutely will not be able to do without this. If you are not yet a fan you might be more interested in picking up the first novel in the series. If you’d like to buy the book just click the link below.

The Hollows Insider: New fiction, facts, maps, murders, and more in the world of Rachel Morgan

Monster Hunter Vendetta, Larry Correia, Baen, ISBN 978-1-4391-3991-0, $7.99, 612 pgs.

Image by jpellgen via Flickr

This is the second book in Correia’s Monster Hunters International series. It picks up where the first book left off with Owen Zastava Pitt settling in to his new role as a squad leader in the monster hunting organization and as husband to Julie, daughter to the werewolf leader of MHI and granddaughter to the founder of the organization. MHI hunts supernatural threats, collecting the bounties that have been placed on them and generally keeping the planet safe from things that go bump in the night. They compete with the governmental Monster Control Bureau who is also tasked with getting rid of monsters as well as keeping the general populace ignorant that monsters even exist in the first place. This sets up a highly competitive environment between the two organizations with no love lost between the two and friction aplenty. This time a former member of MHI has begun the process of world destruction by invoking the awakening of an otherworldly presence who will enter our world by destroying it. Needless to say the folks at MHI are eager to put a stop to this, especially since it’s the work of a former member. Owen and his crew get the front row seats and all of the characters from the first book return as well as one or two new ones. There are a few twists and turns but the story is a pretty straightforward one of killing beasties with large weapons, explosives, and bravado.

Correia writes in a very straightforward manner, telling the story without much obfuscation or misdirection. This is basically a what you see is what you get kind of tale. While there are some plot twists they are more of the anticipated variety than the kind that take you fully by surprise. For example, there is a spy in the organization that we know about from early on and the only surprise comes when we learn who it is.

This book is perfect for the reader that likes a story full of tough characters with big weapons taking on nasty beasts with just a touch of humor thrown in the soften the blood and gore. There is not a lot of internal dilemma or character development, more a sense of prophecy fulfillment or action taking on the role of fate.

This is not to say that the book is not an entertaining book to read. It is. Very. Just that you should be expecting a shot gun blast rather than the subtle stroke of a hidden stiletto. Definitely recommended if you like your action fast paced and direct.

To get the book go here:

Monster Hunter Vendetta

Werewolf Smackdown, Mario Acevedo, Eos, ISBN 978-0-06156720-9, $7.99, 354 pgs.

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Felix Gomez is sent to Charleston, South Carolina to intervene in what could become an incredibly bloody war between two rival factions. But this is intervention with a difference. Gomez is a vampire, the group that’s sending him is the ultra secret Araneum, a cabal of master vampires dedicated to keeping the existence of supernaturals secret from human society, and the warring factions are werewolves.

Oh yeah, and Gomez is being stalked by not one but two beings from his past: a vampire who wants him dead and another vampire, an ex girlfriend, who may not want to kill him but doesn’t necessarily want him to be around any longer than necessary. All Gomez wants to do is get in and get out and settle things as quietly as possible. That’s not going to be easy, what with the way rival werewolves feel about each other and that pesky vampire who keeps trying to kill him, along with any number of additional problems that crop up and which seem to be all part of Gomez’s karma. He’ll stick with it though, for what choice does he have? Fail the Araneum and they’re just as likely to take you apart and use your skin to send messages (write the message on the skin in blood, seal it in a light-proof tube and be assured that once read and exposed to sunlight all traces are gone.

This is the fifth book in Acevedo’s series featuring Felix Gomez, vampire PI. Acevedo has done a great job with taking the vampire mythos that we all are familiar with and updating it, technologically speaking. This universe features all of the supernaturals we have come to know and love as well as a fair amount of acerbic wit and cynical insight. Gomez, as a main character is no pushover and yet has a heart, even if it doesn’t beat. Gomez is also one of the few Latino lead characters in SF and fantasy at this time which makes him extremely unusual as well.

I’ve really enjoyed all of the books in the series and think Acevedo does an excellent job with plotting and pacing. I also really like that he’s not tried to re-invent the whole vampire history just re-explain it in modern terms. All of the books in the series are fun to read, with Acevedo’s quick pacing presented through mostly short chapters and a lack of expository rambling. Of all the supernatural series out there today, and there are a lot of them, I would have to say that Acevedo’s Felix Gomez series is at the top. A sure-fire recommendation.

Kill the Dead, Richard Kadrey, Eos, ISBN 978-006-171431-3, 434 pgs., $22.99

 

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This is the second book in Kadrey’s Sandman Slim series. Stark is back and trying to put the pieces together after escaping from hell, exacting a certain amount of bloody revenge, and saving the world in the process. He still has the animated head of a former peer living with him–part of that bloody revenge, and he’s still living above a video rental store in a sleazy section of Los Angeles. This time though Stark is offered a job being a body-guard for Satan, if offered is what you would call the demands of the Devil, and is trying to figure out how best to return to Hell and finish up on the revenge he started. Before he can get there though he meets a Czech pron star who turns out to be a zombie hunter, gets involved in trying to figure our why so many people attached to the families related to the supernatural side of LA are turning up dead, and where the sudden surge of zombies might be coming from. He gets help from many of the characters in the first book and from a few new ones as well. It seems the world, or at least LA, once more hangs in the balance and Stark is the only one who can stop it.

Kadrey writes with a raw energy that translates well to a protagonist from hell with an attitude to match. The action is violent and often messy and the language is strong and straight. Stark is an interesting anti-hero, struggling with a past that includes a lot of torture and serious personal loss. Kadrey adds emotional layers to Stark so that the character is both intriguing in terms of internal conflict and interesting in terms of attitude. There is a lot of dark humor here as well which helps to take the edge off what amounts to a lot of killing and dismemberment.

I really liked the first book in this series and so I had really high hopes for this book. I have to admit to be slightly disappointed, more so with the beginning of the novel which seemed to rehash old material in a way that was not as good as the original. Or perhaps it was just that Kadrey set the bar so high with the first book that there was no way he was going to match it with this one. As I read deeper I did find myself enjoying it more but it still seemed flat in places. I would still certainly recommend the book and if you have not read the first book, Sandman Slim, then you should definitely go out and get that one first. It’s hard to know whether this book reflects a mid-series slump, which often happens with the sequel novel, or a case where all the good stuff occurred in the first book and there’s no where else to go but down. I’m hoping for slump and will definitely read the next book in the series.

The Fall, Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan, William Morrow, ISBN 978-006-155822-1, 320 pgs, $26.99

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The Fall is book two of Del Toro’s and Hogan’s updating of Dracula. Set in New York City the story unfolds as a jet lands at JFK then goes silent. A CDC response team finds the plane full of dead people but has no answers. Soon afterwards the dead begin to rise and seek blood. Eph Goodweather is at the head of the CDC team that investigates the plane but his insistence that a vampire virus (from vampires) is spreading across the city and elsewhere only gets him in trouble. Soon Eph, along with his assistant, is forced to run and hide if they want to try to fight the virus. It may already be too late as the master vampire behind the entire crisis has his own agenda and it involves breaking the ages old pact of vampires keeping a low profile in order to survive.  As the virus continues to spread Eph begins to connect with others who are aware of the truth. There’s Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian and exterminator Vasiliy Fet and a bunch of gang bangers who have become true believers. Armed with technology mixed with old word myth they begin to take the fight to the only place they can: the master vampire himself.

Del Toro and Hogan have created a very interesting series. It is inventive yet follows the original Dracula story without insulting it. The moody atmosphere of a New York City under siege is riveting and captivating. The nature of the situation and the reactions of those who become trapped inside it is both intriguing and horrifying. Since the book does not come out until the first week in October you have plenty of time to run out and pick up a copy of the first book in the series: The Strain, which I also reviewed.

Del Toro and Hogan manage this series by doing what every big disaster series needs to do; manage the small, character driven stories within the larger context of the broad disaster. So, it is not enough that Eph is on the first response team and soon struggling to fight the virus on his own but his ex-wife becomes infected and his son becomes a target. Likewise all of the other characters have both personal and global reasons to be involved in this fight. This keeps us involved and interested.  The master vampire is the other piece that they have done extremely well.  This guy is no pushover.  He acts like he’s been around for a while and his plan has few holes in it.  He’s a bad guy with a lot of power and he acts that way.

Del Toro and Hogan have created a very entertaining read. Unless you happen to live in NYC then you might find it all too creepy, like reading a ghost story and then hearing noises in the closet. This is a fun series, an entertaining read, and highly recommended.