Desi Bascomb is rescued from an ordinary everyday existence when a woman in a magic bubble appears, tells her she has Magic Potential, and introduces her to a very special temp agency specializing in short-term princess impersonations. Thrilled at the chance to lead a life of glamour and elegance, Desi throws herself into the job, subbing for a variety of unusual princesses. But when her willful ways and talent for improvisation go against the company rules, she’ll have to prove she’s worth keeping. Light, fluffy, and humorous, this pretty-in-pink tale is enjoyable, but hard to take seriously.
Archive for category Urban Fantasy
It’s not easy being a part-pooka shapeshifter in a society where supernatural Others are tolerated at best, hunted at worst, but by keeping her true nature secret, Gwen has managed just fine. However, when a serial killer starts targeting Others around her, Gwen may not be able to hide for long, especially when she becomes a target. Now, with the help of a cute kitsune, she has to track down a murderer before he strikes again. The skillful use of myth and folklore and a strong emotional component keep this from being your standard murder mystery.
Teen wizards Kit and Nita have been tasked with uncovering the buried secrets of Mars, but when Kit accidentally activates an ancient artifact, the planet comes to life in unexpectedly mysterious ways, challenging everything they ever believed about the red planet. With the fate of two planets at stake, our heroes and their allies will be stretched to their limits to find a suitable solution. Straddling the fence between science fiction and fantasy, beautifully-written and morally complex, featuring a rich cast of engaging characters and some thought-provoking twists, this installment proves that even after nine books, this series is still going strong.
When Ellie Spencer agrees to teach stage combat for a local university production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she’s inadvertently drawn into a bizarre series of events involving a secretive race of deadly mythological beings out to reclaim their full power and immortality. To thwart their apocalyptic schemes, she’ll have to embrace her own hidden powers, place her trust in some unlikely allies, and delve into a world she never knew existed. Set in New Zealand and drawing heavily from Maori myth for inspiration, this is a brilliantly-executed story, full of powerful imagery, fascinating characters, and memorable moments. Easily one of the best YA’s I’ve read this so far this year.
The only member of his family unable to work curse magic with a touch, Cassel’s honed his skills as a con man to a sharp edge as compensation. When his bizarre sleepwalking episodes disrupt the stability of his life, he soon uncovers a history of inexplicable discrepancies involving his brothers and his own memories. The weirdest? His dreams are being invaded by a mysterious white cat, who may be connected to the girl he once killed. Cassel will have to pull off the con of a lifetime if he wants to fully understand what’s going on, and free himself from a lifetime of manipulation. While drawing elements from a classic fairy tale, White Cat quickly establishes its own identity, where mobsters and magic go hand in hand with mystery and misdirection.
Got ghost problems? You’re in luck. The intrepid agents of the Carnacki Institute will investigate. They’ll do whatever’s necessary to take care of the problem, from convincing the ghost it’s time to move on, to kicking its sorry ectoplasmic ass. Their best team is a three-person operation, capable of handling any problem. There’s JC Chance, the leader, technogeek Melody Chambers, and drug-addled telepath Happy Jack Palmer. Between them, they have every eventuality covered.
Fresh off a job involving a haunted supermarket parking lot, the team is sent to deal with an extremely nasty incident originating in the Oxford Circus Underground station, an unprecedented event that’s just the start of their worst adventure yet. Something ancient, alien, and powerful is threatening to break through down where the sun never shines, and it’ll take everything the team has just to survive, much less succeed. And just to complicate matters, they have to deal with their evil counterparts from the Crowley Project, who believe the best opportunity is the one seized through force and blood. But when the chips are down and it’s everyone for themselves, can the two teams work together? And who’s going to tell JC Chance that falling in love with a ghost is a monumentally bad idea? (All of them, that’s who.)
The start of another new series from the ever-popular Simon R. Green, Ghost of a Chance is billed as his first real horror novel – which is a rather disturbing thought at first, given his propensity for injecting horrific elements into just about everything he does. Sadly, if anything, this just reads like more of the same. Surprisingly, there aren’t any overt connections to any of his other series, meaning this might just be a rare standalone series for an author who’s carefully laced together everything else he’s done.
The characters themselves are part archetype, part collection of neurotic quirks, and somehow lacking any real depth. There’s plenty of witty banter and snappy dialogue, but rarely do we see below the surface. They’d make great protagonists in an action movie, but I don’t feel like I know them nearly as well as I do some of Green’s earlier characters, like Rupert and Julia from Blue Moon Rising.
I can’t call this horror. It’s dark urban fantasy, with some horror trappings, but it doesn’t strike the right chords to be true horror, the sort that sparks nightmares and makes you turn on all the lights at night and jump at shadows. Maybe I’m just used to Green’s style, his ability to creep me out with a well-turned phrase or image, or maybe he goes for the gross-out a little too enthusiastically – a literal river of blood appears at one point – but it didn’t really bother me the way some horror does.
Hey, as an urban fantasy, it’s good. It’s fast-paced, filled with nifty concepts and memorable characters, and quite enjoyable. I’ve never disliked a Green book, and even his lackluster efforts still have the capacity to make me happy. Ghost of a Chance may not be as awesome as his other stuff, but it’s not awful by any stretch of the imagination. I’ll be looking forward to more of this series, if just to see what Green will do next.
Ever since she broke up with her mortal boyfriend Seth, succubus Georgina Kincaid has been in a royal funk, and it’s been getting worse ever since she reluctantly agreed to help plan Seth’s wedding to one of her best friends. Acting noble and self-sacrificing when all you really want to do is steal the groom-to-be away is hard at the best of times, downright impossible when you’re a creature of Hell whose job is to corrupt the good and steal their life energy. Georgina’s always been a woman of drastic contrasts, though.
The more down she gets, however, the more it seems like some strange outside force is trying to lure her away, stalking her at her most vulnerable. So she throws herself into work, tries not to obsess about Seth, and attempts to discern why another succubus is in town “on vacation.” When she learns just what’s after her and why, she realizes all hope may be lost. Because caught under their power, she’ll relive the worst and most defining moments of her centuries-long life, and be driven to the breaking point of despair. Can the love and obligation of her friends save her, and if so, at what cost?
Now onto its fifth book, this series about the succubus with the moral streak just keeps getting weirder and more engaging. All along, Mead’s been dropping hints that Georgina isn’t like other succubi, and that there may be irregularities with her contract with Hell. Here, the plot thickens and progresses a little; there may not be concrete answers, but we get more insight into her checkered past, seeing who she was long ago and where she started to rebel against her Hell-given directives. We also see more of the strangely compelling interaction between the forces of Heaven and Hell, and it’s becoming ever clearer that it’s not a struggle of absolutes. We’re already familiar of the odd friendship between Jerome, Georgina’s supervisor, and Carter, his angelic counterpart for the Seattle area, and now it seems there really is something else going on behind the scenes. Naturally, the rest of Georgina’s friends are present, and the subplot involving the vampire Peter, who has the hots for a cute little Gothlet who rejects him for not being vampiric enough for her tastes, is sure to raise a few laughs.
Internal mythology aside, this series continues to straddle the line between urban fantasy and paranormal romance, with the continuing thread of Georgina’s on-again off-again relationship with Seth, who was her favorite author until he became the love of her life. Clearly, the feelings still exist on both sides, even when they’re apart, and it’s entirely possible that their bond exists on a deeper level than either expected. Unfortunately, explanations will have to wait for another book, though there’s some interesting progress made here.
What else? Well, as to be expected when one’s reading a story about a succubus, there is sex, and the sex varies between tawdry and sleazy (when Georgina’s seducing some mortal scumbag to jack up her internal energy lvels) and blisteringly hot (when it’s someone she cares about). Mead’s good at finding that line between erotic and explicit, so it doesn’t impact the overall flow of the story, like it might in some books.
Fans of the series will undoubtedly enjoy this latest installment of Georgina Kincaid’s adventures, and appreciate the development of the slow-burning overarching storyline that’s been present in each book. It’ll definitely be interesting to see what Mead has planned for future books.
Vancouver’s Occult Special Investigations unit always, by virtue of its very nature, gets the weird cases. This time, a prominent academic and necromancer has been murdered, while inexplicably wearing an antique suit of armor in the safety of his own home. Now Tess Corday and her team have to figure out who killed Luiz Ordeno and why. To do that, Tess will have to wrestle answers out of the notoriously tightlipped necromantic community, brave the local vampire dens, track down enigmatic demon information brokers, and risk her own life against those who don’t want her to succeed. Along the way, she’ll also have to reevaluate her clandestine relationship with her necromancer lover, keep not one but two supernaturally-imbued teenagers out of trouble, and make time for a long-overdue heart-to-heart with her mother. Just another week at the office.
Where do I start? I love this series with a passion, and Inhuman Resources is definitely my favorite thus far. On the surface, it’s the urban fantasy answer to CSI, with a full team of quirky, talented specialists working behind the scenes and in the office to help Tess and her partners in the field get the results. The camaraderie, snappy patter and easy back-and-forth dialogue helps maintain a steady flow as the information and technobabble comes and goes, and it’s obvious Battis has a real ear for this sort of thing.
I love that when characters talk to one another, it’s open, direct, and productive. There are too many series out there where a misunderstanding or moment of miscommunication could fuel entire books of angst and hurt feelings. Here, for instance, Tess and her boyfriend Lucien actually find time to have an adult discussion that means something, full of honest emotion and forward movement. Sure, they might argue, but they get over it in a manner which rings true and feels real. There’s a subtle maturity to the emotional component of this book that helps it stand out, whether it’s Tess and Lucien, or Tess’ partner/housemate Derrick and his boyfriend Miles, or part-demon teenager Mia (just hitting those moody teen years!) or any of the other fascinating characters who contribute to the plot. It’s an intangible quality; some books have it, some don’t, and this one has lots of it.
I love the juxtaposition of modern science (verging on the futuristic sometimes) and weird magic. Sure, it’s a staple of urban fantasy to blend the real and unreal, but Battis has injected his world with enough cutting-edge technology and forensic techniques as to give this series a slight science fiction edge as well. But then he turns around and introduces us to Trinovantum, the bizarre hidden city of the necromancers, which could exist in a fantasy setting completely separate of the so-called real world. And instead of clashing, these disparate elements work well together.
The main crux of the plot may be your standard murder whodunit, but its packaging is anything but standard; this is top-notch urban fantasy in every regard, and I’m looking forward to the further adventures of Tess Corday and her friends and family.
For Sarah Beauhall, life’s about to get very, very complicated. A blacksmith by trade, she live from paycheck to paycheck, making horseshoes for local farmers and replica weapons for convention-goers and the local Society for Creative Anachronism. By night, she works as props manager for low budget movies, like Elvis Versus the Goblins. Coming from a rather sheltered, fundamentalist Christian background, she’s still trying to piece together her feelings for her first ever girlfriend, terrified of public displays of affection and unable to really admit, even to herself, that she’s gay. Already in a mild state of emotional turmoil, she’s nowhere near ready for the trouble that’s about to unfold. When her favorite sword is broken, she sets out to repair it, only to be given an enigmatic warning from one of the movie’s extras: “If you attempt to reforge that sword, you must not fail.”
Turns out that she’s in possession of the legendary sword Gram, once used by the hero Sigurd to slay the dragon Fafnir. And now that Gram has turned up, some very old, very powerful people want it, and will stop at nothing to obtain or destroy it. Now Sarah has to deal with giants, trolls, dwarves and dragons, even as her life crumbles around her. With her job, her friends, even her relationship slipping through her fingers, with events spiraling out of control, Sarah may very well have to slay a few dragons of her own, or lose everything.
Black Blade Blues is a remarkably complex book, highly reminiscent of early Mercedes Lackey in some regards. Originally published in short form under the same name in the DAW anthology Swordplay (2009), it’s been cleaned up and expanded quite considerably here. Sarah’s intertwined struggles to defy destiny and come to terms with her own sexuality make for interesting, gripping reading. She’s the sort of heroine you alternately want to smack sense into, and hug comfortingly, especially as it becomes clear just how much of this is beyond her control. Elements from Norse/Teutonic mythology are utilized with great success here, weaving through and around the plot in an increasingly creepy, dramatic manner. What starts out relatively subtle becomes downright deadly by the end, where ancient myth and modern technology collide with devastating results.
All in all, Black Blade Blues is an extremely strong start to a new series, and I can’t wait to see what happens to Sarah Beauhall and her friends after this. It’s clear that we’re just scratching the surface of this setting, with Sarah as a relative newcomer to a world inhabited by ancient dragons, desperate dwarves, and hidden deities. Good stuff, without a doubt.
Sylvie Lightner is a private investigator who specializes in the supernatural, the weird, and the dangerous. Her last job was a real killer, and it’s taken her a month to recover and get her head back in the game. Unfortunately, that month is nowhere near enough, since she’s still haunted by the death of her occasional lover, Michael Demalion, and reluctant to tackle anything involving “life-and-death struggles.” However, she may not have a choice. First, she’s saddled with temporary supervision of her rebellious sister Zoe. Second, she takes a case involving some unusual robberies at a local mall. Third, she meets a Chicago cop who’s been possessed by a very familiar ghost, undoubtedly more fallout from the near-apocalyptic adventure Sylvie had the month before.
Now Sylvie’s up to her eyeballs in trouble, with necromancers and Hands of Glory popping up around every corner, a ghost putting the moves on her, a sister who’s been up to questionable hijinks with her friends, and an entire clan of local cops pressuring her for explanations and results. If Sylvie doesn’t put together the pieces of this puzzle, the dead will walk again, but at a terrible cost.
So far, two books in, this is proving to be a really fun, interesting series. Sylvie’s a tough, no-nonsense protagonist whose sense of responsibility and duty may occasionally lead her awry, but more often than not she’s out there kicking ass and doing her best to protect those she cares about. Her attitude is refreshingly direct, but not over-the-top enough to turn her into a cliched bad girl/action heroine. The world she lives in is, as might be expected, chock-full of the magical, mysterious, and menacing, but Lyn Benedict still finds new things to focus on. Ghosts & Echoes wraps itself around several plot threads, which come together in surprisingly subtle ways; it wasn’t until I was a third of the way in that I realized where the story was going, and then everything took on a new perspective. Honestly, I’ve never seen such an interesting, twisted take on the whole concept of the Hand of Glory (traditionally, the specially-preserved hand of a dead murderer, capable of opening locks and other nasty tricks.).
In a field that’s ever more crowded by private investigators dealing with the unknown, this series has found its corner and is doing quite well at maintaining its sense of uniqueness. Definitely one of the better series out there, and this book quite adeptly maintains the quality I saw in the first one.