Hangdog Hero Pilots Great Supernatural Noir

Source: Publisher Website

Drake (Burned Man #1) by Peter McLean (Angry Robot, 2016, 320pp.)
 
It’s safe to say that Don Drake, a London-based diabolist-turned-hit-man for hire, has certainly made a lousy life for himself. He’s stuck in a miserable partnership with a raucous, foul-mouthed archdemon that he keeps locked in his study; he self-medicates with alcohol to forget the people he’s killed; he’s hung-up on an old girlfriend who won’t give him the time of day; and he’s under the thumb of Wormwood, a nasty demon and local club-owner whom he happens to owe quite a bit of money. Yes, life is hell. And it’s about to get a lot worse: before the story ends, Drake will find himself tied to a chair and interrogated with a power-drill; seduced by a kinky red-head with a thing for whips; get jumped outside a night club and beaten up by aforementioned red-head; and contend with a nearly-fallen angel who has an annoying penchant for Russian cigarettes. And that’s all before a climactic trip to the underworld. What’s a demon-plagued magician to do if he wants to survive in this business?

I have to say, I really enjoyed this novel. When the story first opened, I thought Drake was going to be just another stoic Sam Spade type. Not so! Imagine if Jesse Pinkman, the young, sensitive delinquent hero of Breaking Bad, was in the soul-destroying business of dark magic instead of making meth. Yes, you’re right. It wouldn’t end well. And unfortunately, this too is the case for Drake. Another thing I must mention is narration. With some first-person stories, a narrator describes events and you never really get a sense of his character. This author, however, does it right, allowing the hero’s hang-dog personality to really shine through as he narrates his ensuing misadventures with sarcasm and self-deprecation. Drake is a bang-up job indeed.

Now, while I could just haphazardly recommend this for any fan of urban fantasy, I won’t. The story deals with a variety of seedy characters, and the plot itself takes several dark turns. Therefore, I can really only recommend it for fans of dark fantasy, or for hard-boiled mystery lovers who don’t mind a lot of supernatural elements thrown into the mix.

A Fresh Twist on the Literal and Metaphorical Magic of Live Theatre

Source: Author Website

Spellcast by Barbara Ashford (DAW, 2011, 448pp.)

Although she ditched professional acting for a more stable desk job, New Yorker Maggie Graham is miserable. When she decides to flee her city life for a day, she feels a strange compulsion to drive through the rural Vermont town of Dale, and towards an old summer stock theater, where auditions are being held. On a whim, she auditions—and thus, begins her most fulfilling summer in years. The only thing off about the whole situation is Rowan Mackenzie, the theatre’s mysterious, brooding director, who displays an almost magical talent for pulling surprisingly polished performances from his ragtag cast of amateur actors. Is there more to Rowan and Crossroads Theatre than meets the eye? Although the story is a little overlong and slow-paced in places, and the supporting characters remain underdeveloped, Spellcast is still a very original treatment of the modern-day fantasy story. Not only does it create a fresh twist on literal magic, it also explores the metaphorical magic that both actors and audience members alike seek out in live theatrical performances. Recommended for patient readers who are fans of live theatre, and character-driven paranormal fiction.

Awesome Conclusion to a Series of "Meh" Quality

Source: Goodreads

A Host of Dragons (Dragon DelaSangre #4) by Alan F. Troop (Roc, 2006, 352pp.)

Two years after the unfortunate events of The Seadragon’s Daughter, Peter finds himself with two very big problems: the first is that his wife, Chloe, still hasn't forgiven him for mating with the seadragon, Lorrel. The second: a European dragon clan has arrived in Miami with claims that his brother-in-law, Derek, has eloped with one of their coveted females. Unless Peter agrees to betray his brother-in-law and help restore the bride to her rightful betrothed, the clan will kill him, and everyone he loves.

Some series start out great, and then gradually get worse. Troop’s series, I’d have to say, does the opposite. It starts out with The Dragon DelaSangre (a fresh spin on an old idea, tarnished by unlikeable protagonists); continues with Dragon Moon (characters are more sympathetic, and Troop’s take on dragon culture is still interesting); follows up with The Seadragon’s Daughter (the plot is ridiculous, but still entertaining in a beach-read sort of way); and ends with A Host of Dragons, by far the best in the series. Host boasts a great plot and developed characters that you can’t help but care about—and since Book 4 appears to be the last in the series, the reader has no guarantee that Peter or his family will survive this latest assault on their turf. Recommended for readers who love dark, edgy urban fantasy, and who aren’t put off by dragons with an iffy sense of morality.

Good for a Beach-Read, If Nothing Else

Source: Goodreads

The Seadragon’s Daughter (Dragon DelaSangre #3) by Alan F. Troop (Roc, 2004, 304pp.)

Miami-born shape-shifter Peter DelaSangre is living happily with his new bride, Chloe, and their two young children when danger strikes their family yet again. A number of boaters have gone missing, and soon, a troublesome tabloid starts publishing headlines suggesting that Peter is somehow to blame. After learning he must stand deposition, he reluctantly sends his family to stay with the in-laws in Jamaica until it all blows over. As he hunkers down in his island home, counting the days until he must stand in court, he is surprised when a hitherto thought extinct species of dragon makes her way to his doorstep. As an Undrae (flying land dragon), he had thought all other species of dragons had long since died out, but the sea-dwelling Pelk, as it turns out, are very much alive. The Pelk’s name is Lorrel, and after she lures him to her hidden community under the sea, she reveals her purpose: the Pelk intend to hold him prisoner, and forcibly mate with him! Now Peter must figure out how to escape this awful fate, and return to his family.

I reveal so much of the plot in this review because if the synopsis gives you cause to think, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of!” you’ll save yourself at least a day’s worth of reading. While Troop’s dragon culture has always interesting thus far, he struck a little low this time in terms of creativity. The plot, complete with killer dolphins and trident-waving mer-people, seems lifted out of an old Saturday morning cartoon, and other than a few humorous moments, it really has very little to recommend itself. Good for a beach-read, if nothing else.

Slightly Better Than the First, But Still Has Issues

Source: Goodreads

Dragon Moon (Dragon Delasangre #2) by Alan F. Troop (Roc, 2003, 307pp.)

Four years after the death of his wife, dragon shape-shifter Peter Delasangre sets out for Jamaica to declare his intentions to his much-younger sister-in-law, Chloe, who has just come of age. Although Chloe is initially hesitant about the proposal, Peter soon learns of more pressing problems—namely, his greedy in-laws (who plan to rob Peter of his vast fortune), and Ian Tindell, the family lawyer who, like his father before him, is conspiring to bring Peter down and take over his company.

While it’s not an excellent book, it’s certainly much better than its rotten predecessor, The Dragon Delasangre. Compared to Elizabeth, Peter’s “beloved” (sociopathic) first wife, Chloe is humane and sympathetic. However, I do have two complaints. The first is the whole “dragons eating humans” thing. Considering that most of the book’s readers are human, do they really have to eat people? Why can’t they just live off livestock or ultra-rare steaks? Case in point, there's a great scene where Peter decides to make passionate love to his new bride “only feet from the remains” of the victim they were just chomping on. How romantic! The second complaint is aimed at the stupid draconic tradition of employing the Tindell family as family lawyers. To defend this time-honored tradition, Peter quotes his father: “[In order for the family business to work,] You need [to employ both] a good person, and a scoundrel.” Yeah, but if your lawyer and his descendants display a habit of betraying your best interests—not to mention trying to kill you—isn’t it time for a change? It's a no-brainer. Seriously. One wonders how on earth these dragons manage to stay atop the food chain when they let little things like that cloud their best judgement.

Although I absolutely hated the first book, I do think I will continue on to the third volume in this series. Why? It's an interesting enough world for dragon-lovers. Not necessarily for urban fantasy fans in general, but if you like reading about dragons, it's good enough for a quick browse.

The Laughing Corpse

Source: Author Website

The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter #2) by Laurell K. Hamilton (1994; Jove, 2002, 304pp.)

While helping the St. Louis Spook Squad investigate the brutal murder of a family, a wealthy businessman offers Animators, Inc. an exorbitant sum for Anita Blake to raise a zombie via human sacrifice. That’s where Anita draws the line, of course...but this would-be client can’t seem to take “no” for an answer. The mystery element in this second installment of the Anita Blake series is a lot more effective than its predecessor, Guilty Pleasures, though graphic description of crime scenes makes it considerably more gruesome. If you’ve got a strong stomach, though, you’ll definitely enjoy this volume just as much (perhaps even more so) than the first.

Guilty Pleasures

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter #1) by Laurell K. Hamilton (1993; Jove, 2002, 272pp.)

“I don’t date vampires. I kill them.”

Missouri-born Anita Blake has a license to kill. In addition to being a state-sanctioned vampire executioner, she also raises the dead for a living for Animators, Inc. When a trail of dead vampires shows up (the law has recently made it illegal to slay without a warrant), the master vampire of the city hires Anita to solve the crimes. Guilty Pleasures is the first in the Anita Blake series, an urban fantasy odyssey that kicks ass and takes names. Even though world-building and character development takes precedence to building a decent mystery, Guilty Pleasures still makes a good introduction to an attractively spooky twin of St. Louis, Missouri.

Not Your Mother’s Fairy-Tale Fantasy

The Department of Magic by Rod Kierkegaard, Jr. (Curiosity Quills Press, 2011, 296pp.)

Jasmine Farah and Rocco Di Angelo work in the Department of Magic, an obscure organization in the U.S. government. America has enemies, all right, but it’s not so simple as ordinary terrorists. Think creepy things that go bump in the night, the kind that ooze some kind of slime or sprout fur. But the job’s not as glamorous as you might think. Jazz and Rock spend most of their time at the beck and call of their newly deceased boss, Crawley, and stealing historical artifacts of supernatural importance (most recently, George Washington’s deathbed dentures). All is in preparation for the fight against America’s enemies, like Aaron Burr.

“Wait a minute,” you may ask. “Isn’t he dead?” Not so, here. In Kierkegaard’s portrayal of the ill-fated third vice president, not only did he shoot Alexander Hamilton in a duel, he also was a fanatical devotee to an ancient god that seeks to destroy America. Did I mention that “America” is also the name of a goddess?

Obviously, there’s a lot of fun stuff here, though I wouldn’t exactly call it “Harry Potter for adults,” as the dust jacket summary claims. Kierkegaard’s brand of magic involves blood, and lots of it. No, The Department of Magic is more like Supernatural Noir, which I reviewed last year: entertaining, but kind of dark in some areas. So, the verdict? Kierkegaard’s novel combines American history with urban fantasy to create an original, bleak portrait of the real fight for our country’s freedom. Not recommended for casual fans of fantasy.

This post will also appear as a guest post on Book of the Week.

Similar Books:

• Supernatural Noir, edited by Ellen Datlow

“Supernatural Noir” is a Little Too Light On the “Noir”

Supernatural Noir edited by Ellen Datlow (Dark Horse, 2011, 336pp.)

“Supernatural” and “Noir.” Not two genres you would normally put together—especially since one deals with witches and magic and the other deals almost exclusively with the detective story sub-genre. Put them together and you get Supernatural Noir, a collection of 16 stories that attempt to examine the human condition by placing their subjects in mysterious, fantastical, and quite often horrifying circumstances. The trouble is, each author interprets this new genre differently. All pieces contain noir to some degree, but the genres of the collection overall aren’t well balanced. Some stories lean more towards fantasy/horror, while others are so bare of these elements that you almost miss the required “supernatural” aspect. The best stories, in my opinion, are the ones that focus more on what makes these characters human than the fantasy/horror elements. Some in the collection do this quite well. Others are more intent on fleshing out plot-driven tales. It’s really up to the reader to decide who hit the nail on the head, and who missed completely. A word of warning: this is not for the casual fan of dark fantasy and horror. Some of the pieces are very strange, and more than a little morbid. Recommended for mature readers, as some pieces may contain adult themes.

Where’s St. George When You Really Need Him?

The Dragon DelaSangre by Alan F. Troop (Roc, 2002, 304pp.)

Peter Delasangre belongs to a family of shape-shifting dragons who live off the coast of Miami. Since the staple diet of dragons consists mostly of humans, Peter and his family often take on the form of their prey to lure their victims to their untimely deaths. After a young, pretty waitress ends up as Peter’s dinner, it comes as a rather a shock to him that her family has managed to trace her disappearance back to Peter—and they’re out for blood. Bad timing, especially since Peter has just found—and married—the love of his life, a beautiful lady dragon by the name of Elizabeth. Troop builds a fascinating world of dragon culture in which to set his tale. Dragon weddings, it turns out, are not that much different from human ones, in that they involve dowries, marriage vows, in-laws, etc. Unfortunately, the fantasy world plays only a supporting role, while a cast of truly despicable protagonists take center stage. Peter and his dragon bride are cruel, self-centered, and just unlikable in general, while the antagonists (the characters the reader is not supposed to sympathize with) turn out to be devoted, dedicated, law-abiding citizens you can’t help but cheer for. This leaves the reviewer to beg the question: “Where’s St. George when you really need him?”

Click on cover for image source.