Tag Archives: urban fantasy

Book Review of The Temptation of Dragons (Penny White), by Chrys Cymri

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The Temptation of DragonsAuthor, Chrys Cymri sent me an e-copy of her urban fantasy Penny White and the Temptation of Dragons. At this, the time of posting, there is also a giveaway running to win a paperback copy. If it wouldn’t be greedy to try and win a copy of a book I already read, I’d so be entering that. You should too.

Description from Goodreads:
Bishop Nigel smiled at me. ‘Holy water doesn’t harm vampires. Which is just as well, as it would make it impossible to baptise them.’

When I was asked by a dragon to give him the last rites, I never dreamed it would lead to negotiating with his cannibalistic family or running from snail sharks. Life as the priest of a small English village is quite tame in comparision. At least I have Morey, a gryphon with sarcasm management issues, to help me. And if all else fails, there’s always red wine and single malt whisky.

As if my life weren’t complicated enough, a darkly beautiful dragon named Raven keeps appearing where I least expect him, I’ve met a handsome police inspector who loves science fiction as much as I do, and my younger brother is getting into trouble for trying to pick up vampires.

That’s what happens when you’re dealing with an incredible and dangerous parallel world full of mythical creatures. And I have to learn to navigate it all without losing myself, or my brother…

Review:
Oh, I really quite loved this. It was fresh and light-hearted, even with the occupational heavy topic. It had an unusual heroine, being that she was a 36-year-old, ultra geeky, Whovian, widowed vicar. I just adored her. There were interesting side characters. There was a mystery that was interesting enough to engage me and leave room for other things. There was a very mild romantic sub-plot that never came to a head or eclipsed the rest of the story and involved two very different males (though not as a love triangle, as neither relationship progressed far enough). There were grammar jokes and Bechdel test reverences and the book wraps up, while allowing for future adventures. All good things.

I only have two real complaints. The first is that I was very distracted by the logistics of inter-species relationships and marriage.  There was no sex in this book and I don’t really anticipate there being any in any future books. It’s just not that kind of book. But if you’re going to posit marriage between dragons and humans or elves and unicorn, I would like to know how biology is worked around or what compromises are made in the relationship. While I got the sense you were supposed to suspend disbelief on the subject, I found the hanging question quite distracting. Secondly, I did not feel that the brother and his guilt excused his very poor, almost cruel behavior. Perhaps I just don’t have enough Christian forgiveness in me, but I finished the book still feeling cheated and indignant on Penny’s behalf.

I should also mention the faith aspect of this book. Since the main character was a vicar, her faith was obviously important to her and there is quite a lot of it in the book. This is a sharp edge for me to walk with books. I don’t consider myself Christian and I hate, HATE being preached to in my fiction. But this book managed to portray Penny’s faith, integrate it into the story, and even cause me to tear up over it at one point, without it ever feeling didactic. I cannot tell you how refreshing that is.

Trailer Park Fae

Book Review Trailer Park Fae (Gallow and Ragged #1), by Lilith Saintcrow

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Trailer Park FaeI borrowed Trailer Park Fae (by Lilith Saintcrow) from my library, mostly just because of the cover is so pretty.

Description from Goodreads:
Jeremy Gallow is just another construction worker, and that’s the way he likes it. He’s left his past behind, but some things cannot be erased. Like the tattoos on his arms that transform into a weapon, or that he was once closer to the Queen of Summer than any half-human should be. Now the half-sidhe all in Summer once feared is dragged back into the world of enchantment, danger, and fickle fae—by a woman who looks uncannily like his dead wife. Her name is Robin, and her secrets are more than enough to get them both killed. A plague has come, the fullborn-fae are dying, and the dark answer to Summer’s Court is breaking loose.

Review:
So, this was not what I expected. I was expecting a light urban fantasy. It was, instead, a fairly dark read, which to be fair is kind of the more traditional Sidhe kind of story.

I’d still have been cool with a dark tale, though. I like gritty things. But this was just so darned slow. I mean, things happened. People died. There was a whole coup even. But it was all narrated in such a plodding, overly verbose, flowery, ho-hum kind of way that it felt dull. Plus, I wasn’t really feeling the lack of pay-off in the end. I liked the characters and it’s an interesting plot, so I can’t say I didn’t like the book. But I’n not sad to be finished with it either.

Book Review of The Devil You Know (Felix Castor #1), by Mike Carey

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The Devil You KnowI borrowed The Devil You Know, by Mike Carey, from the local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground. It may seem like a good ghost buster can charge what he likes and enjoy a hell of a lifestyle–but there’s a risk: Sooner or later he’s going to take on a spirit that’s too strong for him. While trying to back out of this ill-conceived career, Castor accepts a seemingly simple ghost-hunting case at a museum in the shadowy heart of London – just to pay the bills, you understand. But what should have been a perfectly straightforward exorcism is rapidly turning into the Who Can Kill Castor First Show, with demons and ghosts all keen to claim the big prize. That’s OK: Castor knows how to deal with the dead. It’s the living who piss him off…

Review:
Surprisingly good. I expected it to be like William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, but it was much closer to Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. I enjoyed Felix’s voice and narrative, which is part of my surprise. I’m not usually a fan of first-person POVs. I liked the side characters, even if they’re only shallowly sketched out. I liked how the mystery unfurled and the world created here. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, a little less so at the end than the beginning and middle, but still and overall win.

My only real complaint is one I can’t pin on the book alone. It wouldn’t be fair to blame it for being one more of something that’s become so painfully prevalent in modern books. But since I’ve become aware of it I can’t seem to stop noticing it everywhere. This is yet one more book using the rape and victimization of women as the backbone of its plot. I can’t really blame it for being part of a culture that apparently thinks that’s the most motivating plot device in existence, but I’m kind of starting to feel like it’s the only plot device in existence.

Edit: I also read the second book in the series, Vicious Circle. I never wrote a true review for it, though. I just posted a quick note on Goodreads: A few convenient remembrances just in time to save his hide, but I really quite enjoyed it.