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grav_ityOkay, so we all know me, and how I feel about books and gender and stuff, and how I feel about fun books set in Canada, and how I feel about a well timed geek joke, and I have to say, ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD? Homerun. Possibly a grand-slam. Possibly an INSIDE THE PARK grand-slam.
First off, I should warn you that this book? NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. It is bloodier than Blood Magic, and the body count is rather high. Also, the ghosts are more ghoulish and ghastly than wispy (you have no idea how much I wish there was a "gh" word for "wispy" right now), and the murders are all describes in loving detail. Also, there's some swearing.
But seriously? THIS IS WHAT I WISH I GOT FROM SUPERNATURAL. It's just so awesome! With the nomadic ghost hunting, and the respect for voodoo and witchcraft, and the snappy one-liners and pop-culture jokes. And, of course, the female characters are OUTSTANDING.
It's probably also worth mentioning that this book is set in THUNDER BAY which is amazing for about fifteen separate reasons, not the least of which are jokes about Saskatoon berries and the part where everyone can be Finnish. (And that joke about being "pale, even for Canadian kids", which was also funny. And I've never heard anyone refer to a Pizza Hut as a pizza bar, or ANY pizza place, for the record, but maybe it's a local thing? I don't know. I also don't know why I care because it's COMPLETELY BESIDE THE POINT.)
The point: THIS BOOK IS REALLY AWESOME.
Cas, the lead, is the perfect mix of Oh, My Epic Destiny! and Teenage Boy. Thomas is hilarious and awesome, and his grandfather is epic. In my head, he's played by Denzel Washington's voice and Donald Sutherland's body.
But the strength of the book is Anna. Anna Dressed in Blood. Whose murder was more horrible than you can imagine. Whose murders were more horrible than you can imagine (wow, English is really the opposite of helpful sometimes). And who, like Cas, I pretty much loved on sight. It's hard to explain her, without giving it away, but she was outstanding, and based on her story arc alone, I would recommend this book.
I loved Carmel to pieces, again pretty much the same way Cas did (by which I mean at first I was all "Uh, really?" and by the end I was all "CAN SHE HAVE A SPIN OFF PLEASE?"). She's basically the Xander of the group, and she OWNS IT ENTIRELY and it is amazing. Most of the great, "let's do this" lines are hers (including the cut tag, btw), but at one point she tells Cas he's basically Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I was all "OMG, YOU SAID THE WORDS OUT LOUD!" because I'd been thinking "Man, this is the best gender-flipped Buffy to have EVER BEEN THOUGHT OF" for most of the book.
And Cas's mum, a Kitchen Witch, who helps out as much as she can, was also the perfect mix of supportive, tigress and competency. I think, actually, she has my favourite logistical aspect of the entire book: usually in works like this, the hero(es) are poor, because they're nomadic and too busy to hold down a regular job (see also: The Winchesters, Buffy, Angel, etc.), but Cas's mum runs an online mail-order witchery business, and I think that is just BRILLIANT.
There is a tremendous amount of Brain Using in this. I approve. Also, Lake Superior is capable of sanctifying things, which is cool. And while I don't think I quite identified with Cas, I will say that his character was strong enough that I responded to each character exactly the way he did, which was super cool (because, seriously, how else does one fall in love with a psychotic ghost who RIPS PEOPLE IN HALF).
Mostly though? THIS BOOK TAKES PLACE IN THUNDER BAY. You have NO IDEA how happy that makes me. Even if I'll never be able to go back there without getting a chill in my soul. Which is the whole point.
Starting the year off with a 10/10, for AMAZINGNESS, being set in Canada, fabulous female characters, respectful treatment of voodoo and witchcraft, descriptive brilliance and the joke about Saskatoon berries.
If you liked Every Other Day, this book is for you. (And if you like this one, try Every Other Day!)
Also, for the sake of Northern Ontario, there's Ultraviolet.
First off, I should warn you that this book? NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. It is bloodier than Blood Magic, and the body count is rather high. Also, the ghosts are more ghoulish and ghastly than wispy (you have no idea how much I wish there was a "gh" word for "wispy" right now), and the murders are all describes in loving detail. Also, there's some swearing.
But seriously? THIS IS WHAT I WISH I GOT FROM SUPERNATURAL. It's just so awesome! With the nomadic ghost hunting, and the respect for voodoo and witchcraft, and the snappy one-liners and pop-culture jokes. And, of course, the female characters are OUTSTANDING.
It's probably also worth mentioning that this book is set in THUNDER BAY which is amazing for about fifteen separate reasons, not the least of which are jokes about Saskatoon berries and the part where everyone can be Finnish. (And that joke about being "pale, even for Canadian kids", which was also funny. And I've never heard anyone refer to a Pizza Hut as a pizza bar, or ANY pizza place, for the record, but maybe it's a local thing? I don't know. I also don't know why I care because it's COMPLETELY BESIDE THE POINT.)
The point: THIS BOOK IS REALLY AWESOME.
Cas, the lead, is the perfect mix of Oh, My Epic Destiny! and Teenage Boy. Thomas is hilarious and awesome, and his grandfather is epic. In my head, he's played by Denzel Washington's voice and Donald Sutherland's body.
But the strength of the book is Anna. Anna Dressed in Blood. Whose murder was more horrible than you can imagine. Whose murders were more horrible than you can imagine (wow, English is really the opposite of helpful sometimes). And who, like Cas, I pretty much loved on sight. It's hard to explain her, without giving it away, but she was outstanding, and based on her story arc alone, I would recommend this book.
I loved Carmel to pieces, again pretty much the same way Cas did (by which I mean at first I was all "Uh, really?" and by the end I was all "CAN SHE HAVE A SPIN OFF PLEASE?"). She's basically the Xander of the group, and she OWNS IT ENTIRELY and it is amazing. Most of the great, "let's do this" lines are hers (including the cut tag, btw), but at one point she tells Cas he's basically Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I was all "OMG, YOU SAID THE WORDS OUT LOUD!" because I'd been thinking "Man, this is the best gender-flipped Buffy to have EVER BEEN THOUGHT OF" for most of the book.
And Cas's mum, a Kitchen Witch, who helps out as much as she can, was also the perfect mix of supportive, tigress and competency. I think, actually, she has my favourite logistical aspect of the entire book: usually in works like this, the hero(es) are poor, because they're nomadic and too busy to hold down a regular job (see also: The Winchesters, Buffy, Angel, etc.), but Cas's mum runs an online mail-order witchery business, and I think that is just BRILLIANT.
There is a tremendous amount of Brain Using in this. I approve. Also, Lake Superior is capable of sanctifying things, which is cool. And while I don't think I quite identified with Cas, I will say that his character was strong enough that I responded to each character exactly the way he did, which was super cool (because, seriously, how else does one fall in love with a psychotic ghost who RIPS PEOPLE IN HALF).
Mostly though? THIS BOOK TAKES PLACE IN THUNDER BAY. You have NO IDEA how happy that makes me. Even if I'll never be able to go back there without getting a chill in my soul. Which is the whole point.
Starting the year off with a 10/10, for AMAZINGNESS, being set in Canada, fabulous female characters, respectful treatment of voodoo and witchcraft, descriptive brilliance and the joke about Saskatoon berries.
If you liked Every Other Day, this book is for you. (And if you like this one, try Every Other Day!)
Also, for the sake of Northern Ontario, there's Ultraviolet.
