Dead To Me - Anton Strout
Dead To Me
Anton Strout
Ace
Urban Fantasy
If you could see past events and people just by touching an object, would you consider that a gift or a curse? It’s called psychometry, and if you’re smart, you know it’s both. And you’d wear gloves pretty much everywhere. Simon Canderous is smart. In the past, he used his skill to make a living in not-very-legal ways. These days, he’s working for the D.E.A. That would be the Department of Extraordinary Affairs, located in NYC.
Odd things happen pretty much every day around the D.E.A. offices, but even Simon isn’t quite prepared to meet a ghost face-to-face. In fact, he’s been sitting across from her for some time before he realizes exactly what she is. All she knows is that her name is/was Irene; she’s not even prepared to believe that she’s dead yet. Simon and his mentor, Connor Christos, promise to attempt to find out who she was and how she died, in order to help her move on. In doing so, they discover a cult – they prefer to be called Sectarians – operating pretty much in the open and with the support of City Hall. City Hall apparently decided that Evil has the right to office space, too.
It’s very refreshing to find an urban fantasy centered on a snarky, smart-ass male character. Simon is fairly young, has had a checkered past, and is now on a new path. He’s got a lot to learn about his own skill, and about the paranormal in general. Connor is a great foil. He’s been around, but he’s no stereotypical kindly old man, calmly dispensing bits of wisdom. There are still plenty of things that surprise Connor. Both men get irritable and angry and make mistakes. The fact that they can’t always make everything ok gives a tone of realism to characters.
The everyday workings of the D.E.A. is exactly what would happen if the government ran paranormal investigations. Paperwork is omnipresent. For every zombie infestation put down, there’s a dozen forms that need to be filled out, and reports to be filed. Again, this gives a sense of realism, even in the midst of the fantastical. Simon’s reactions to the ghost of the lovely Irene, and even to a cute cultist, are so completely normal that it’s easy to empathize. For readers who like their urban fantasy a little more gritty and laced with dark humor, this is a real treat. I hope there’s more to come.
Rating: 8
March 2008
ISBN# 978-0-441-01578-8
Anton Strout
Ace
Urban Fantasy
If you could see past events and people just by touching an object, would you consider that a gift or a curse? It’s called psychometry, and if you’re smart, you know it’s both. And you’d wear gloves pretty much everywhere. Simon Canderous is smart. In the past, he used his skill to make a living in not-very-legal ways. These days, he’s working for the D.E.A. That would be the Department of Extraordinary Affairs, located in NYC.
Odd things happen pretty much every day around the D.E.A. offices, but even Simon isn’t quite prepared to meet a ghost face-to-face. In fact, he’s been sitting across from her for some time before he realizes exactly what she is. All she knows is that her name is/was Irene; she’s not even prepared to believe that she’s dead yet. Simon and his mentor, Connor Christos, promise to attempt to find out who she was and how she died, in order to help her move on. In doing so, they discover a cult – they prefer to be called Sectarians – operating pretty much in the open and with the support of City Hall. City Hall apparently decided that Evil has the right to office space, too.
It’s very refreshing to find an urban fantasy centered on a snarky, smart-ass male character. Simon is fairly young, has had a checkered past, and is now on a new path. He’s got a lot to learn about his own skill, and about the paranormal in general. Connor is a great foil. He’s been around, but he’s no stereotypical kindly old man, calmly dispensing bits of wisdom. There are still plenty of things that surprise Connor. Both men get irritable and angry and make mistakes. The fact that they can’t always make everything ok gives a tone of realism to characters.
The everyday workings of the D.E.A. is exactly what would happen if the government ran paranormal investigations. Paperwork is omnipresent. For every zombie infestation put down, there’s a dozen forms that need to be filled out, and reports to be filed. Again, this gives a sense of realism, even in the midst of the fantastical. Simon’s reactions to the ghost of the lovely Irene, and even to a cute cultist, are so completely normal that it’s easy to empathize. For readers who like their urban fantasy a little more gritty and laced with dark humor, this is a real treat. I hope there’s more to come.
Rating: 8
March 2008
ISBN# 978-0-441-01578-8
posted by Deborah Hern @ 10:42 PM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home