Elizabeth Bear

I decided it was time for some escapism to deal with this cold that seems to have grown into a throat infection. Someone, somewhere on the internet that I can’t remember (goodreads? tumblr?) mentioned this book and it sounded like fun, so I did the risky thing of jumping into a series in the middle. Or at the end, in this case. It was a risk that paid off in spades, as I had a great time. ‘One-eyed Jack’ uses a similar conceit to [book:Rivers of London|9317452] and sequels: that places have adoptive spirits called genius loci. Also there are unquiet spirits, vampires, and, my favourite, media ghosts. The latter are essentially projections of TV and film characters that fans have brought into being with their devotion. This world-building is all perfectly easy to follow and the novel definitely works as a stand alone. The plot concerns a turf war between the genius loci of Las Vegas and Los Angeles, which plays out in exciting action set pieces mostly set in and around the Hoover Dam. The narrative maintained a strong sense of place throughout, as indeed it should, and overlaid supernatural details on reality very effectively.

The main joy of the book, though, was the characters and their various supernatural traits. This isn't the first novel I’ve read with a vampire Elvis in it, but it is by far my favourite vampire Elvis depiction. (I’ve also read at least one novel with zombie Elvis, now that I think about it.) I had great fun identifying the media ghosts, so won’t spoil that for you. Although there weren’t very many female characters, I liked those that were included and greatly appreciated that the male characters were mostly not straight. One-eyed Jack and the Suicide King are a couple throughout and the general lack of heteronormativity was extremely refreshing. If you too are suffering from a very painful sore throat, you could do a lot worse than take ibuprofen then explore magical Las Vegas with a bunch of dead people.… (mere)

I picked up this book because (1) it was included in my Kobo subscription, so low risk and (2) it bore the names of Sarah Monette, whose work I love, and Elizabeth Bear, about whose work I'm trying to decide whether I like it or not. I didn't expect to like it this much.

The concept of this series is "a television show disguised as a series of short stories: TV that you read", according to the introduction. And it does work that way. It's about a special FBI team dedicated to stopping serial killers with paranormal powers. The format of each book (well, this one at least) is 4 novellas, interspersed with very short stories that are sort of snapshots into the life of the team or its members.

In the first novella, the pilot I suppose, we get to know the team through the eyes of its newest member. Of course they all have dark secrets that will be revealed as the series progresses (I'm assuming). The second one was a bit harder to follow for me, because by then we're supposed to know who's who, which... is not my strong point. But I still enjoyed the whole book very much, and I will probably get to the next one very soon.… (mere)