Deadtown [Mass Market Paperback]

First the pros:
- I really enjoyed our heroine, Vicky. She was powerful, funny, smart and kicked all kinds of tail. Not quite as awesome as my current favorite, Kate Daniels, but I would say that she's not too far off.
- The plot was interesting, moved quickly and concluded well. The menace was believable, the dramatic elements were clever and I just liked it. I thought the premise was an interesting twist on the old favorite. And that is getting much harder to do lately.
- World-building. We didn't get to see as much of the world as I would have liked, since the focus was mainly on the action, but what we saw was interesting and original.

All this counts for a lot, but with the urban fantasy market as crowded as it is, it takes that extra something for a book to go from good to great in my view. And the one, massive con was something I couldn't move past: the cast.

I did not like any of the supporting cast. They were, almost without exception, untrustworthy, evil or plain old jerks and they made the book a lot less believable. The one I took the most exception to, and will use as the example to illustrate my point, is Tina.

Tina the zombie sidekick is actually a potentially interesting and original new character. Unfortunately Tina completely lacked charm. Every time she appeared on the page I wanted someone, anyone, to slap the heck out of her. Not for being a smartass, but for consistently pulling crap that could get our heroine killed. She's a danger to pretty much everyone around her, literally from the first chapter. The heroine can probably empathize, since she was something like that as a teenager, but Vicky's actions as a teenager actually DID cause a tragedy. Every time Tina appeared and did something stupid that could get the heroine killed I wondered why the heroine would ever agree to train her, knowing that the attitude could get someone killed. It didn't make any sense. I cant imagine her associating with, much less training, someone who doesn't listen, will STEAL from her, and is a danger to her AND her clients. She has experienced the consequences of such a lack of control and unwillingness to listen in her past and out to know better. It ripped me right out of the story, as I spent the time thinking WTF!

Tina was the character that aggravated me the most, but far from the only one. The client and politicians were a cliche, the lawyer boyfriend plain unlikable, and the human love interest was boring. If we must have a romance (and I know it's pretty much a given in this genre- I don't mind it when it's done well), I hope the author will introduce a viable third candidate in the next book. The closest I came to really liking any character other than the lead was in flashbacks to Vicky's dead relatives.

I will certainly check out the reviews of the second book in this series when it is published. I hope that further development will make the cast a bit more interesting and fun to read about. There are just too many good urban fantasy books out there right now to buy one that doesn't get me interested from the beginning. If the cast issues are addressed, I will absolutely buy the next book.

Shapeshifter Vicky Vaughn works killing clients' personal demons and lives in Deadtown, a section of Boston reserved for paranormal creatures like vampires, werewolves, and zombies. The zombies were created by a plague that swept through the city a few years before. Vicky has an teenage zombie as a demon-slaying apprentice, a sister who chose a human lifestyle and now lives in the suburbs, a vampire roommate, and a relationship with a werewolf lawyer who's fighting for civil rights for paranormals. When one of her clients gets killed by a Hellion, Vicky has to figure out who summoned the demon to Boston and how she can stop it before it kills again.

Deadtown was great fun. It's fast-paced with plenty of action, and the characters feel like real people (even the monsters). The zombies are different than what I expected. Instead of staggering around looking for "braaaains" they're more like people. Nice touch. Tina the teenage zombie is a riot. Deadtown made me laugh out. This is a great book and I'll definitely read the sequel.

Victory Vaughn is a demi-human, active. This bureaucratese translates to a shapeshifter, who also fights demons, or a Ceriddorian, who is literally a Welsh descendent of Ceridwen. All this classification became necessary after the Plague hit Boston three years ago and turned many of the residents into zombies who now inhabit a space called "Deadtown." Of course, the demi-humans: vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters like Vicky are also now under regulation and struggling for rights.

Vicky's just doing her job exorcising a drude (dream demon) from a client when she feels some serious evil. The next day she learns after she left the client was murdered, boiled from the inside out. It's her worst fear, someone's let loose a Hellion on Boston---in particular, a Hellion, the type of demon who started the zombie plague in the first place--and this particular Hellion and she have a score to settle since Difethwer the Destroyer killed her father and left a demon mark on Victory that she's fought a lifetime to keep in control.

This demon infestation could not come at a worse time. One of the primary issues in the upcoming election for Massachusetts's governor is demi-human rights and the human candidate, Seth Baldwin, is going to be all over the hellion's appearance--if the demon doesn't destroy the city.

And, that's not all Victory's got to deal with. Tina, a young zombie, has appointed herself Victory's apprentice and is causing her more grief than good. The case has brought Costello, a handsome human detective, into her life who is in competition with her current lover, werewolf lawyer and activist, Kane. Add to all of that, Gwen, her demi-human inactive sister is ashamed of her heritage which causes family issues.

"Deadtown" is the sophomore novel created by English PhD, Nancy Holzner. All those years of voracious reading definitely paid off for this author. She's created an engaging character and a fantasy world which blends many common urban fantasy elements in a different manner.
For the most part, the novel is a an interesting and diverting read. Holzner puts a lot of balls into the air, but manages to keep the threads running clearly enough that an attentive reader can pick them up easily enough. I noticed a couple of slips, including describing Victory by having her see herself in a mirror. This is not a major no-no, but one most novelists do try to avoid.

Rebecca Kyle, December 2009

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