Souls of the Damned (Kat Richardson Series #5) by E.S. Moore

Still reeling from the destruction of the Luna Cult, and beleaguered on all sides with demands for her attention, Kat didn’t expect Sienna to appear on her doorstep

The imprisoned child of the angel Levi in his life-sucking prison town of Delai. Kat has been meaning to take down Delai for a long time – and even promised Sienna she would rescue her. Sienna provides not only someone to protect, but finally a key to get Kat back into Delai

But she cannot go back as a vampire – the only way to get back into Levi’s world is as a human.

I think that the author is recognising that there are too many ongoing threads in Kat’s life. There are two master vampires both with an interest in Kat, one of which is using her as a personal assassin. There’s Adrian and his odd pack of wolves. There’s the Luna Cult. And there’s the ongoing issue of the angel Levi in Delai who Kat still has to deal with. It’s a lot and it’s starting to pull the books apart – so threads are being snipped. Last book we saw the Luna Cult be reduced a lot and this book built on it turning it more into a personal relationship between Kat and      than making it another major plot thread; which I quite liked (not least of which because the tension between them has long since needed resolving).

This book Kat deals with Delai, setting another plot thread firmly to bed, as well as making it clear the other major plots are going to be stepping to the fore in the next book. I like it – there’s a sense of everything being handled rather than perpetuating the constant feeling of being overwhelmed

The story in Delai isn’t as action packed as the past books – and that’s ok. It lets us see another side of Kat (through her transformation) and see a different way of resolving problems beyond Kat being so super dangerous that it doesn’t matter. Again, this is something that was touched on in the last book and has been expanded upon so much here; yes Kat is dangerous – very very dangerous indeed – but being dangerous isn’t a surefire way to solve every problem. The pacing was decent, perhaps a little world building absorbed in places, but it moved pretty well. And yes, there was a much quicker way to resolve things but I like the development that came with the long way round.

Urban Fantasy: Good Girls, Bad Girls and Problems with Both

With the increasing popularity of urban fantasy, the genre has reached the point that there are now not only several recurring tropes but characters written to fit specific models which infer how the reader is to interpret them. Because this is a genre filled with largely female characters these defining characteristics come to take on specific meaning. These narrow understandings of gender tend to be restrictive even though they are cast as forward thinking and reinforce both a binary understanding of gender and upholding some time old stereotypes even as the archetype claims to be flaunting gender norms.

The idea of female purity or innocence as a desired trait in women is certainly not new. What I don’t understand is what it is doing in a genre where women are continually fighting, maiming and outright slaughtering all manner of supernatural creatures. There is also often a pairing of purity with outright ignorance of the world they inhabit and usually this ignorance stems from a desire to protect the female protagonist or act as outright abdication of responsibility on the part of her parents. In many ways it reminds of the excuses employed to deny education for women. If women are not expected to go out and kick  asses and take names, why would they need any real information on how the world really works?

In the Lila series by Sarah Alderson we get a young female protagonist who though young, is shielded from the reality of the world by her brother and the man she loves. Of course he pulls back from sex she initiates because, being older and wiser, he is more fit to decide when she can lose her virginity. It’s fine for her to be on the run for her life, but sex is most certainly  a no no, no matter that she has talents which make her extremely powerful. In Daniel l. Jensen’s Malediction series, Cécile is originally prized for her red hair and, of course, her virginity. She is yet another female character who ends up having to justify her decision to engage in sex. This is compounded by the fact that Cécile doesn’t defend her decision by saying that sex is what she desires because well, she wants some, but because she is now married to Tristan. Intercourse can now take place and not tarnish her sweet pureness because the marriage vows have been said; how pedestrian and reductive. Then we have the ever popular Bella from Twilight who must retain her virginity until marriage because according to her eternal love (yes I am rolling my eyes) this is the only way she can avoid burning in hell. 

It’s not just through sex (or lack thereof) that this sense of “purity” is reached for; many protagonists are outright reduced to children to achieve that naive innocence which seems to be the benchmark for female goodness. Of course, these same traits in a man would be markers of weakness or someone we’re supposed to regard as pathetic or incapable; it’s notable that the benchmark or epitome of female goodness are all markers of male weakness.

In Lindsey Progues After The Ending Series, all other women are sluts and bitches. Though Zoe and Dani are both 26 years old they read like 13 year old girls on a perpetual hormonal fit. It’s purposeful infantantisation which suggests that to be good, i.e. pure women cannot act like women but have to be children. They are separated from the other women simply because they have determined that they are the “good girls”.  Hereafter by Terri Bruce is yet another example of infantalisation being employed. In this case, you have Irene, who is cruel and uses the people around her. Irene even dies while drinking and driving but since she has the emotional maturity of a 12, year old, though she is 36, she cannot be all bad right?

Karen Marie Moning’s Mackayla Lane’s series gives us an absolutely vapid protagonist who I am surprised can walk and chew gum. Mackayla is so sweet and innocent she will not swear because that is just how a good lady behaves (as she lectures another character pointedly - never mind that they’re fighting for their lives against evil fae - that’s no excuse for cussing young lady!). She desperately wants to wear bright colours with pink being her most common choice.  All good girls,sweet girls, do after all love pink. Are your eyes rolling yet?  So remember ladies, swearing is bad okay? The infamous Sookie Stackhouse is another woman driven by purity and ridiculous gender roles. The world may be falling down around her and vampires fighting in the kitchen but being the perfect hostess she knows just what to serve in such an occasion.  Performing a gentile version of femininity and a feeling of superiority where any other woman is concerned makes Sookie the precious innocent we have all come to be annoyed by.

Blood from a Silver Cross (Kat Richardson #4) by E. S. Moore

Kat Richardson is over-committed. Forced assassin for Baset, watched by the most powerful vampire in the city, courted by a demon, trying to avoid recruitment by Adrian’s wolf pack and still trying to figure out what she feels about Jonathon and his Lunar cult – humans who revere werewolves.

Keeping all of these balls in the air would be difficult anyway, but she has people she has to protect, people she cares about – people who her enemies will be quick to use against her if she doesn’t strike the right balance

And the presence of the Left Hand, fanatical human supernatural hunters, in the city may upset the scales catastrophically.

This book has done an amazing job of turning around so much of what was annoying me about this series. In particular, Kat has had a character transformation. She has recognised her own anger issues and how that makes her an impossible person to deal with and is now actively combating them. She doesn’t lash out as much as she did. She recognises her lashing out as unacceptable and something she needs to work against. There’s much less of her intimidating people she cares about, a lot less of her snarling and a lot less of her random threats of violence. She thinks now, she doesn’t just react, she doesn’t just hate and rage. She’s no longer rabid and it’s a vast relief.

She’s also much more willing to work with other people around her, to trust in them, to put a level of faith in them, to discuss issues that they share, etc. She’s not exactly working together with others or forming collaborations, but she’s not pushing people away or freezing them out for the sake of it either. She actually cares about people – really cares about them, not “oh this person is someone who I care about so they can be used against me boo-hooo waaaaaah”.

And while her planning has certainly not become truly excellent, by any stretch of the imagination (she’s considerably more reactive than active and does a lot of improvising), it wasn’t nearly as ridiculous as in previous books.

In short, this book is a vast improvement on the previous books simply because I do not want to reach into the pages and somehow throttle the protagonist. But nor has this growth and change come about randomly – you can see a character progression of someone who has recognised her own flaws and is actively working to reverse them, to become better. I’m much more engaged in Kat and interested in this growing character trying to come to terms not only with her own status as a vampire but also with her warring emotions over the people she cares about, learning a new way to live (after accepting that she is going to live), letting people into her life without endangering them more than is necessary and trying to negotiate the many commitments she has and risks she faces.

Which leads me to an element of the story I have mixed feelings about. Kat is overcommitted and menaced from all sides and the story reflects that – which in turn informs her character growth. Her developing feelings for Jonathon mean that, yes, she is going to spend more time worrying about the Lunar Cult, their enemies, security and threats. She is going to worry about how much she can involve her friends and loved ones without them being used against her when Baset is already doing just that, just as Adrian represents yet another threat against her loves ones while at the same time being a possible source of sanctuary and aid if she’s willing to pay the price (a message doubled by Ethan’s demon’s tempting offers). Ethan making a blood substitute and the temptation of the demonic offer both combine to highlight how uncomfortable Kat is with what she is and how much she still craves humanity.

Blessed by a Demon's Mark (Kat Richardson #3) by E.S. Moore

 Kat has found some measure of peace in the strange town of Delai, even if things seem so very strange there. But she can’t remain – she made a deal with a demon to return and that demon is now using his mark to reel her in. With no choice she leaves her unusual haven, even though it feels more like an escape than leaving, and her old life with all its chaos and its pain rushes back in.

Ethan, in her absence has cemented even stronger ties with the Luna Cult. Worse, in her absence one of her brother’s murders has been pinned on her – and a powerful vampire countess has Kat in her sights – just as she is getting more people she cares about, more people who are vulnerable to being used and hurt to make her obey.

Then there’s Adrian, the Luna Cult rebels determined to drag Kat into their plans; the Left Hand of God is back in town, killing vampires and things remain eternally complicated between Kat and Jonathon. It’s almost enough to drive her back to Delai – until the demon shows her the truth about her erstwhile haven.

I think there’s probably one storyline too many in this book. or possible two or three too many. We have Kat’s ongoing issues with the demon, we have the revelations of Delai and what Levi is actually up tp. We have some unresolved issues with Adrian the rebel Luna Cult dragging Kat into her schemes. And then we have the evil conniving plots of the vampire countess who is gunning for Kat. We even have another vampire count that Kat pissed off for shits and giggles. There’s even the human hunters back for more killing and complications

That’s a lot of issues to deal with. I think part of that is intended as a way of showing how overwhelmed Kat is and to drive home the theme of the book which is Kat being pulled in too many directions with too many people having a hold on her. Still, I’m not sure if the return to Delai couldn’t have been handled in a later book, or Adrian pulled his grand plan in the next book. There’s just so many of these different threads that they distract each other and sometimes feel forgotten – I forgot Adrian was even looking for Kat until near the end of the book.

There wasn’t anything resolved in this book either. Now I love meta, meta is what keeps me plugged into a story, but it’s rare that a book can be nothing but meta; you usually have some sub-chapter of the book being concluded and there wasn’t one here

Still, the stories that are presented are great fun with lots of devious plotting I enjoy. I love the demon’s manipulations, Delai and its revelations are definitely intriguing and we all knew there was something sinister underlying it. I really want to know exactly who and what Adrian is and what he is plotting – I’d also kind of like to know why Jonathon tolerates Kat all things considered and if he has his own agenda. The ongoing theme of Kat becoming more and more beholden to more people, each of them having a lever against her is really well done as well – and shows how much her friends and loved ones are a weakness to her and leave her open to this manipulation.

Throw in some excellently well written fight scenes and a splash of gruesome horror and there’s some very fun moments in this book.

Unfortunately, this is the book on which I finally break on Kat as a character. I didn’t like her endless melodramatic angst in the previous 2 books and felt it swamped whatever vestiges of character she may have had. This book is the same - but even the angst is overwhelmed by Kat’s constant rage.

Kat is angry, really angry, all the damn time. No, she’s not angry, she’s rabid. She’s like a savage animal snarling and lashing out at everyone around her. No-one can speak with her without her snarling, snapping or advancing on them menacingly and that definitely includes Ethan, the human house mate she’s supposed to care about and value. I think she actually spends more time talking to her enemies than her friends, simply because her enemies have taken more precautions against her constant violent outbursts.

And the writing is still extremely long winded. We have endless monologues about just how very angry Kat is, her rage being sparked again, her fury rising etc etc.

Tainted Night, Tainted Blood (Kat Richardson #2) by E.S. Moore

Kat Richardson, vampire, Lady Death is on the hunt again. Another Fledgling House has stepped above and beyond the sadism that is so common among the vampires and needs putting down.

But when she arrives, someone has got there first. Every wolf, every vampire in the place has been brutally slaughtered. Worse, so have the innocent Purebloods kept as prey. To complicate things, this isn’t the first mysterious slaughter and rogues have been dying across town – and Kat, Lady Death, is the one who is being blamed for the indiscriminate slaughter.

Forging an unlikely alliance with both her old associates at the Luna Cult and a highly reluctant cease fire with Adrian’s rebels, Kat sets off to find the real killer and put them out of action. But along the way she finds herself pulled into a demon bargain, discovering a mysterious town that breaks all the rules and facing the terrible truth about her brother and what really happened to him.

This book explores and expands a lot of what we have been introduced to in the first book. We see more of the taint and a lot more about the effects of werewolf and vampire blood mixing. We have further exploration of the idea that the night is completely lost to humanity, areas where humans will risk death and even humans not daring to turn on lights at night for fear of being noticed and attacked. But at the same time the hints of humans fighting back (like supernaturals not being safe in hospitals because the staff may kill them in a weak attempt to regain control).

We get to see more of Adrian, confirming that the rebel Luna Cultists are going to be a major aspect in the series. Kat’s developing relationship with Jonathon is intriguing and would do a lot to challenge her world view on the monsters. We finally see Ethan’s demon and there’s a lot of power in how its described and the potential that

We have a lot of the action that makes this book work so well. The author is very good at writing combat and I do like a good fight scene, I do. Neither over nor under descriptive, and flowing with a nice neat action-packed pace, they really work.

We also have some excellent plot hooks for the next book – the demon bargain, the unusual and strange sanctuary of Delai, seemingly untouched by the vampires and werewolves that rampage everywhere else. There’s Kat’s relationship with Jonathon and potential fallout over the deaths attributed to Lady Death – while it resolved all the storylines in the book, there’s a lot left to draw me on to the next one.

I want to love this book. I look at the cover, I think of the world with its interesting and different elements, I think of the factions, the well written action sequences, the massive possibilities of this book and this series and I want to love it. I try so hard to love it.

But then I hit Kat Redding herself. Kat has 2 emotional settings 1) angry and 2) angsty. That is the entirety of her emotional range. And angsty is most certainly her default setting. Yes, having a vampire character who is unhappy about being a vampire for perfectly legitimate reasons made for an interesting read and concept. But there needs to be more to a character than her desperate, self-hating torture, her desperate, self-hating tragic past and her desperate, self-hating guilt fits interspaced with lashing out in anger because of her vampire aggression (and then succumbing to more desperate self-hating guilt because of said lashing out). In terms of character development, there is none – because this is all Kat is in this book and pretty much all she was in the last book (at least then there was some questioning about her treating the Luna Cult as people rather than monsters). Whatever scraps of other personality Kat may have is lost among the reams of angst

To Walk the Night (Kat Richardson #1) by E.S. Moore

 Kat Redding is known as Lady Death to the vampires. Armed with silver, illegal since the Uprising when vampires and werewolves drove humans into virtual hiding at night, she preys on the predators, saving the lives of the Purebloods, the untainted humanity, as much as she can.

But Kat is one of the tainted herself, a vampire desperately struggling to control her own hunger and anger. A drive that she cannot restrain and still has her leaving bodies in her wake; even as she tries to prey on the human predators, she cannot escape the truth that she is as much a killer as the ones she hunts.

And then came the Luna Cult, knowing more than they should, with an offer for her. A chance to take down a Vampire House she would normally consider too big to tackle, and save innumerable lives in the process. But it involves working with the werewolves of the cult, people she continues to see as enemy. Or, perhaps worse, people she is beginning to see as people.

There are a lot of vampires out there now and it can be hard to find a book that doesn’t follow some very predictable patterns. So I was very happy to see some of the original nuances that this book brought, The Taint that turns “Purebloods” into vampires or werewolves, the problems with mixing the Taint, the vampire houses, the Uprising causing humanity to pretty much cede the night to the Tainted: there’s a lot of elements here that make it very different from most vampire books. There’s an originality that makes it fascinating and a world I want to explore. The world building is also very solid and consistent with some decent development – not only do people stay in after the curfew but there are other problems as well, like college campuses being only a quarter full because they were hit first as an easy source of quick recruits by the vampire houses. Things like this, extra details, extra considerations of what other effects would come from an event like the Uprising really add a lot of meat to the world. It gives it a realness and makes the events more authentic rather than just useful story points the author makes up as they go along.

The story itself is also an interesting one and one that’s perfect for the first book in a series. It gives us a chance to explore several of the main characters (albeit not as much as I would like in one case as I mention below) as well as the world setting , all without much in the way of info-dumping (though we do get a fair bit of monologuing). The pacing is decent (except, again, for that monologuing) with plenty of action strung together without it just being action without plot. There was also plenty of twists with mistrust of the Luna Cult and then the revelation of the Luna Cult’s splinter group. From that there are still plenty of unanswered questions that beg to be answered in the next book – which is a hook in and of itself.