Up From the Grave (Night Huntress Series #7) by Jeaniene Frost

Kat and Bones have a very happy life having found a sense of normality and peace – but not so much for Tate and the other members of her team. Working under the devious new director, Madigan, they all seem to have disappeared mysteriously. Obviously Kat and Bones can’t let that slide – especially since it’s clear that Madigan is hiding something that the Vampire and Ghoul nations will need to know about

When they find the full extent of what he was doing, not only is it horrific but it has horrendous potential consequences should the results be known. And not cleaned up

But cleaning it up means the death of a child who has already suffered so much – Kat must find a way to prevent disaster striking them all, and living with the aftermath

This book has a moment of utter guilty pleasure epic for me in the middle which had good and bad points. On the good – while I like character development and nuanced plot lines, sometimes it’s fun to read about pure mayhem, well written, glorious, bloodthirsty chaos! Especially in this genre where the actual sheer destructive power of vampires is surprisingly often muted. It’s an abstract, or buried under mustiness, or fear of humans finding out or something. There’s usually an urge to keep the mayhem off screen or have it in bouts followed by lots of guilt.

This? Not so much. This was a pack of vampires against a human opponent who had effectively declared war. Destruction, mayhem and a whole lot of “you REALLY shouldn’t have done that” follow and it was epic, it was exciting, it was glorious, it was carnage and the bodies piled high and I should have been so very disapproving as the red shirts piled up in glorious bloody heaps – but I wasn’t. Because they’re vampires and someone has screwed with them and if you’re going to screw with super powerful creatures then you should expect to have your arm ripped off and you to be beaten to death with the soggy end.

It was epic and I loved it. It was a great and glorious ending

In the middle of the book.

It kind of took me a long time to get back into the story after that. I had had my grand finale. I had had Kat and Bones establishing their Happily Ever After – and it did it really well. The book opened with Kat thinking how perfect her life was, how she loved her husband, how she loved her friends and how she had, over the course of the series, completely resolved all of her self-hatred issues (which has been a fun and complex journey to follow). With the big glorious slaughter with Kat, Bones and just a few of her allies slaughtering their enemies with ease and glee, it established that Kat’s happy life was also secure because they were all far too powerful to be messed with any more. It was a great ending.

But the book kept going. Part of that is I get the sense that Kat’s HEA was somehow unsatisfactory – especially since a child was then inserted to “complete” Kat and Bones’s family and I’m not sure how happy I am with that. Kat and Bones had an epic HEA, I’m not sure why it would be broken without the addiction of a child figure to make it more real.

Not that I didn’t like the storyline of finding and protecting Katie. In fact, it was an excellent contrast to the slaughter they had just unleashed. There we got to see how ruthless, how dangerous they could be when it came down to protecting themselves against outside threats. Anyone who threatens them, anyone involved in actions against them, will be slaughtered – brutally and epically. However, the other side is not only do they spare the innocent but they’re not willing to see an innocent killed just because it would be convenient to preventing the vampire/ghoul world being shattered by tension again. They’re ruthless, but they’re just, they’re harsh, but they have limits.

And I think that contrast would have been far better served and far better done without Kat having a super special reason to care for Katie and this freaky forced relationship that I just didn’t really buy. And “didn’t really buy” unfortunately holds for a lot of the story – Bones pulls a trick we’ve seen him do before but it works because he’s decided to keep a load of his growing powers secret from Kat for… reasons. And Denise is an awful, terrible character – not because of her personality, but her power set is world breaking. She’s too powerful. She’s too useful. She just wanders in and FIXES things, she’s a friendly Deus Ex to help the author out of a tricky spot.

Where The Exceptional Woman Falls Short

A lot of Urban Fantasy has a purported strong female character as a protagonist - though we’ve said before how much that “strength” is often little more than being a weapon. But we have these strong women, they kick arse, they take names, they are as powerful and strong as any of the people around them - in fact, they’re usually better with skills, powers and possess a will that eclipses everyone else. They are super special, immensely powerful and the supreme masters of their own life. They resist all authority, they are in charge, they are dangerous and they are strong.

But are these really showing strong women? We have several doubts about whether a strong woman as protagonist means a book is showing female strength or women as strong.

Firstly, there’s the fact that so many of these women are strong because of their special powers or Chosen One status. One example of the change that having superpower brings can be found in the Anna Strong series by Jeanne C Stein. Anna becomes a vampire through a forced act but then ascends to the “Chosen One,” because we certainly cannot have a female protagonist, who isn’t a super special snowflake. Chosen One status is absolutely necessary to be declared an exceptional woman. It all began with Buffy who was the one slayer in each generation and it has only proceeded to get worse. Whether it’s Rachel Morgan from The Hollows, or Sookie Stackhouse and her very special fairy blood, or Chrysabelle and her glowing white skin and gold tattoos from Kristen Painter’s, House of Comarré series; to be considered an exceptional woman you don’t need to be driven, smart, intelligent, or pretty, you just need to have some sort of woo woo which will make you desirable to others.

When these women decide to accept these powers (yes, I said accept, because there’s always a process of denial for the sake of angst) they need to decide how to move forward. This is where most writers will not only throw the Bechdel test out of the window, they will then drive over it with a steam roller to make sure that it is well and truly dead. We all know that there are no two snowflakes which are ever identical, but just to ensure that there is no competition for the title of Queen of the Woo Woo, exceptional women typically abhor all other women. This means every other woman is either competition, or a villainous “bitch” in some way. It took Anna Strong seven books to find a woman whom she could tolerate, who was not a blood relative. Of course, all of the women she has problems with are in some form of relationship with her male friends - but it’s not jealousy honest. Anita Blake started off with a friend but alas, like all relationships engaged in by exceptional women, it was short lived. Chyrsabelle has female servants and one female acquaintance....I suppose that’s marginally better than being an enemy to all women. Jaye Wells proved it’s possible that an exceptional woman can have a friend in her Sabina Kane Series, but they had better be a demon who is thousands of years old and of course male.

Cover Snark: She Must Be Freezing

I am repeatedly impressed by how hardy and powerful the female protagonists in Urban Fantasy are. They can take down vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, zombies and all manner of dangerous monsters. And they can do it even in the most ridiculous poses and in the most impractical of armor.

But, I think, more than anything that convinces me these women are superhuman is their ability to endure any weather. Back off, Mother Nature, the Urban Fantasy protagonist will not let your freezing winds or driving snow prevent her from being scantily clad and sexy! This gives new meaning to the phrase, suffering to beautiful.

Good, gods is that ice she’s knelt on? Certain parts of her anatomy must be getting one extremely chill wind with that pose. Maybe this is a new version of Sookie Stackhouse using icepacks to cool her Yahoo Palace? That is one place where frost bite would not only incredibly bad, but painful.  If you must introduce your lady bits to something cold, wouldn’t it make more sense if it were something like this, as macabre as this particular toy is?

And her knee? Kneeling barelegged on ice must freaking hurt. We’re beyond pins and needles here, this is swords and sabres. It makes my bones ache just looking at it.

She is wearing a halter top in the snow. A halter top in the snow. Her arms are bare along with most of her chest In. The. Snow. She is quite literally freezing her breasts off. It almost feels silly to say that her trousers are providing no insulation and her legs. She must be blue with cold, because of this much bare flesh, in the driving snow. I feel an urge to wrap up in a woolly dressing gown and get a big cup of hot chocolate just looking at this picture.

Also, how is it that she thought to wear boots (yes, I’ll be kind and call those ridiculous boots winter ready) and not think about a coat, or for heavens sake a sweater?  I suppose having your boobs hanging out is far more important than protecting yourself from hypothermia.

Review: One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost, Book 6 of the Night Huntress Series

Cat and Bones have finally settled many things in their lives. The ghoul uprising is over, Cat is settling into her new life as a vampire, the lines are secure and all is peaceful in life.

Of course, that can’t last. And they are approached by a friend of Fabian, their friendly ghostly ally, called Elisabeth. Elisabeth is an ancient ghost with a mission – to kill her murderer. Which she achieved soon after death

Unfortunately, her murderer became a ghost. And Elisabeth wants to kill him again. Especially since her murderer, Kramer, was an evil, misogynist witch hunter who not only tortured and killed women in life, but has continued to do so in death. As an extremely powerful ghost, Kramer can manifest on Hallowe’en and during that time he tortures, rapes and murders women with the help of an accomplice.

Cat and Bones most certainly are not going to stand for that. But exactly how can one kill a ghost? How can you even fight a ghost that you can’t touch –and is capable or throwing rocks, boards and cars at you with enough force to crack skulls and shatter limbs? And how do you keep the ghost’s victims alive against such a force?

This story is interesting because the great and vast powers Cat and Bones have acquired are so utterly useless against a spectral foe. It’s actually interesting to see the protagonists so helpless when they’re so powerful without a convoluted reason for it.

At the same time, the ghost can’t realistically kill a vampire, at least, not easily. It actually makes for an interesting and quite a novel book – more an active game of chess or cat and mouse rather than a full on physical confrontation as each are forced to deal with their own limitations in order to actually face the other.

Of course, this does have a trade off with frustration. Frustration while they are unable it fight, frustration that more can’t be done. Frustration that neither side seems to be getting anywhere. I’m not sure if this is a bad thing of the book –because I think we’re supposed to see the frustration of the situation. It’s frustrating but probably meant to be – there’s a horrendously evil force doing evil things right there that we’re powerless to stop.

While the enemy is a horrendous misogynist evil rapist and there is some appropriation of the witch trials in including him, at the same time it is done that expresses much of the misogyny of those trials and it is deeply satisfying to have Kramer smacked around on a regular basis and eventually thwarted by Cat, yes yes it is. However, I am noticing that as Cat has become a touch vampire, her injury level in these books has gone up considerably though what that injury actually means has gone down.

Review: This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost, Book 5 of the Night Huntress Series

Cat is adapting to her new life as a vampire – and not just a vampire, but a vampire that feeds on other vampires and absorbs their powers – powers that she isn’t always old enough or strong enough to control. More, a newly raised vampire whose powers just killed one of the most powerful living master vampires

And this is a problem for Apollyon, the Ghoul. Or at least a convenient excuse for him. Using the image of the powers Cat has displayed, he is inciting the ghouls to raise up against the vampires, claiming they will use her powers to dominate, enslave and butcher ghouls.

Apollyon is now travelling from city to city, inciting ghouls to hatred – and it’s not the first time he’s used a half-vampire to try to start a war against vampires – last time the half-vampire was killed to placate him. Cat isn’t best pleased with this proposal.

So the hunt is on – to find Apollyon, to discredit him, to stop him by any means necessary – and before more masterless vampires are hunted down or too many ghouls are recruited to the cause.

We had plot, plot and more plot! Indeed many of the sex scenes were taken as a given rather than something that had to be excessively described, and relationship angst came in the form of long needed revelations rather than the eternal moping and misunderstanding. In fact, Cat made little breakthroughs with Mancheres so perhaps we can finally leave her constant suspicion and sniping behind. After the emotional maundering of the last book, this was a wonderful change of pace.

Another wonderful change was Cat’s actions and involvement. After the last book where she spent the vast majority of it being dragged around in other people’s plans, here she was involved. She didn’t always take charge and sometimes she had to follow as much as lead – which was appropriate all things considered (why should the millennia old Mancheres defer to Cat after all?) but she had constant input, intelligent input and was a meaningful part of their plans as well as adding her own plans and ideas that they followed. She was integral, not just for her special shiny powers, but also for her own choice of what to do and how to do it. In this book she was not just a strong, intelligent woman with her own ideas and unwilling to be dictated to, but she was also a team player – and I think that’s important. Often in Urban Fantasy “strong, independent woman” and “works well with others” are considered mutually exclusive – either she’s domineering, violent or drives people off, or she’s a passive follower. Or she refuses to work with others and insists on doing her own thing. This was one of the few times we see a character who is happy to work with others, as an equal, without having to be a complete arsehole or a complete puppet or a loose cannon. 

Review: Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost, Book 4 of the Night Huntress Series

Cat is all settling down for a relatively quiet life. Having defeated the attack on their line and Bones now firmly ensconced as the co-ruler of the line with Mancheres, it’s time for a holiday. But, naturally, nothing is that simple.

There is a powerful vampire out there who has his eyes on Cat. Gregor is ancient, more powerful than Bones and is known as the Dreamsnatcher – and for good reason. With the power to invade people’s minds while they sleep and even kidnap them over vast distances, he’s a terrifying enemy.

Cat has to go on the run – a flight that literally takes her around the world, but always in secrecy. Scarcely being able to sleep safely, she has to travel in ignorance of where she is – not even knowing the continent she’s on, for fear of Gregor plucking the information from her brain. In endless frustration, she has to leave her rescue in Bone’s hands, ignorant of his plans.

Worse, as they flee they learn that Cat has a history with Gregor – a long and intimate history that has been erased from her mind. Both Bones and she have to worry about what happened in that time – and what Cat really felt for Gregor. All the while with Cat’s frustration over Bones’ plans and her acting in the dark to try and help him drive a wedge between them.

And if that weren’t enough, the ghouls are worried. If she is this powerful as a half-vampire, what would happen if she were raised as ghoul rather than a vampire? Would she have the powers of both? The answers are worrying people and making them easy recruits for Gregor

 

Last book I felt the series had really picked up. We had tension, action, a lot of lovely world building, an epic enemy and a focus on some powerful, character driven plot.

Which made this book rather disappointing.

At Graves End, by Jeaniene Frost, Book 3 in the Night Huntress series

Cat's world is heating up as she gets further and further away from her job as a vampire hunter. More and more vampires are recognising her as the Red Reaper and her reputation as a warrior and killer is beginning to precede her. And she'll need every bit of her skills as war comes to her door.

It's a war that attacks her mother and her mortal friends. She's forced into hiding, constantly seeking both safety for her loved ones as well as the identity of the vampire that is attacking her and Bones – and setting off a full scale war between their bloodlines.

And in this war we have Mancheres, Bone's grandsire, who has entered an alliance with Bones so their vampire lines can fight together against the massive threat against them – but Mancheres is hesitating and he is not telling everything.

Meanwhile, Cat's old team is going through changes as Bones meets his promise to turn one of them into a vampire. She laos has to deal with the large number of vampires and ghouls Bones and Mancheres have summoned to help them fight the war – and hope dearly that it will be enough.

This is an epic fight for survival, with two vast forces clashing with no mercy or quarter given.

One Foot in the Grave, by Jeaniene Frost. Book 2 of the Night Huntress Series

Cat is back. Now at the head of her own government established force to police and hunt down vampires. 4 years have passed since the last book and she's grown to a powerful, confident leader and a lethal warrior.

But 4 years have also passed without Bones who she can't stop thinking about. As is almost inevitable, he finds her. But he's not the only blast from the past that shows up on her doorstep – her old boyfriend is leaking information about her too assassins and her father, the vampire who raped her mother, has finally raised his head on the scene and it doesn't look like a happy reunion.

And one of her targets got away – well she let him get away. And now he's intrigued and curious and wants to add Cat to his collection of toys. He's unwilling to accept no for an answer and is quite happy to target her colleagues and family to make it happen

And through all this she has to reconcile her old love with her new job, convince her vampire hunting work mates to accept Bones or to decide whether she should leave the job or again deny her lover – to say nothing of her mother who still carries a bitter hatred for all the undead.

Vampires and Impossible, Timeless Beauty standards

When vampires first entered folklore they were physically described to look like bloated leeches. When you think about this, it makes perfect sense because their entire diet is based on drinking the blood of others and the creature most associated with that in nature is of course a leech.  Overtime, vampire folklore began to change.  The modern vampire looks nothing like its predecessor. Today, vampires all have hard lean bodies, twinkling eyes (that is when they are not glowering and trying to look dangerous) ridiculous hair (think R. Pratz in Twilight) and are disarmingly gorgeous. This is true of both male and female vampires.  With few exceptions, like vampire Eddie in True Blood and Tony, in Karen Chance’s Cassandra Palmer series, no matter how long they have been alive they are gorgeous. And those vampires that aren’t thin are clearly not intended to be beautiful.

In Twilight, Meyer went to the point of saying that vampirism brought out the most attractive physical aspects of the individual in question.  Even Edward’s smell was designed to attract Bella, though his superior speed and strength made such enhancements unnecessary. In the movie Interview with the Vampire, Claudia’s change occurred on screen, and she went from a dirty waif, to a gorgeous girl with beautiful curly hair. It has been suggested in several vampire novels that for the purposes of creating new vampires, only the most physically appealing are chosen. The problem with this assumption is that beauty standards change over time - so whether vampires are chosen from beautiful people or simply transform to become beautiful, that beauty ideal should become out dated with the passing years.

Even the richest human alive 500 years ago would look nothing like the poorest human today.  Slim vampires make absolutely no sense because the height of beauty is what we would today describe as plus sized.  Women were celebrated for being round and having curves.  This symbolised the wealth to be able to eat full meals. In Venus and Adonis, Shakespeare wrote, “My beauty as the spring doth yearly grow; My flesh is soft and plump, my marrow burning.”  I have read and watched a lot of urban fantasy and I cannot think of a single fat female vampire.  

Halfway to the Grave, by Jeaniene Frost, book 1 of the Night Huntress series

Cat's father was a vampire – a vampire who raped her mother and was never seen again. She has been raised to hate  all of the undead – and even a part of herself, constantly checking herself – and being checked by her mother – to ensure that she never becomes everything she fears. As part of this – she hunts. She hunts the vampires who troll the bars and clubs, cheered on by her mother.

Until she meets Bones. A vampire who isn't so simple, and a vampire who shakes Cat's oh-so-simple world view. Increasingly she realises that not all vampires are as she always imagined – nor are all humans so clean as she'd like to think. It grows further confusing for her as her relationship with Bones deepens into something more.

Not that Bones is peaceful – he's a vampire with a mission – and that mission involves the deaths of many more vampires and shutting down a predatory ring that no-one would argue is anything but evil.