Review: Dark Dates, Book One of the Cassandra Bick Chronicles, by Tracey Sinclair

 

Cassandra is a human sensitive who knows when someone around her is not human.  She can sense the evil in them and the power.  At first her parents saw her as a precocious child but in her teenage years, when the sense became debilitating, she was approached by an earth bound angel named Cain, who tells her that what she has is truly a gift. He disappears from her life for years, only to reappear the night that her two best friends are killed, to drag her from a burning house.  Cain seeks vengeance in Cassandra's name and this separates them again for a few years.

Cassandra could have chosen to hate anything that wasn't human or otherwordly after suffering such a loss, but instead decides to view each person as an individual and so she sets up dark dates - a service which introduces humans and vampires.  Cassandra is happy and comfortable in her life, though she has been unable to re-create any friendships since the horrible day that her best friends died.  The closest she has come is Madea, her Indian and Scottish Wiccan assistant. Though they spend everyday together, once it's quitting time, they go their separate ways.

When Cain blows back into town telling her that something bad is happening and mysterious deaths are appearing in the newspaper, she refuses to leave town because she cannot afford to allow her business to flounder and has to live on a tight budget to make her mortgage payments. A mysterious vampire visits her place of business and threatens her but Cassandra still won't leave.  When her office is broken into and her files stolen, Laclos the head vampire in London demands that she find out who is doing this because all of the young vampires are now being killed thanks to the information in her files.  Demons begin attacking and though the mysterious Cain has promised to help, he never seems to be around when she needs saving.  To make matters worse, when she finally uses her sense on Cain, she learns that not only is he not human but that he is an angel.  Can Cassandra find who is killing off the vampires in London before they kill her or ruin her way of life forever?

Okay, I have to say that Sinclair has turned me into an out and out fanpoodle.  I stayed up late reading this book because I simply could not put it down.  Even as I write this, my heart is screaming don't critcise the precious, must protect the precious.  One of the things that I loved about this book was the inclusion.  Too often in urban fantasy, having a diverse supernatural world is used to cover the fact that there is little real inclusion going on but in Dark Dates, Sinclair managed to have a diverse supernatural and human cast that read as largely authentic.  

Madea and her shifter girlfriend Kate clearly have a loving relationship.  Though they help Cassandra fight evil, they make it clear that they are doing so only because they have a stake in what is going on, rather than a need to have Cassandra's back. It would have been so easy to have them become sidekicks and servants but Sinclair skillfully avoids this.  Even when Kate examines Cassandra for physical damage, she does it clinically without becoming overwrought.

In terms of GLBT inclusion there is also the bisexual Laclos.  Unlike the relationship between Kate and Madea, when this is revealed it is in a predatory manner.  When Laclos meets Cain for the first time, he is overcome with attraction and forces himself on Cain. He suggests that because Cain is centuries old that he should be open to sex between the two of them, though Cain is obviously not interested.  Laclos touches Cain sexually without permission. 

Laclos leaned in and kissed Cain full on the mouth, his eyes closing as his lips touched Cain's, his hand closing into a fist, Cain's t-shirt clenched within it.  The kiss only went on for seconds, but it felt like a very very long tme, and when Laclos pulled back his expression was transformed.  He looked almost stunned - sated and starving all at the same time, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. (page 195)

Cain has to physically threaten Laclos to get him to stop assaulting him. Cassandra of course is sexually turned on watching this, making this passage read like a cheap m/m slasher book.  If that were not enough, her jealousy kicks in because Laclos is no longer devoting his sexual desires to her and is instead fixated on Cain.  How dare he forget that she is in the room for even a single moment. This scene is a problem because it plays upon the mythos of the sexually predatory male who is attracted to the same sex, though Cain's power is used as justification for Lycalos' actions.

Continuum Season One, Episode Six: Time's Up

 

The concept behind Continuum is interesting, but each week I find myself asking, why am I watching this?  I cannot identify whatsoever with the protagonist and find myself rooting for the so-called terrorists.

As always, this episode begins with a flash forward to the year 2077.  Kiera is called in to help put down a riot. At first she is absolutely disgusted with violence until she learns that the people are rioting over food.  It seems that the corporations withheld food from the population in order to drive up the prices.  When Kiera expresses concern she is told that someone else will look in it.  When she takes the issue to her husband, he silences her by saying that she sounds like a member of Liber8.  Now all of this happened before Kiera went back in time and she still cannot admit that while their methods might be problematic and violent that they have a point.

In the present day, Keira comes across an anti-corporation protest and immediately assumes the worst of the protestors. Liber8 kidnaps the CEO of a corporation and holds her ransom for twenty million dollars. When the money is assembled, they demand that it is handed out to the protestors. 

In the meantime, Alec step brother Justin is no longer happy with sitting in on meetings.  He takes his father's truck and attends the protest.  Alec decides to rat him out to his step dad which leads to little shoving match in the living room.  Suddenly, Alec is worried about what Justin is doing, when in fact he gave him the idea to get more involved in the first place.

Falling Skies, Season 2, Episode 5: Love and Other Acts of Courage

We have an ominous beginning – with lots of Skitters (including red-eye) all yodelling to the setting sun – and Ben joining in with his spikes glowing. Whether it’s a flash forward or a dream we don’t know, because we move from there to Hal and Maggie flirting and totally not being a couple honest. Which is interrupted by explosions in the city; everybody rushes to defensive positions. Weaver thinks of defence but tom points out if there’s Mech fire that suggests more human resistance under fire and they should send someone to help – that would be Tom and his berserkers of course (which he now leads instead of Pope. Who is gone and NEVER coming back, yes yes he is). And Ben is missing, but no-one has time to look.

Tom and the berserkers arrive at the battle zone and it’s chaos – but it’s all destroyed Mechs and dead Skitters – the 2^nd Massachusetts has never done that well against the aliens. But on examining the scene they find no human weapons, no human bullets, just Mech hits – it looks like the aliens are fighting each other. But under one Skitter body, revealed by his glowing blue spikes, they find Rick and take him to the medical bay.

Dr. Ann patches him up but is very defensive when Weaver brings up the last time Rick gave all their information to the aliens – pointing out that he was controlled by the harness and it wasn’t him; I’m glad to see the defence of him. Any further debate is interrupted by Weaver’s groan of pain and Ann pulling Doctor rank on him. His leg, which was bitten by a harness last episode, is gunky and possibly infected.

Ben is still missing and Hal can’t find him – in more worry, Hal tells Tom about Ben’s glowing spines. That’s when Rick wakes up, telling them that Ben was with him, he’s in danger and he’s hurt – and that Rick can find him. Waver’s extremely worried – Rick has betrayed them before and he doesn’t want to trust his word but Tom, obviously is willing to take the risk for Ben.

Naturally, Tom gets his way (doesn’t he always? Shall we stop pretending Weaver’s in charge?) and it’s time to follow Rick (and his glowing spikes) into the city, past a blood trail and into a building – where Ben is hiding. Ben is confused and wants them to leave – and he’s protecting someone; not letting them “hurt him” (his spikes are glowing again). Rick seems also to support “him”, saying that he needs their help – the 2^nd Massachusetts’s help. Who is “He”? He is the red-eye Skitter and through Rick he talks to Tom – saying he saved his life on the ship (have I mentioned yet this recap what a monumentally ridiculous decision that was? No?) and that they need to talk. He needs their help to defeat the Overlords – both of their enemies. Then he collapses, wounded and Rick collapses with him.

Fangs for the Fantasy Episode 75

This week we discuss our usual TV programmes, True Blood, Continuum and Teen Wolf. We discuss the effects of marginalised writers on TV programmes as well as the limits and controls they work under and how a marginalised writer is not a panacea for a problematic series or portrayal. We also discuss the “matriarchy” on Teen Wolf and our problem with being on the sides of the enemies in so many of our programmes. And our book of the week: Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland

9/7-16/7: Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner 16/7-23/7: Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor  
23/7-30/7: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

23/7-30/7: God Save the Queen by Kate Locke

Sneak Peak of the Walking Dead's Michonne

It's a long tiem until Walking Dead starts again - but to tide us over we have this clip of our favourite character - Michonne

Review: Even White Trash Zombies Get The Blues, by Diana Rowland, Book 2 of the White Trash Zombie Series

Angel is settling into her life as a zombie now, working in the morgue, eating her brains and dating her fellow zombie, Marcus. They’re a little wary from the threat of zombie hunters after the deaths in the last book and she’s still working to get her dad sorted out, but on the whole things are looking good.

But then things get more complicated – a body appears that makes no sense at all to the police – and is connected not only to the zombies but also to the zombies that were murdered by Ed the zombie-hunter in the last book. Worse, the body is stolen at gunpoint from Angel and no-one believes her story – finding it easier to blame her, with her criminal record than to actually listen to her. Her job and her easy access to brains are under threat – and the clue trail points towards experiments and projects funded by zombies and possible conflict between them.

As if that weren’t enough, her parole officer reminds her that she needs to get her GED or she’ll violate her parole, which just highlights her lack of education and the massive class gulf between her and Marcus who is studying for his Masters. To make matters worse, his friends and his uncle, an old and powerful zombie, are all vastly more educated and more wealthy than she and they look down on her from the vantage point of their extravagant mansions.

And all of this is before they find they’ve stumbled into zombie politics and insidious conspiracies at the highest possible levels…

The plot and the mystery was complex and pretty well done. I did get close to lost a few times because of the weight of different people, different themes and different edges of the same platform. But part of that is because the mystery was held really well through most of the book and while I’m confused, so too is Angel. I honestly didn’t see the ending coming, not even close to it – there were multiple hints and, yes, in hindsight, clues that could have lead me there (I should have known to be alert for all the clever hints reading a Diana Rowland book! Where’s my flipchart?) but I was completely surprised when it all came together. There were plenty of twists, what I assumed was going to happened several times, didn’t – and the answers I was oh-so-sure I had were completely wrong.

I actually felt we were dealing with several subplots all running together and through that it was, perhaps, too much, but at the end they all came together into one, solid, interwoven story that also drew in the last book as well. Nothing was simple and nothing was what was assumed – and even when it draws on some very old tropes and very old story elements, it still surprised me because the journey to them was so unique.

Fangs for the Fantasy Book of the Week

Every week on the Fangs for the Fantasy podcast (archives here) we read a book and discuss it on the show. The review for the book of the week always goes up on 3:00pm (EST) on a Monday (Monday’s book review).

To give people a chance to read along with us, every Monday we’re also going to include a list of our planned books of the week for the next few shows, so people can get the books, read them and join in the conversation.

3/7-9/7: Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues: Diana Rowland
9/7-16/7: Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner
16/7-23/7: Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
23/7-30/7: God Save the Queen by Kate Locke

We will discuss each book on the latter date – so on the 16th July, we will discuss Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner

We will post a new list every Monday with any changes or new books.

Face Off: What Vampire Legend Should Not Be Messed With?

Urban Fantasy Vampires have evolved a lot over the years, as the old horror stories and myths they were based on slowly changed to be the genre we now know and love. But along the way, a lot has changed - that’s not necessarily a bad thing, after all changing them from evil villainous monsters to potential protagonists is a major leap in and of itself.

Still, there are some changes from the roots that we’re not pleased with, which always make us frown whenever they appear. There are some parts of the vampire legend that shouldn’t be messed with: so this week’s Face Off, which change of the supernatural legend bothers you the most?


Vampires in Daylight
I don’t mind how you do it - maybe they have to sleep during the day, maybe they burn during the day, maybe they’re weakened by daylight, maybe their eyes are sensitive to bright lights - whatever the reason, vampires should not be sunbathing. Vampires and sunlight shouldn’t mix, this is one of my inviolate rules. At some point, a vampire should stare up at the day star with fear. Enough of these vampires dancing around at noon!

And, above all, they should not sparkle. No, no they should not.


Vampires Eating Food.
I can’t even say why this bothers me so much, but it does. I can handle a vampire drinking (to a degree) but the idea of a vampire getting a Big Mac and Fries just kind of ruins the whole mystique. Quite apart from the whole issue of what goes in must come out at some point - c’mon, can you maintain the supernatural mystery imagining a vampire buying toilet paper?

Eating is just too human, too mundane, too mortal for my undead lords of the night to be doing


Self Loathing Vampire
The self loathing vampire has become extremely commonplace in urban fantasy.  From Louis de Pointe du Lac, to Edward Cullen, to Bill Compton, they are absolutely everywhere.  They spend their time moping in a constant depressive state while elevating everything human.  The worst part about it is that these vampires are boring and make me want to send them into some sort of group therapy.