Grave Matters (Night Owls #2) by Lauren M Roy

Ellie has a home. And a family. And friends. She’s not entirely sure how to deal with having any of these things since they’re all somewhat alien to her. She’s a hunter, a nomad, a warrior – this new life takes some getting used to. Even including being hired as a hunter for the vampire Strigoi.

But a necromancer comes to town and starts causing trouble for the enter Night Owls’ family, raising ghosts, sending ghouls rampaging through Justin’s mentor’s home and threatening to bring spectres from Sunny and Lia’s past. Worse, he seems to be involved deeply in a brewing conflict between the Strigoi and a new vampire organisation, the Osin. War is being declared, but who is doing the declaring?

This is a book that, to me, is defined by its characters. I’m actually hard pressed to say who the protagonist is. I lean towards Ellie, simply because she was pretty much the protagonist in the first book and because there’s a slight emphasis on her. This multiple protagonist element works because they all have compelling storylines and characterisations – and actual character growth

Ellie has a lot of growth and building over such a huge change in her life. She has gone from a nomadic hunter of the supernatural with only one person to rely on (who is now dead) and now she has a family (a brother she has issues with due to what she saw as his previous abandonment), she has friends, she has a stable, static existence and she’s not entirely sure how to be this person. How to be domestic, how to have other people in her life – and that shows a lot with her still pursuing a hunting job not so much for morals or even money per se (though it’s a bonus especially since her viewpoint is constantly used for some excellent class commentary. She and Cavale spent most of their lives poor and have been denigrated and dismissed because of it) but simply because hunting and fighting is something she knows, something she can have without the others.

And there’s Cavale, her brother. He had strong reasons for “abandoning” Ellie and the despised man who raised them. But there’s the difficulty of Ellie still worshipping him and Cavale’s guilt and Ellie’s resentment. Like Ellie, even though he has been stable for some time, he has no experience of a domestic existence and now he has a sister, there living with him. His insecurity, his worry about how to make her happy, about whether she’s just going to leave and how he actually can make a household; which then leads to Ellie not knowing how to deal with her brother trying to play house.

There’s a brief suggestion that Cavale may be bisexual or gay – in one line he comments on the physical attractiveness of another man. It’s somewhat out of nowhere and never mentioned again which kind of bemused me and I had to go back a second time to check. It’s one line so I’m kind of waiting before flagging this.

Sleepy Hollow: The Problem With Katrina Crane

Previously we have discussed some of the problems with Sleepy Hollow especially in relation to how the POC on the show have been treated, but we cannot avoid that the problems with the latest season of Sleepy Hollow tend to revolve around one character.

Katrina Crane.

Almost depressingly, the concept of Katrina is a very powerful woman. She’s a witch - one we’re told repeatedly is immensely powerful and not just magically, she and her coven were included in the plans of some of the highest ranking American leaders. She’s a woman whose moral convictions drove her to become a revolutionary, a woman whose convictions converted Ichabod in the first place. She’s also an able spy and agent against enemy forces. And all of this in a time and place where women were considered little better than property.

She should have been awesome. She should have been impressive. Frankly, it took a lot of effort to stop her being powerful and awesome

But from the very beginning of the show, Katrina has been de-powered. In the first season this was achieved by shuffling Katrina into Purgatory - she wasn’t a power, she was barely even a character. She was the damsel in her tower to be pined after by Ichabod, an object to save and rescue not a person to participate in the story. She was Rapunzel, only not even able to let down her hair, able to make brief cameos in which she did little more than appeal desperately without imparting any real knowledge or aid. It was a mockery of what she was supposed to be and had been during the Revolutionary War

This depiction, if anything, just became substantially worse in the second season. For a large part of it she swapped her prison in Purgatory for her prison with Henry and Abraham. And I’m being literal there since she actually chooses to stay with them - she chooses to be their prisoner in the mistaken belief she can actually be vaguely competent. Unsurprisingly, she is not. She doesn’t pretend to be a prisoner as part of her own scheme - she is a prisoner, she is their victim. Her pretence of being a spy or manipulative force in their camp is pure delusion on her part. Honestly, I can’t think if one single moment when she achieved anything while a prisoner and her imprisonment actively sabotages Ichabod and Katrina. She is quite literally kidding herself; she is a prisoner and a Damsel and only helps the enemy.

We have seen the prevailing Damselling of supposedly strong female characters before. Ultimately, no matter how much we’re told Katrina can or will achieve many things, she never does because she is not meant to be an active character while she’s a damsel. A damsel is an object, something to fight over, something to claim: an object is not an active character or an effective character she is there to be held and claimed. She could be replaced by a straw doll and achieve as much. No, that’s an insult to straw dolls - at least a straw doll wouldn’t actively sabotage the witnesses as she did.

This Damselling links into Katrina’s ongoing dis-empowerment. Again, return to Katrina’s original biography and consider how she could possibly have achieved so little as Abraham and Henry’s prisoner? How could this skilled spy who managed to completely shift Ichabod’s loyalty manage to make so little difference - so little effort - to affect Abraham and Henry? How could this skilled spy make only one attempt to contact Ichabod and Abbie and even then fail to actually convey any information?

How could she even call herself a spy? Doesn’t a spy actually have to… spy? Maybe? Perhaps? I wonder if she was actually a Revolutionary Spy or if she just sat in a corner and randomly claimed credit for stuff that happened while she stared angstily out of a window.

And a witch? Has she actually managed to pull off one useful spell? As a prisoner she achieved nothing and was quickly magically duped by Henry and Abraham into being impregnated with and raising an evil Moloch-demon-baby; even aside from being a witch, anyone who has the slightest ounce of common sense should know better than to nurture the evil demon baby no matter how sweet it looks! Clearly the corset and skinny jeans Katrina favours (is she actually trying to put together the most uncomfortable ensemble available from both eras?) are cutting off oxygen to her brain.

When free she was called upon to help face a haunted painting - in which her magic did next to nothing. She was called upon to cast a spell - which she couldn’t finish because she fainted and Abbie had to take over. She was called upon to magically check Frank’s soul and see if he was evil  - which failed badly. And she was called on to duel the warlock Kent - where she not only failed but was converted to the darkside by one single line. One line. I think of this scene like:

Low Midnight (Kitty Norville #13) by Carrie Vaughn

Cormac has finally completed his probation after his lengthly prison sentence. Time for a new beginning – and not just from prison; the werewolf hunter has no guns, supernatural friends and is now haunted by a Victorian witch. A lot has changed for him.

And with this whole new reality he is now front and centre investigating a 100 year old murder; with completely new tools and a completely new viewpoint.

This book was necessary

I can see you all pulling back now, because “necessary” is a word I fall back on when I don’t have a lot of good to say, especially since I’m very up and down about this whole series (which runs from 1.5 fangs to 4 fangs for me) but hang on there

This book is necessary because it takes Cormac’s story and that story needs to be told to try and hold the ongoing story together. Cormac is one of the main stories and probably Kitty’s closest friend outside of her husband. He was a ruthless, dangerous, gun wielding werewolf hunter then he befriended Kittie the werewolf, spent several books in prison and is now free again with a ghostly Victorian witch partially possessing him.

Yes… that’s a complicated character arc. And to actually analyse that character arc, develop Cormac’s character (especially since, now he’s out of prison and no longer on parole, he’s going to be a much more involved character in the series) we needed this book. We needed a long time through Cormac’s eyes to see how he’s adapted to the vast changes of his life

How does a man with deep involvement in the militia movement who has turned his back on that in disgust despite some of the opinions of it still shaping him adapt? What about a man who has been raised by a highly judgmental and oppressive father who he spent his life trying to please (unsuccessfully) but is now living just about the opposite of everything his dad stood for? What about a man who was deadly with a gun, surrounded by danger (and not just the supernatural) who now cannot carry firearms as a convicted felon? What about a man who spent his life on the fringes of the law with numerous criminal contacts now trying to live within the boundaries of the law for fear of his parole being revoked and due to promises he’s made to Kitty and Ben? What about a man who feared and hated werewolves but whose closest friends are now werewolves? What about a man who hated all things supernatural who is now a witch by proxy and possessed by a ghost? What about a manly-man in almost every stereotype who is now possessed by a woman?

Cormac has gone through some pretty enormous changes. And this book was both necessary and very good at developing all of this, having him face dangers without guns, having him confront old friends and contacts who are still very much where he was (with guns, breaking the laws, fear the supernatural etc) and realising how different he is. There’s his attempt to try and stay away from anything that would break his parole as well as his slow acceptance with magic

Supernatural, Season 10, Episode 14: The Executioner's Song

Opening scene is in prison and a man, an apparent serial killer called Tommy, crying in bed then deciding to taunt a prison guard. He doesn’t rise to the bait – picking a fight with someone due to be executed in 2 weeks is somewhat pointless.

The guards go for coffee and it’s time for woo-woo monster du jour to stalk the halls, turning off lights as he goes. (It’s the spirit of Environmental Energy Conservation!). the guards notice something is up when the lights and cameras flick off – and when they come on again our Ecological crusader vanishes. And reappears in Tommy’s cell. It’s Cain who dramatically introduces himself as the father of murderers to the serial killer. He adds that he’s there to both save him and punish him, then stabs him before they both vanish

I feel being cryptic before you stab someone is just rubbing salt into the wounds.

Off to the Winchesters where Dean is pretty freaked out that Sam’s hobby is “true crime” and memorising the stats of serial killers. I have to say that I’m duly sceptical about Sam having a hobby that has consumed no small amount of reading yet for the last 10 seasons we haven’t heard of it, but I’ll let it pass with minimal snark.

As usual, they fake their way into the prison with false IDs (awww c’mon; ok I’m going to pretend that small town cops across America will happily let complete strangers in suits who say “FBI” crawl all over their crime scenes and files – but prisons? Aren’t prisons supposed to be secure? Is that not the actual point of prisons? It does kind of make the whole “escaped from a lock cell” seem less mysterious – what with the prison letting any guy through the gates).

They talk to the Governor and even he is leaning towards magic being behind the escape (or, y’know, letting random strangers without proper accreditation into a maximum security prison). He shows them the CCTV and even though they only have a silhouette, Dean recognises Cain (or the mark does). They also learn that Tommy’s father has also vanished.

Castiel is also looking for Cain, capturing, torturing and killing demons (oh don’t try to shock me with Dark Castiel, we’ve seen him do worse. Besides killing demons is hardly shocking for an angel) for clues on Cain’s location. He follows the clues and finds a huge body burial site apparently created by Cain who has been on a bit of a killing spree. He reports it to the Winchesters and Cain shows up to exposition: fighting off Abaddon’s soldiers has made him want to kill again (he mentions the Mark he no longer has so it seems to still affect him). He’s killing his children – murderers, killers, thieves (there’s some fuzziness about whether he means literal descendants or spiritual/moral as it were). He estimates the eventual death toll to be about a tenth of humanity. He also points out that this is pretty much proof that the Mark can’t be cured –and Dean is on the death list. Castiel isn’t.

Instead he joins the Winchesters in the Winchester cave with the bad news – which they pass over quickly. Sam’s research points to Cain destroying entire families so it looks like Cain meant literal descendants. And Tommy Tolliver, the serial killer, has an estranged 12 year old son called Austin who is still alive. So far. Dean wants to ride to the rescue and kill Cain. This also links in to the fact Cain said Dean would have to bring him down – and Dean’s endless guilt weasels. He blames himself for setting Cain off on a killing spree by demanding the Mark.

Cover Review 9th February - 13th February

The Diabolical Miss Hyde (Electric Empire #1) by Viola Carr

Did I mention I love Steampunk? Because I love steampunk and I love the covers and the aesthetic and I kind of just want to stare at this cover and murmur “pretty”. The night time colours, the cogs in the corners, the clothes - oh it’s pretty, so very very pretty.

It’s also a very accurate representation of the book - that is a perfect rendition of Miss Hyde. Of course, you could have also had a representation of her - or Eliza Jekel - that didn’t involve fishnets, raised skirts and cleaved. It’s not an inaccurate representation of the book - but it is the most sexualised scene within transported to the cover.

Dying by the Hour (Jesse Sullivan #2) by Kory M Shrum

I love this cover. It’s dramatic, it’s unique and we have a seriously kick-arse heroine on the cover who isn’t being sexualised. It looks awesome, I love the colours, the movement and the sheer power of it. It screams of magic and woo-woo which I also love…

The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5) by Diana Gabaldon

Jamie and Claire, along with Roger and Brianna, have settled into a routine of living at Fraser's Ridge. With her knowledge from the future, Claire is all to aware how close they are to the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Still, having committed herself to this life and her marriage with Jamie, Claire is determined to do her best to weather storm in front of her, no matter what may come.

This review is a tough one to write to be perfectly honest. The other books in The Outlander series are filled with horrendous tropes, gratuitous rapes, homophobia, child abuse, and of course racism.  The Fiery Cross is the least offensive book in this series to date; however, it is also the most boring book to date.  Absolutely nothing happens.  There is no plot to speak of and in fact, instead of a plot we are given:

• adventure's in changing Jemmy's diaper (for the women at least because men don't do diaper duty) and Jemmy gets potty trained
• Medical procedures which Claire must perform
• Claire makes penicillin from mold 
• A brief run in with the Regulators
• Jamie gets bitten by a poisonous snake (pointless because Himself's life is never actually in jeopardy)
• Ian comes back
• Roger is almost hung as a traitor but of course lives, though he does lose his voice

I kept waiting for some plot to arise and for the story to somewhere.  You would think that since this novel is 1326 pages long and covers about a year in time that eventually, Gabaldon would get around to have the characters actually do something.  For as much as the other books were offensive,  at least they has some sort of discernible plot. Had I not determined to read the entire Outlander series, this is a book I would most certainly have DNF'd, as calling it tortuous is being kind.

I suppose the best I can stay is that at least the characters remained the same horrendous people I have gotten to know.  Claire, who made such a big deal about not approving of slavery, certainly has no problem with the noxious idea that if the slaves quarter are good and the slaves were owned by someone she likes, this horrible institution is not so bad.

She frowned at Jamie’s back, as he paused at the foot of the stair, listening before stepping onto the landing. It was easy enough to think that the misery of slavery might dispose one to suicide. At the same time, honesty compelled her to admit that Jocasta’s house servants lived reasonably well; better than any number of free individuals—black or white—that she’d seen in Wilmington and Cross Creek.

The servants’ room was clean, the beds rough but comfortable. The house servants had decent clothes, even to shoes and stockings, and more than enough to eat. As for the sorts of emotional complications that could lead one to contemplate suicide—well, those weren’t limited to slaves. (page 600)

Keep in mind that Claire was alive in 1968, and as such, has a full idea of exactly the deprivations of slavery.  This is after all her reason for not wanting to own slaves in the first place and yet since she cannot possibly condemn Jacosta, suddenly slavery isn't so bad.  I suppose part of her turn around is the fact that having slaves around is just so convenient.  They are there after all at the beck and call of a White person and cannot, if they fear for their lives, reject an order or even fight back.  Claire is not even remotely reflective enough to recognize the lengths that she has gone to in not only her acceptance of an institution she had heretofore claimed to hate, but her easy justification of it by stating that it's not so bad.

12 Monkeys, Season One, Episode Five: The Night Room

It's the year 2011 and Jennifer wears a hood on her head as she is transported to a secret facility.  Special Ops deliver Jennifer to the lab and Jennifer's hood is removed by Ivan.  Ivan says that Jennifer is the only one who can open the vault.  When Ivan questions if someone would try to steal the experiment, Jennifer dryly explains that it has happened before.  Jennifer explains her concerns about what would happen if the experiment were to land in the wrong hands.

It's 2015 and the pallid man is questioning Jennifer about how to find the night room.

In 2043, Cole explains to Jones that the night room is in Maryland and that Cassie found it using records from the CDC.  Cole explains that he is supposed to meet Cassie and Jones confirms that Cole will destroy the virus.  Jones and Cole talk about getting some rest but Cole claims that he always has a pre jump party.  Cole then invites Jones to the pre jump party with Ramse and Max.  Jones brings out a bottle of the good stuff to share with everyone. They get their drink on and Jones explains that if Cole is successful, this version of themselves will cease to exist and their mission will be over.  Ramse questions why Jones has an English names when she is German.  Jones explains that this is her maiden name and that she was married for a few days.  The party turns somber then and Jones excuses herself claiming to have work to do. 

There is an explosion in the splitter room based on a surge.  Jones screams that she wants it back online by morning.  Apparently, the problem is that the core is running out of juice.  Ramse tells Jones that since the are dealing with a time machine, they should take as long as they need to make it safe and secure.  Jones however says that everyday they wait, the virus could mutate and Cole points out that Deacon could show up again.  Ramse, playing wise person of colour, pulls Cole aside to suggest that they are being reckless.  Cole says that Jones is right and that they are getting to the end of all of this.

The next day, Cole heads to 2015.  Cole and Cassie are outside of the night room.  Cole pulls his gun and the two head out of the car but Cassie is insistent that they need a plan. Cassie fears that Cole is acting like he did when he killed Leeland.  Cole and Cassie make their way through the lab and Ivan appears behind them.  Ivan informs them that the lab is downstairs and says that he is sorry, they (read: the 12 monkeys) already know Cole and Cassie are here.

Cassie, Cole, and Ivan, are pushed through the lab and locked in a room. Ivan says that security is all dead and that everyone else is gone.  Cassie explains that the 12 monkeys want the virus to which Ivan responds that it is kept in the vault, though no one stationed there can open it.  The pallid man stands in front of the vault.  Ivan then explains about the big burn and says that there are two switches and that they must be hit at the same time.  Soldiers enter the room and take Ivan out. Cassie tries to fight for Ivan but Cole pulls her back saying, "you can't save everyone."  Cassie argues that Ivan is going to be killed but Cole is adamant that it doesn't matter and that ending the plague is why he is here. Cassie watches through the observation window as the Pallid man talks to Ivan. Cassie flips a switch to hear the conversation below, as Cole wonders whether or not Jennifer has been broken.  The Pallid man wants Ivan to open the vault and when Ivan admits that he doesn't know how, the Pallid man kills him by putting a bullet in the back of his head.

The Walking Dead, Season Five, Episode Ten: Them

This episode opens with a clearly grieving Maggie.  She sits by herself crying, even as a walker approaches through the woods.  Maggie simply stands almost robotically, grabs the walker and puts a knife through its head and returns to her crying.  Elsewhere, Darryl digs a worm out of the ground and consumes it.  Clearly things are rough for the group, if Darryl is eating worms.  Sasha makes her way through the woods, with an empty water bottle in her hand.  Sasha comes across a grouping of dead frogs trapped in the mud.  Without a word, Sasha is joined by Maggie and Darryl and follows them back to the main group, who are waiting in the middle of the road.  The three talk about the fact that they didn't find anything.  Maggie and Sasha talk about how much more fight they have left.

The crew climbs out of the car after it runs out of gas and Rick declares that they will have to walk.  They head down the road with Rick holding Judith.  Rick confides to Darryl that there are not at their strongest, when he notes that the are being followed by a few walkers.  Rick brings up what Darryl lost in Atlanta, noting that it's been three weeks. Darryl doesn't answer and simply says that Judith is hungry.  Darryl brings up the group's need for water and food and looking up at the sky, Rick says that it's going to rain sooner rather than later.  Darryl separates from the group to look for supplies  again and is followed by Carol.

Carl, who is walking next to Maggie, gifts her with a broken music box, which I suppose is meant to represent Beth.  When Carl walks off, Gabriel decides that its time for him to minister to Maggie. Maggie is not at all interested, reminding Gabriel that he abandoned his congregation and never even met the people that she lost.  Michonne and Sasha are walking side by side, and Sasha wants to take out the walkers. Michonne points out that they don't have a lot of strength, but Sasha is adamant that she can take on the walkers.  Michonne brings up the similarities between Sasha's expression of grief and Tyreese's, but Sasha angrily says that they are not the same. When Sasha says that she is not the same as Tyreese, Michonne makes it clear that their response is the same.

Darryl and Carol are in the woods, and Carol brings up the fact that Beth saved both of their lives.  Carol then hands Darryl, Beth's knife, reminding Darryl that he is not dead.  Carol tells Darryl that he has to let himself feel the loss -- then gives him almost a motherly kiss on the forehead -- before walking away.  That is not the kiss that Darryl and Carol shippers were hoping for.

The group comes to a bridge and decide to let the walkers come towards them and then step out of the way, so that the walkers tumble over the bridge.  The plan is pretty good actually, because it allows them to expend minimal energy.  Rick, Glenn, Abraham, and Michonne, follow the plan without problem, Sasha however grabs a walker and decides to put her knife through its head.  Since Sasha is on the offensive, Rick calls for the other members to follow suit.  Michonne pushes Sasha to the ground, clearly frustrated telling her to stop.  Sasha gets all angry eyes and gets into a stare down with Michonne but in the end walks away.

The group then comes across a bunch of abandoned cars in the middle of the road.  Darryl decides to head into the woods again while the group searches the cars.  In the trunk of one car, Maggie finds a walker and instead of killing it, she closes the lid.  Maggie starts to walk away but changes her mind when she hears the walker moving around in the trunk.  Maggie tries to get the trunk open again but it's stuck.  It's Glen who opens the trunk and takes out the walker, after Maggie explains leaving the walker in the trunk.

Darryl makes his way through the woods and falls to his knees when he sees a rotting deer.  When he looks to his right, he sees a body with its head clearly blown off.