Finished Dead Man Rising by Lilith Saintcrow. This is the second in Saintcrow’s urban fantasy series about Dante Valentine, a nercomance who raises people from the dead. Be warned: there are some spoilers ahead.

In this one, Danny’s mourning the loss of her demon lover Japhrimel (from book one, Working for the Devil). But she doesn’t have time to grieve long. Her friend Gabe asks Danny to help her with a series of brutal murders, all of which lead back to Rigger Hall, the school where Danny and other students were horribly abused as children.

This book was quite a bit darker than the first one, much more so than I expected. Poor Danny’s about to snap from grief over losing Japhrimel already, and then she has to confront the horrors of her childhood. Not a light read at all. 

Still, Danny is a very likable character as she tries to work through her grief and adjust to her new demon-enhanced body. She gets a little whiny toward the end of the book, but she does have a lot to deal with. And once again, I enjoyed Saintcrow’s blend of magic and technology. (Plus, there was a glossary of terms in this book. Yeah!)

But overall, I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first book for one reason — Japhrimel. Although Dante thinks about him constantly, the demon doesn’t show up until the last few chapters of the book. His appearance reminded me just how much I liked him in the first book — and how this book suffers from his absense. (Jace is just not a good substitute for the demon, which Dante and the reader quickly realize.)

But I get that Japhrimel’s resurrection was part of the climax and not the middle arc of the story. Still, if you’re a Japh fan like me, this book ends much better than the first one. 😎

Overall, if you’re looking for a dark urban fantasy read, give Dead Man Rising and the rest of the Dante Valentine series a try. Thumbs up.

Up next: The 47th Samurai by Stephen Hunter.

Finished Holidays are Hell, an anthology featuring holiday-themed stories from Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu, and Vicki Pettersson. I’m not going to get into the details of each story, but just do a brief recap.

Harrison serves up a Rachel Morgan story, featuring the Hollows witch as a young student trying to find a girl lost on the solstice. Sands’s tale features shapeshifters, a runaway reindeer, and lots of Christmas humor and cheer.

Liu’s story focuses on a government agent named Six, who teams up with a wizard to stop some vampire terrorists. Pettersson serves up a twisted Thanksgiving tale about a fallen Zodiac heroine and her attempts to save her granddaughter.

Of the four stories, Liu’s was my favorite. I always enjoy her lush, descriptive writing, and Six was a really strong, interesting character who more than held her own with the bad guys. I also enjoyed Harrison’s story, and it was interesting to see Rachel presented as younger and more vulnerable.

Sands’s story was cute, zany fun, although I did wonder why her shapeshifter (who turns into a reindeer at one point) just didn’t stab the bad guy who was pursuing her with her antlers.

Then, there’s Pettersson’s tale, which was rather dark and depressing. The story, set on Thanksgiving, is about a woman trying to save her infant granddaughter from the ultimate evil. Not only that, but her granddaughter is premature and the result of her teenage daughter being brutally raped and attacked. And the main romance doesn’t end well. Not exactly the cheery, upbeat holiday tale I’d expected. Still, her Zodiac world was intriguing, and I’d be interested in reading more by her.

I probably would have enjoyed this one a little more if, well, it had actually been the holiday season. But I wanted to read it now instead of waiting. Still, the book featured some interesting worlds and stories. So, thumbs up.

Up next: Dead Man Rising by Lilith Saintcrow.

What about you guys? Anyone read anything good lately? Share in the comments.

Finished Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. I’ve heard a lot of people buzzing about this series, so I decided to give it a try.

This urban fantasy focuses on Kate Daniels, a mercenary who works in Atlanta cleaning up magical messes. But after her mentor is murdered, Kate starts investigating, crossing paths with vampires, shapeshifters, and more – including an evil creature who wants to use her magic and body for his own foul purposes.

The world building was really interesting in this book. While magic is “up,” things like spells and wards work. But when magic is down and tech is “up,” more traditional items like electric lights and gas-fueled cars work. I thought the shifting back and forth between these two ideas was well done, entertaining, and a unique concept.

Then, there’s Kate. Can you say smartass? Because that’s what she is, constantly pushing people around her, no matter who they are and how hard they push back. For example, a couple minutes after meeting the head of the shapeshifters, she’s ready to bury her sword in his chest — and he’s ready to rip out her throat. I read a review where someone talked about how Kate’s mouth gets her in trouble. It does, but it also makes her a likable character. I liked the fact she never backed down from anyone.

But Kate does one really stupid thing that made me want to reach into the book and smack her — she gets drunk. There’s a big fight scene, but nobody believes Kate when she says the real bad guy is still out there. So what does she do? Goes home and gets drunk on her front porch. Naturally, the bad guy just happens to be watching her. And when he shows himself, Kate sits there and keeps on drinking. Dumb, Kate. Very dumb. You know better than that. But I still like you. 😎

Also, there are hints that Kate is somehow special, that there’s something in her blood no one else can ever know about. I’m curious as to what that is. Especially since Kate has bleach in her car to dispose of any errant blood she might leave behind while she’s working. She’s real hardcore about that.

Overall, if you’re looking for a new urban fantasy series to try, give Magic Bites a chance. There’s a lot to sink your teeth into. Thumbs up.

Up next: Holidays are Hell, an anthology featuring Kim Harrison and others

Finished The Accident Man by Tom Cain. My significant other gave me this book because it’s about an assassin, and I’m writing an urban fantasy series about an assassin.

This thriller focuses on Samuel Carver, a British ex-soldier who specializes in making terrorists and other bad guys have unfortunate “accidents.” He’s on holiday when he’s called back to work by his employers to rig an accident in a Paris tunnel. The accident is a success, but what Carver doesn’t realize until later is that the real target wasn’t the terrorist he was told was in the car — it was Princess Diana. And now, the people who hired Carver to kill her also want him dead — no matter what.

Yep, this book is a what-if thriller that uses Diana’s accident as a jumping off point. What if someone wanted the princess dead? What if there was a conspiracy to murder her? What if there was a man who knew too much … I think you get the idea.

Cain takes great pains in the foreword to stress the book is a work of fiction and a product of his imagination, rather than it revealing any real conspiracy. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading, but Diana’s death is handled respectfully, with Cain weaving in several scenes that show the world’s grief after learning of her death. As a character, Carver is truly sorry for what he’s done and determined to make people pay for the princess’s death.

That being said, the book hit all your standard thriller stereotypes. Carver is a good guy who’s haunted by what he does, but keeps doing jobs anyway. There are numerous gun fights, car chases, explosions, and bad guys who just won’t die. And, of course, Carver is aided by a beautiful, mysterious woman who may or may not be on his side. It all adds up to a pretty average read. Not good, not bad, just average.

If you’re looking for a new thriller writer to try, you might want to pick up The Accident Man. But I would suggest going back to folks like Ian Fleming and Robert Ludlum. They did what Cain does — but much better.

So, thumbs down.

Up next: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Finished Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.

This graphic novel reinvents the legend of Batman by setting the story in Gotham City ten years after Bruce Wayne retired from being a superhero. Gotham is more violent and crime-ridden than ever, thanks to a gang calling themselves the Mutants. The gang’s reign of terror prompts Bruce to unleash his inner vigilante and become Batman once more — with some interesting results.

First of all, let me say this book is deep. Really deep. Miller has a lot to say about vigilantes versus criminals, the role of the media and police in society, and more. You could read it a couple of times and still not catch everything.

There’s a lot in The Dark Knight Returns to like, especially if you’ve ever wanted to see Batman and Superman really go toe to toe. I also liked the way Commissioner Gordon was handled — as a competant man who’s dedicated his life to his city and still has plenty of fight left in him. Plus, there are cameos by a lot of classic superhero characters.

But overall, the book just didn’t work for me. The story was okay, but I think the media hysteria angle was a little overdone. And I didn’t particularly care for the art. Pages and pages of the book consist of small, television bubbles that show news anchors reading about the latest crimes. There are also bubbles devoted to various news-debate programs that focus on whether or not releasing the Joker back into society is a good thing. (Bet you can’t guess the answer to that one.) I’m reading the book for Batman art, not television bubbles.

Plus, I thought the latest Robin was just sort of stuck in the story to save Batman on a couple of occasions. She didn’t have a real personality of her own or a lot to do, besides bail out Batman. And yes, she’s a girl, but Batman kept referring to her as boy and threatening to fire her. Weird.

I’ve enjoyed some of Miller’s work in the past, including Sin City and 300, and I guess I was just disappointed with The Dark Knight Returns, especially the art. I’m sure other folks feel different, but thumbs down from me.

Up next: The Accident Man by Tom Cain.