ISBN: 0-345-42339-9 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
An alternate reality adventure with the Fey Courts in Illinois, this dark fantasy is full of deadly intrigue and sex, but light on sympathetic characters.
Reviewed by David on October 15, 2000
Genre: Fantasy (Intrigue, Mystery, Alternate Reality, Elfpunk)
Synopsis: In an alternate world, Thomas Jefferson, a great fan of the Fey, has invited the Seelie and the Unseelie courts to settle in the United States. Now, centuries later, the magical courts still intrigue and perform wonders in the Cahokia Hills in Illinois.
However, even the tradition-bound and immortal Fey pay are influenced by the mortal world; some of them fought in American wars, used modern technology, or mated with humans. Meredith NicEssus, daughter of a Prince of the Unseelie Court, is a quarter-human. This made her mortal and relatively weak in the deadly and cruel Court. Three years ago, after nearly dying in a challenge, she changed her name, and her appearance, and escaped.
Now, Merry Gentle, a private investigator in the Grey Detective Agency, a pretty young woman with a touch of Sidhe in her blood, helps uncover crimes involving magic. A dangerous case threatens to smash her carefully constructed disguise and drag her back to the Court. Her Aunt, the vicious and powerful Queen of Air and Darkness wants Meredith back, dead or alive.
Full Review: Hamilton is the author of the very popular Anita Blake series. As in the Anita Blake series, here the modern life and convention serve as the backdrop to the magic and cruelty of another society, almost human but endowed with near-immortality, strange powers and weaknesses.
The politics and intrugue are ferocious, and powerful, long-lived opponents become dangerous allies or even more dangerous enemies based on a fight, an argument, or a night of sex. The atmosphere resembles that of Zelazy's Nine Princes in Amber and its sequels. However, the entire Court seems to be obsessed with torture, pain and sex, sometimes at the same time. Meredith, a veteran of several duels, a failed marriage with a Sidhe, and a descendant of five fertility goddesses is no shrinking violet: while weak in power, she is as ruthless and uninhibited as any of her cousins, and her quest to survive, and if possible to protect her friends, makes her anything but squeamish.
The book moves at a fast pace, with action or tension in every scene. The characters are colorful, but most of them are not patricularly well defined, and almost none are sympathetic. The cruelty and sex, while not entirely out of place, seem to command too large a share of attention, and the plot suffers thereby. There are glimpses of Merry's other relatives, the Seelie Court. It is hoped that in a future installment of what is planned to be an 8 or 9-novel arch, more emphasis will be placed on politics and magic, and less on sex or its anticipation.
Overall: 6; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 6.5;
Copyright date 2000, Ballantine Publishing Group (Ballantine), October 2000, Cloth, 435 pages
ISBN: 0-345-42339-9 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com