Ilona Andrews
On The Edge
ur⋅ban
/ˈɜrbən/ Pronunciation [ur-buhn] –adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or designating a city
or town.
2. living in a city.
The hardest thing for an
author to do is to launch a new series. The second hardest
thing an author to do is launch a new series while the first
series is ramping up to a heady plot complication. Ilona
Andrews decided to not only start a new series but to
rewrite urban fantasy’s rules as well.
Urban fantasy has in its
short defined lifespan been fairly well established in
cities. There are some exceptions like Charlene Harris’
Sookie series but I’d really place that in tick lit. For the
most part, urban means dirty streets, film noir and hard,
fast action. Theoretically the term urban fantasy is defined
as a real-world universe altered to include fantastical
things.
Kind of a loose
definition and one that can also apply to a double burger
from Beef -N- Bun on Fletcher Parkway.
I think most of us see
urban fantasy and expect something with dark alleyways and
gritty detective work.
That’s what Ilona has
rewritten.
On The Edge is the first
in a series of stand-alone (but connected) books in a
cracked-looking-glass kind of world. There are three
separate (but connected… see a pattern?) dimensional spaces
that exist side by side; bridges from one to the other.
First is the Broken, which is the reality of the here and
now. It is an decidedly unmagical place of Wal*Marts and
pizza parlours. On the other side of the spectrum is the
Weird, a mirror slice of the Broken filled with the arcane
instead of technology.
Then there is the Edge.
The bridge between the two.
The Edge is the best and
worst of both worlds. Rural, a bit backwater but with
clearly defined social structures and behaviours. Some tech
(stolen electricity and other things). Some magic (wards to
keep the boo-wigglies out of the front lawn). And a whole
lot of built in problems to complicate daily life. People in
the Edge are born with magic, perhaps not as much magic as
someone born in the Weird but definitely more than the
mundane Broken. Stay too long in the Broken, and the magic
wisps away. Cross over to the Weird and a person’s diluted
Edge magic leaves them at a significant disadvantage.
Rose, the lead in On The
Edge, works in the Broken as do many Edgers but lives at
home, crossing the boundary between the two in her daily
life. Money is always a worry, especially when there are
lost shoes and work’s lean but she gets by. As the head of
the family, Rose’s main concerns are the raising of her two
younger brothers, George and Jack. George can’t stop
resurrecting dead things, even at the expense of his own
health and Jack is a shape shifter whose feline form
overtakes his sensibilities when he goes furry. The boys are
fully fleshed out as characters and are a delight to read.
They aren’t cardboard cutouts moved around on the board to
make things complicated for the male lead. They are key plot
points in the book and Andrews does a skillful job of
blending a child’s view of magic and culpability into the
story.
Unlike most Edgers, Rose
comes from a fairly strong magical bloodline and that’s a
complication she really didn’t need. Bluebloods from the
Weird have been crossing over into the Edge for years to try
to persuade (or even steal) Rose to marry into their
bloodlines and strengthen their magic, solidifying their
social status with her powers. So far, none have been
successful.
And then Declan appears.
He’s as strong of a
character as the steady and solid Rose. As headstrong and
stubborn as she is, he’s come as others have before him to
marry her. She, however, has other ideas on the subject and
after a few days, Declan is the least of her worries. Rose
has to defend her home and family from a predatory force
she’s ill-equipped to handle by herself. Declan steps in to
help. Not rescue. Help. Big difference for Rose and for the
reader.
As always, Ilona Andrews
writes a strong character matched up with another strong
personality. They fight and things aren’t always clean and
simple. Happily ever after only comes after the dishes are
washed, the clothes are folded and the monsters are shot and
buried.
It’s a new urban
fantasy. Or a new look at the genre. The reader gets a nice
feel of the country and a fantastical glimpse of what if.
It’s a book that makes sense of the shadow you see out of
the corner of your eye and a good solid read.
I’m looking forward to
the second book. I want to see where this all goes. |
