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When C.E.
Murphy talked about Staked on her Live Journal, I knew I had
to get a copy of the book. It’s so rare to find an urban
fantasy book that features a male lead. Even rarer to have
that lead be a total bastard.
Now don’t
get me wrong, I love that Eric’s not a nice guy. He’s a
vampire, and he doesn’t go around pretending to be human. He
kills. He is only mildly remorseful about it. He doesn’t
fall in love with his dinner. Eric is no Anne Rice vampire,
and I’m pretty sure that he’d kick Jean-Claude’s ass into
the next century. It does make me snicker to think of what
he’d do to Edward Cullen if they ever met. Yeah, that makes
me smile ear to ear actually.
Eric’s
girlfriend, Tabitha, shares the narration of the book. J.F.
Lewis successfully switches from one character’s first
person point of view to the other in separate chapters with
ease. There is never a blur between the two diverse
personalities. Eric is Eric; Tabitha is Tabitha.
Tabitha
starts out a bit stereo typical, a love sick stripper. And
yes, I’ve known strippers and show girls since I grew up in
Las Vegas. But she grows into a stronger person after
becoming a vampire. She’s not complex, but she is
entertaining as hell.
The world
of Void City is a bit confusing at first, but I’m assuming
that the magical system and political structure will be
revealed in the following novels in the series. As a player
of Vampire the Masquerade, I found some of the ways and
means to be familiar, and I was comfortable with them. I’m
hoping to see more of the politics in the future as well.
All in
all, Staked was a fun read. It entertained me from cover to
cover. The violence was great. The complexity of the plot
was good, and I want to find out more about Eric too. I
can’t think of anything better to say about the first book
in a series than to say you can’t wait to read the next one
to find out more. |
