Dates from Hell | ||||||||
Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Kelley Armstrong, and Lori Handeland | ||||||||
Avon, 416 pages | ||||||||
|
A review by Michael M Jones
Dates From Hell is a collection of four novellas. While I'm not always the most eager to dive into the paranormal
romance genre (for every really good offering, such as Cathy Adams and C.T. Clamp's Hunter's Moon, or Laura Anne
Gilman's Staying Dead, there seem to be half a dozen of the more generic girl-meets-vampire-or-werewolf books), I
was immediately attracted to this one by the presence of Kim Harrison, whose Rachel Morgan books (such as Dead Witch
Walking) have fast become some of my favorite urban fantasies. I came for the Kim Harrison, and I stayed to read
the rest, none of whom I was more than passingly familiar with.
The first story is Kim Harrison's own "Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil." Serving as a prequel to Dead Witch Walking, it
stars living vampire Ivy Tamwood when she was still working the homicide division of Inderland Security, before she got a
transfer and met Rachel Morgan. (For those not up on the series: Inderland Security equals FBI, only for supernaturals,
which are mostly out in the public.) As Ivy investigates a string of nasty murders, she finds herself torn between the
dangerous attractions of two very different vampires. One, Kisten, is just a friend of sorts. The other, Art, is her
superior at work. If Ivy remains true to herself and her morals, she risks defying Art, who holds the power of life,
death, and promotion above her. If she gives in... well, Ivy Tamwood doesn't like to surrender to anyone. But will
these distractions ruin her chance at finding a killer? One thing's for certain: her career will never be the same again.
It was interesting to see things from Ivy's point of view for the first time in the series. Until now, we've only gotten
input from Rachel's perspective, and where vampires are concerned, Rachel tends to be somewhat biased, and not unfairly
so. Finally getting Ivy's side of things helps us to understand the character, and where she was coming from when she
first entered Rachel's life later on. It's also great getting to see more of Kisten, whose bad boy attitude has kept
things interesting in his appearances throughout the series. And given how the story ends, one can certainly predict
long-reaching consequences, sure to resurface sooner or later in the books. This story is unusual in this particular
quartet, given that it quite obviously fits into a larger setting, and serves to flesh out the characters of a
particular series. It's also a bit darker, more intense, and less of a "date" than its companions. But for all
that, it's still my favorite of the four.
"The Claire Switch Project" is Lynsay Sands' offering. After a beautiful-yet-brilliant scientist, Claire Beckett,
is exposed to an experimental molecular destabilizer, she discovers a new ability to shapeshift. Now, she can become
anyone or anything she can imagine, so long as she has a proper frame of reference. This proves convenient, since it's
time for her high school reunion, and her best friend Jill is without a date. That's how Claire gets conned into
attending the reunion. Twice. The first time as herself, with Jill's brother Kyle (who doesn't know about her new
power.) The second, as famous movie star Brad Cruise, escorting Jill. And thus begins a classic sitcom style
comedy of chaotic proportions. I mean it. This is old-school Shakespearean transgender multiple-identity
slapstick, right down to the bathroom quick changes, the flimsy excuses, the getting stuck in the wrong place with
the wrong person, and so on. In the end, will Claire find true love? Or will she be stuck as a half-man,
half-woman mess? You be the judge.
Amusing, yet somewhat shallow, "The Claire Switch Project" certainly suffices as a romantic comedy, but the sad truth
is that the plot is overly familiar and fairly predictable, much like its thematic predecessors. It's a solid work by
Sands, but her full-length novels are much better.
Kelley Armstrong gives us "Chaotic," featuring a half-demon reporter who works for a tabloid newspaper as a cover for her
true work as a secret agent for an interracial council, doing her part to keep the supernatural creatures of the world out
of the public eye. One night, while at a disastrous dinner party, she stumbles across a werewolf jewel thief, and her
world is turned upside-down. Now she's on the run, with a man she can't trust, while the one she used to work for has
turned against her unexpectedly. Conflicting loyalties and deadly agendas will make this a night she'll never forget.
I'll confess that I haven't read Armstrong's Women of the Underworld series, to which this story seems
related. However, based on the strength of this offering, and the talent I see here, I'll likely try those books
soon. This is a good, fast-paced adventure that definitely lives up to its potential. It provides an ending, but leaves
things open enough to revisit these characters later on, thus avoiding the "happily ever after" trap which the previous
story fell into. I thoroughly enjoyed "Chaotic."
Finally, Lori Handeland serves up "Dead Man Dating." Sometimes, it doesn't pay to start dating again. Take Kit Morelli,
for instance. Her first date in months, and just as she finds herself inexplicably getting hot and heavy with her companion
in an alleyway, along comes a random guy who shoots him in the head. When Kit opens her eyes, her date has vanished. Then
she ends up kidnapped back to her own apartment by the scary random guy, a man called Chavez. It seems he's a demon
hunter, and Kit's date was some sort of demon... and it all goes downhill from there. Now Kit's caught between the
dangerously sexy, yet unpredictable demon hunter on one side, and a demon absolutely determined to possess her on the
other. And all because she's the rarest of Manhattan commodities: a virgin. How can she get out of this mess? Well,
a few things do come to mind...
"Dead Man Dating" is a lot of fun, though it skews much more into the romance side of the paranormal romance equation,
with the heroes quite obviously heading towards a certain ending point. However, that doesn't change the fact that the
main characters have chemistry together, and the plot is fairly solid under the circumstances. I'm strongly tempted
to check out more of Handeland's work to see if she's stronger in a novel format. I certainly wouldn't be adverse to
seeing these characters again.
All in all, Dates From Hell is a good collection with plenty to offer. The strong points clearly outweigh the
weak ones, and it'll appeal to urban fantasy fans as well as paranormal romance fans. I consider the Harrison story
worth the price of admission alone, but for those who demand more for their money, this collection does deliver.
Michael M Jones enjoys an addiction to books, for which he's glad there is no cure. He lives with his very patient wife (who doesn't complain about books taking over the house... much), eight cats, and a large plaster penguin that once tasted blood and enjoyed it. A prophecy states that when Michael finishes reading everything on his list, he'll finally die. He aims to be immortal. |
If you find any errors, typos or anything else worth mentioning,
please send it to editor@sfsite.com.
Copyright © 1996-2014 SF Site All Rights Reserved Worldwide