Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Back in 2008, I heard Charlaine Harris was writing rural fantasy (as opposed to urban fantasy – set in the backwoods of Louisiana). She writes in a similar vein to Laurell K. Hamilton (who is a favorite) so I picked up the book when I saw it.

Published: 2001

Genre: rural fantasy

Length: 312 pages

Setting: rural Louisiana, present day to the writing

Summary: Short version: Sookie starts a relationship with a vampire and foils a murderer

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The Smoke Job by Aaron Canton

This is the next short story in the Event Horizon 2017 collection of short stories highlighting authors who are eligible for the 2017 Campbell award for best new writer.

Published: May, 2016 in Mothership Zeta

Genre: urban fantasy

Setting: Manhattan, present day

Summary: Short version: Dragons are best at exploiting greed

Long version: Charisma is a dragon posing as a young woman so she can slip through life in Manhattan, but still steal all the gold and jewels that she deserves. She’s caught by Abby, who blackmails Charisma into giving her an interview. Charisma figures she can work on Abby’s greed to get what she wants, so she goes along with it. Turns out, Abby was just bait for Brooke, a vampire who wants Char’s hoard and to turn her into a thrall. There’s a big fight in the vault that Brooke ultimately loses. Abby is able to convince Char to work with her stealing from magical creatures doing bad things.

Final thoughts: This was a really fun story. I loved the tone of the whole story. In fact, I had to read a couple of quotes to my kids. For example, Char says, “I knew I was good, and with my entire hoard at stake, there was no way I was going to lose to a witch paparazzi and a vampire boxer.” Or the fact that she baits Brooke into biting her, but dragon blood is hot so Brooke burns her mouth.

I will admit I’m a sucker for a dragon story. In this case, Charisma has a few skills I’m not used to seeing in dragons. She can use a smoke cloud to focus the greed of those around her and distract them from her stealing. Too bad a vampire doesn’t have to breathe. She can also track all of her hoard, and uses that skill to disarm Brooke’s thralls when the lights go out in her vault. The fighting is clever and Abby is able to win over Charisma by appealing to her greedy side. Overall, very high quality.

Title comes from: Charisma uses a puff of smoke as a weapon. It makes anyone who breathes focus solely on the acquisition of shiny things.

 

Blood Bank by Tanya Huff

This was the last book in an omnibus collection of the Blood series that I bought.

Published: 1996

Genre: urban fantasy

Length: 221 pages

Setting: various times and locations in Henry’s life

Blood Debt by Tanya Huff

This is the fifth and final book in Huff’s Blood series that I read ten years ago. Of course I had to finish the series.

Published: 1997

Genre: urban fantasy

Length: 310 pages

Setting: Kingston, Ontario, present day, soon after the events of Blood Pact

Cold Days by Jim Butcher

This is the fourteenth book in the Dresden Files series that I’m trying to finish this year. There’s only fifteen published so far (although I think the next one is due to come out soon) so I think I can actually finish the series this year.

Published: 2012

Genre: urban fantasy

Length: 515 pages

Setting: Chicago and nearby Lake Michigan, a few weeks after the events of Ghost Story

Blood Pact by Tanya Huff

This is the fourth book in Huff’s Blood series that I read a decade ago.

Published: 1993

Genre: urban fantasy

Length: 279 pages

Setting: Kingston, Ontario, 1990s, soon after the events of Blood Lines

Blood Lines by Tanya Huff

Reading Edge of Eternity for weeks cut into my book review buffer, so I’m back to an old book review today. This is the third book in the Blood series.

Published: 1993

Genre: urban fantasy

Length: 268 pages

Setting: Toronto, Ontario, soon after the events of Blood Trail