Saturday, June 13, 2015

Fran: K is for Kaufmann

Nicholas Kaufmann, Dying is My Business, was entertaining.

In the vein of authors like Jim Butcher, Kaufmann has mixed an urban (New York City) punk mafia-style set-up (our hero, Trent, is a henchman, a "collector" for a boss named Underwood) with vampire/werewolf/dragon/gargoyle magic world fiction.  The main character is interesting from the start since he cannot die--he is killed and then revives--and his lack of memory/context makes him ideal as a stand-in for us when we need things explained to us.  In this respect, it is very noir--this seamy crime underbelly that exists to the world that most of us never see ALSO has a seamy magic underbelly. There are well-fleshed out magical companions that become part of a team foiling the evil mages trying to harness destructive magic and un-make NYC (humanity and the world, etc. etc.).  It is an excellent thriller, with ripping, fast-paced action and well-written set pieces.  It wraps up at the end (for our satisfaction) but leaves open space for his sequel, Die and Stay Dead; I enjoyed the writing and plotting enough that I will actively seek this out.

(One very minor and very personal complaint--when the oracle reveals the cryptic location that our heroes need to find a piece of the puzzle before the bad guys do, I immediately knew where it was.  But specialized medievalist knowledge shouldn't ruin this plot point for most of you.  And for those of you who immediately know, the secret is worked out by Trent and his companions about 5 pages later so it isn't like we wander around the elephant in the room for very long.)

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