Josh Reviews: Darklands by Nancy Holzner

Darklands by Nancy Holzner
Series: Deadtown #4
Published by ACE
Published on: July 31, 2012
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Werewolves
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed

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They call it Deadtown: the city’s quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its border—but Victory Vaughn, Boston’s only professional demon slayer, isn’t exactly human…

Boston’s demons have been disappearing, and Vicky’s clients are canceling left and right. While fewer demons might seem like a good thing, Vicky suspects foul play. A missing Celtic cauldron from Harvard’s Peabody museum leads her to an unwelcome conclusion: Pryce, her demi-demon cousin and bitter enemy, is trying to regain his full powers.

But Pryce isn’t alone. He’s conjured another, darker villain from Vicky’s past. To stop them from destroying everything she loves, she’ll have to face her own worst fear—in the realm of the dead itself.

Darklands plays a dangerous game starting at its midpoint.   Previous indications of Medieval influence crescendo as Victory-Vicky-Vick Vaughn does her bestest to prevent total world meltdown.

A lot of fresh air comes in with this addition to the series.   Vic gets a new sidekick, although hardly helpful and, more often than not, a drain on her nerves.   The endless prevarication concerning Kane – will he or won’t he and Vic become an item, will he or won’t he take center stage this go around – continues.

We never quite get to see enough of the werewolf side of things in this world as much as we are made aware of their proximity.   Instead large doses of Medieval lore and Celtic mythology are fed to us.   I am completely ok with this medicine.   They can go ahead and trot out the IV when its elements are this well-developed and characterized.

It was quite a risk.   That fork in the road at page one-sixty had me itching.   Could another plane of existence be added to this already complicated three-ring urban zombie paranormal circus aka Boston that just keeps suffering for its resident, Victory?   When’s the winning going to happen already?

I am prepared to patiently wait, wade, and flip through this developing prophecy so long as it stays this edgy, dangerous, and rife with failure.   Our Victory has a long way to go if she even hopes to keep apprised of her cousin Pryce’s nefarious plottings and that is really the joy in following along, watching her fall, scrape, drag along, limp, and, eventually, with great difficulty, stride.

These developments have the potential for, at least, two more continuations.   Shuffle yourself on over, ya paranormal junkie, and pick up this unfolding epic already!   What’s it got to be in some old book or something?   It’s got Shakespeare in it.   Or, at least, a couple of lines swapped between Vicky and her six hundred year old vampiric roommate, Juliet (yes, that one).

Books in this series:
My Review	My Review	My Review

Recommended:	By an old book
Like this, like that:	The Dreg City series by Kelly Meding and the The Black Sun’s Daughter series by M.L.N. Hanover

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