Re: RARA-AVIS: occult PIs

From: Nathan Cain ( IndieCrime@gmail.com)
Date: 09 Jun 2008


There's a guy named Jim Butcher who does a PI series called The Dresden Files where the main character is a wizard. I haven't read any, but they've been recommended to me by a friend who's into sci-fi and fantasy.

On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 3:37 PM, < DJ-Anonyme@webtv.net> wrote:
> I finished Kat Richardson's Greywalker last night. I liked it quite a
> bit. It's about a female PI, Harper Blaine, who dies for two minutes.
> Following her revival, she finds she can see beyond the veil and must
> deal with the occult, as its denizens seek out this investigator who
> walks in both the day and night worlds. Richardson does a particularly
> good job of handling Blaine's problem with accepting this gift she
> wishes she could return, first just accepting its existence, then being
> able to work within her new consciousness. This life change also makes
> more acceptable something that has come to bother me in some PI books,
> how a whole cast will come together from scratch in a novel,
> particularly a debut. The loner PI will become involved in one or often
> two cases (which will eventually intertwine, of course), but at the same
> time will become involved with a whole cast of people, including a
> romantic interest, some of whom will become series regulars. That
> synchronicity often bugs me. But here it makes sense, as Blaine seeks
> out people who can help her make sense of her new state, people she
> never would have had contact with before.
>
> The books still has a few first novel bugs (could have been trimmed just
> a bit), but the first novel excitement more than makes up for them.
> I'll definitely be going on to the second in the series.
>
> The book also got me started thinking about other series that overlap
> the hardboiled and occult worlds, especially loner investigators who
> bridge the two worlds. I'm thinking of series like George Chesbro's
> Mongo series, or shows like Forever Knight, Reaper, the earlier (and far
> darker, more serious, wish it would come out on DVD) Brimstone, some
> Angel, though much of it takes place only in the occult world. That
> last reservation would also rule out Charlie Huston's Joe Pike series.
> As much as I enjoy it, it's almost entirely set in the politics of the
> world of vampires, even if that world is used to satirize the real
> world.
>
> But I'm not very familiar with horror and/or fantasy books, so I was
> wondering if there are any other recommended series where an
> investigator works on both sides of these mean streets? For example, I
> saw a series by Lilith Saintcross (gee, wonder if that's a pseudonym)
> featuring Dante Valentine, the Devil's bounty hunter. They have really
> cool covers, but I seem to remember the recently departed Bo Diddley
> warning me about judging a book by its cover. Are they any good? Any
> other recommendations?
>
> Mark
>
>



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