There’s a serial killer in town – their victims are
horrendously mutilated and increasing in frequency. Worse, all signs point to
something supernatural doing the killing – which makes it Cesar’s and Suzy’s job
to catch the killer. And Cesar does not do bodies
Almost as intimidating, the boss is in town. She has an
ultimatum – because Cesar accessed information he shouldn’t have in a crisis,
he needs to become Aspis to Fritz’s Kopis. Shield to his Sword. The fighter’s
witch guardian – and there’s a test involved. A complicated test that is rather
beyond Cesar’s skill level
And if he fails… well, being fired from the agency may have consequences
I do like how Cesar has grown in this book, including his
powers and abilities. This is somewhat odd for me because I can be quite
scathing when we have protagonists who constantly level up every book, finding
new depths of special powers. But with Cesar it worked because it was very
subtle. Also because he’s very much behind the curve of his colleagues. Suzy
has awesome power, his boss, Fritz, is a skilled Kopis who can clearly throw
down and Isobel has some very specialised magical skills – Cesar often feels
like the odd man. In some ways, it works because he’s the one who will think
about the mundane before the magical but other times it’s a hindrance because
he needs to be reminded of the magical.
It also fits really well with his past and development – Cesar is surrounded by major talents and has grown up around major talents. He has thoroughly absorbed the idea that he’s not very good simply because he’s been surrounded by people who are totally awesome and has internalised his own incapacity because of that. It’s really well done to see not his growing ability, but him being forced to look past his instinctive “I can’t do it” initial response to any challenge.
This fits really well with the ongoing theme of Cesar
finding his feet in the new department and having to learn quickly as well as
him stepping up to be Fritz’s Apis. Cesar has spent the whole series being
thrown into situations well beyond his experience and comfort zone and having
to rise to the challenge
I’m looking forward to seeing him and Fritz bounce off
each other as well – they really do work together
Beyond the characters, I really love this world. Especially
how it is connected with several other of the author’s series in the same world
– allowing us to see everything through different lens. So we can see Elise
viewing the Union as an imposing threat and demons as not-all-that-worrisome
unless they’re higher up in the Descent
Series and then here we have Cesar working for and closely with the Union
while fearing even the most minor demons as terrifying enemies. The different
series have also worked to make a really wide and rich world full of different
denizens with different views of them all. This is built on a magic system that
is both individual but also has a solid sense of rules and procedures that
speaks to deeper world building that I always appreciate
Also, I love the geeky shout outs.
The plot itself has a number of twists and is a pretty
decent mystery with some excellently described gruesomeness that really drives
home the horror of what is happening. There’s lots of nuance, no easy answers
and, ultimately, a perpetrator I can’t reveal for spoilers but one who really
does rock the world building and a whole lot of preconceptions. I loved it.
We have a number of awesome female characters – Suzy is
skilled, tough, snarky, immense fun, intelligent and both points out and calls
out sexism in the workplace. Isobel is powerful psychic, sexual without being
shamed for it, is crafty and cunning and has no time for Cesar’s refusal to
pursue a relationship because she’s his boss’s ex – her ex doesn’t own her.
Even Isobel’s apprentice who I think everyone would cheerfully strangle is
still powerful in her own right – and one of the main flaws of one of the
female antagonists is that she’s quite simply too good a person.
On the negative, Cesar has some of the biggest Dresden
Goggles I’ve seen and Isobel and Suzy have had their super sexiness described
repeatedly in often inappropriate times far too often. Stop drooling over
co-workers, it’s unprofessional! Suzy and Isobel also Do Not Like each other,
capitals intended. Either for no reason (beyond the standard that a strong
woman simply cannot like another woman)
or because they’re competing for Cesar’s affections.
There’s also some bad class issues. Cesar is scathing to
contemptuous with regards to the poor and homeless (pretty much considering
them scroungers) and while he is challenged on such views, it is by the
character who is firmly established as being too damn naïve for her own good.
She’s a good, saintly person – but she’s also easily exploited and gullible
which makes her challenge lacking.
Most of the cast are POC. Cesar is Latino, Suzy is
east-Asian (I think of Japanese descent), Isobel is Native American (and quite
happy to fill her pockets with the money of fools who believe stereotypes). The
other member of their unit we meet is also POC as is the Union witch, the only
Union member we actually speak to. Suzy may edge into dragon-lady at times but
part of this has been explained a lot by her having to fight a lot of sexism in
the workplace as an attractive, petite woman she pushes back by being hard
edged and hard drinking.
Suzy is also recovering from trauma she suffered in
previous books – she can’t sleep and is having trouble reconciling what
happened which has given her both trust issues and a habit of medicating with
booze. It sounds odd to say I like to see this – but I do like to see
characters who have suffered trauma not to be completely untouched by it. When
a character has been through a terrible experience, the marks of that are good
to see because it shows they do leave marks.
Unfortunately, there are no LGBT characters. We do have a
disabled character which I can’t reveal without spoilers.
When I first had the chance to get my hands on this book,
I leaped on it; this has become one of the series I always grab as soon as I
see them. So far I haven’t been disappointed – excellent, racially diverse, characters,
an amazing world, tight, action packed writing and nuanced, exciting plots –
what’s not to love?
