865 and counting …

• Posted in Books I've Read

Finished Working for the Devil by Lilith Saintcrow.

This one’s about Dante Valentine, a necromancer who gets drafted by Lucifer to recover an artifact and kill a rogue demon. Dante would love to get her hands on the demon, since he murdered one of her best friends. But she’s not too hip on working for the devil — especially when he saddles her with Japhrimel, her own demon bodyguard/helper/assassin.

This book is classified as urban fantasy, but it’s really an mix of fantasy and sci-fi. For example, Dante can raise the dead, but she’s also uses plasma guns and other techie devices.

This isn’t a combination I usually enjoy, liking fantasy better, but this book worked for me. The sci-fi was interesting and didn’t overwhelm the fantasy elements. Although I think it would have been easier to read in places if Saintcrow had called items by their common names — like air conditioning instead of climate control, etc. Some of the twists on words for everday things pulled me out of the story in places.

I liked Dante a lot. She’s tough as nails and not afraid to use her magic to get what she needs from people. She doesn’t want to work for Lucifer, but she realizes she doesn’t have a choice. Instead of sitting around and whining about it, she bucks up and gets to work, determined to avenge her friend, even though she knows she probably won’t survive the job. I admired her strength. Plus, Dante Valentine is one of the best character names I’ve come across in a long time.

Then, there’s Japhrimel, the demon. Oh, Japh. He was the coolest character in the book, mainly because you don’t know what his motives are until the very end. I liked the way he viewed humans as fascinating, but odd creatures, and he was protective of Dante without going all alpha male on her. Plus, he got all the good lines.

The story moved along at a nice place, and the big showdown at the end with the villain was interesting and well done — and didn’t turn out the way I expected.

I do have a couple of little quibbles. One, the book needed a glossary. Saintcrow throws a lot of terms at the reader throughout the book, not all of which are thoroughly explained. (The second book, which is in my TBR pile, does have a glossary). I also would have liked a map of Saint City and the world in general, so I could orient things in my mind. But that’s the fantasy geek in me wanting as much info as possible. 😎

Overall, if you’re burnt out on vampires or looking for a good fantasy-sci-fi hybrid, you should definitely check out Working for the Devil.  

Thumbs up.

Here’s a shout-out to Chasity, who recommended this book on the blog. Thanks for the good read! :joecool:

Up next: The graphic novel Quiver by Kevin Smith

8 Responses to “865 and counting …”

  1. Chasity says:

    Woot. I’m 1 and 1 on my recommendations now.

    I do agree with you on the glossary. Some of the terms I just couldn’t keep up with. Word play is good for me though, makes me really have to think. By the end of the book, I had grasped most of the concepts that were presented.

    Ok. So here’s a couple more recommendations for you:

    Moongazer by Mariann Mancusi (Fantasy – I can’t really explain it without giving away the plot)

    Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (Vampire who the author really, really wants to be Spike, if you can get over the bad descriptions, it’s an interesting book)

    Vicki Pettersson – The Scent of Shadows (The First Sign of the Zodiac) (This one is a series that I enjoy. The heroine is a strong, kick ass, type. The books center around the battle between the light and dark forces in Las Veags with demons and such)

    Keri Arthur – Riley Jenson Series (I think there’s 5 of these so far. Good paranormals that include some kick ass fight scenes)

    Ok that’s it. That’s all I’m recommending. I can go on for a few more, but I know your TBR pile is full at the moment.

    So hopefully, if you try these, you’ll like them. If not, I’ll reread and see if I can pick up on anything of the things that drive you nuts in them 🙂

  2. Jennifer Estep says:

    I would say you’re 2 for 2. I loved Twilight — until Bella went all obsessive and moody over Edward. Even though I didn’t care for that, I still enjoyed a big chunk of the book. :blossom:

    Some of the terms I never figured out. Like when Dante and Japh go see the Spider (information) lady. Japh calls her some name, and there’s no explanation for it. Ever. I’ll have to go back through the first book when I read the second one and compare the glossary to the things I couldn’t figure out.

    I’ve heard of the first two books, but not the second two. Must go to Amazon for more info … I’ve also heard a lot of people talking about Magic Bites and Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews (urban fantasy set in Atlanta). Have you read those yet?

    Yes, my TBR pile is rather large, but that’s the good thing about books — they keep well. 😉

  3. Chasity says:

    I haven’t heard of Magic Bites or Magic Burns. I’ll have to give those a look up.

    I so need to find some new reading material. I’m not up for the drive to the bookstore, I’ve read everything the library has, and my computer with all my ebooks crashed and I can’t seem to be able to find the back up disk.

    The category I just finished wasn’t too bad, but it didn’t quite entertain me. Oh well.

  4. Jennifer Estep says:

    The folks over at Dear Author have been raving about both books. I’ve bookmarked them at Amazon. After I whittle down my TBR pile to 10 books or so, I’m going to reward myself … by buying more books. :joecool:

  5. Chasity says:

    I’ve now added these to my buy soon list. I’m dying to read something really, really good 🙂

  6. Karen Mahoney says:

    “Japh calls her some name, and there’s no explanation for it. Ever.”

    :ww: Hiya, I’ve been lurking for a while and had to decloak as this is one of my fave books! I think – without spoiling anything (I’ve read all five books in the series) – this is done very deliberately as Japh doesn’t share information easily. This becomes a regular theme/conflict. Also, as a reader you’re very tightly locked into Danny’s 1st-person POV, so we know what she knows in terms of what happens to her at the end of book 1, and what that name might mean… Which is not very much! 🙂

  7. Karen Mahoney says:

    Oh, I just realised how that looks… By “not very much” I mean we don’t *know* very much, not that the name Japh calls her doesn’t mean very much. That means a LOT, you just have to wait to find out… I’m not making myself clear, am I? *sigh* It’s late here in London. 😉

  8. Jennifer Estep says:

    Hi, Karen! Thanks for de-lurking. 😉

    Ah, I see. I didn’t realize Japh not sharing everything he knows is a theme in the series. I’ll have to be on the lookout for that when I read the next book, and see if I can figure things out before Dante does.

    I have to admit I cheated a little and glanced at the end of the second book. I don’t want to spoil the ending of the first book for readers, but I was very, very concerned about Japh at the end of Book 1. But what I skimmed and read at the end of Book 2 made me feel much, much better. 😎

    Don’t worry. You’re making perfect sense.

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