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The Guardian of Empire City #1
Bloodlines
Those dark and terrible things from your nightmares are VERY real.
They walk among us, masquerading as your neighbor, your lover, even your friend. You see, Empire City is full of them…if you only know where to look. How do I know this? Well, for starters the name is Detective Tom Holliday. I work homicide for Special Crimes. My friends, what few I have, call me Doc.
And the other reason?
I’ve got magic of my own.
Welcome to Empire City, where magic and technology co-exist, and humanity endures behind walls of stone and spell-forged steel. A place where danger lurks around every street corner, and anything is possible.
When former hotshot homicide detective Tom “Doc” Holliday is recruited to join Special Crimes, he trades in his boring desk job for a second chance to do what he does hunt down killers.
And his first case doesn’t disappoint—a murdered woman with a bogus past, her body drained of blood, and two eyewitnesses wasted on the designer drug goldjoy claiming a vampire did it. Armed with a fickle clairvoyance and saddled with a team whose past is as checkered as his own, Holliday embarks upon an investigation through a dystopian landscape filled with bio-engineered vampires, interdimensional shadow parasites, and the magical masterminds behind it all.
But to solve this murder and safeguard his city, Holliday will have to uncover the truth behind an ancient shadowy conspiracy and confront a destiny he never wanted.
Fans of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London and Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files will fall in love with Empire City.
Grab your copy of BLOODLINES today!
They walk among us, masquerading as your neighbor, your lover, even your friend. You see, Empire City is full of them…if you only know where to look. How do I know this? Well, for starters the name is Detective Tom Holliday. I work homicide for Special Crimes. My friends, what few I have, call me Doc.
And the other reason?
I’ve got magic of my own.
Welcome to Empire City, where magic and technology co-exist, and humanity endures behind walls of stone and spell-forged steel. A place where danger lurks around every street corner, and anything is possible.
When former hotshot homicide detective Tom “Doc” Holliday is recruited to join Special Crimes, he trades in his boring desk job for a second chance to do what he does hunt down killers.
And his first case doesn’t disappoint—a murdered woman with a bogus past, her body drained of blood, and two eyewitnesses wasted on the designer drug goldjoy claiming a vampire did it. Armed with a fickle clairvoyance and saddled with a team whose past is as checkered as his own, Holliday embarks upon an investigation through a dystopian landscape filled with bio-engineered vampires, interdimensional shadow parasites, and the magical masterminds behind it all.
But to solve this murder and safeguard his city, Holliday will have to uncover the truth behind an ancient shadowy conspiracy and confront a destiny he never wanted.
Fans of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London and Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files will fall in love with Empire City.
Grab your copy of BLOODLINES today!
446 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 29, 2019
About the author
Peter Hartog
4 books45 followersA native son of Massachusetts, Peter has been living in the Deep South for over 25 years. By day, he’s an insurance professional, saving the world one policy at a time. But at night, well, no one really wants to see him fighting crime in his Spider-Man onesie. Instead, Peter develops new worlds of adventure influenced by his love of science fiction, mysteries, music and fantasy. Whether it’s running role-playing games for his long-time friends, watching his beloved New England sporting teams vie for another championship, or just chilling with a movie, his wife, two boys, one puppy and three cats, Peter’s imagination is always on the move. It’s the reason why his stories are an eclectic blend of intrigue, excitement, humor and magic, drawn from four decade’s worth of television, film, novels and comic books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
April 20, 2021
It is almost inevitable that any detective urban SF is going to be compared to Jim Butcher's "gold standard" The Dresden Files. And while I can understand that, I also think it is a bit unfair. What I will say with regard to Peter Hartog's BLOODLINES is that you will definitely be reminded of Dresden's landmark series when you read his debut novel. In my opinion though, Hartog's version is significantly edgier and less cartoonish than the Dresden books, with a good deal more character development as well.
I won't give away too much the plot, suffice to say, this book is virtually a non-stop thrill ride from beginning to end with moments of tension that work brilliantly in making this a very suspenseful detective story throughout. There are also flares of the fantastic and horrific that lend a depth to BLOODLINES and give it much more of a punch than your everyday noir fiction.
Infused in all of this is Hartog's tight and vivid prose that you might not necessarily expect from a debut author, but it's obvious from the first couple of chapters that he certainly has the writing chops to tell a great story. It's also obvious in the depth of his characters as I mentioned earlier, these are people who have a complex history that often motivate their actions, Tom Holliday in particular. It's really what makes a good story a great one and intensifies the reader's investment in what unfolds both good and bad.
I had an awesome time reading BLOODLINES and a big part of that enjoyment came from the amount of misdirection that Peter Hartog throws at you just when you think you might be figuring stuff out. Hartog hooked me from the very beginning and then kept me engrossed throughout as the murder mystery took hold and one perilous aspect of the investigation after another is delightfully delivered.
This was a really gripping first book in this series and I already can't wait to check out book #2. If you are looking for a more adult urban fantasy read with super cool technology, a captivating SF noir feel, intriguing mysteries, and monsters that can only be described as nightmares come to life, then Peter Hartog has written the first book in a promising new series that you should definitely check out right now. I had a ton of fun reading this and I feel like things are only going to get even better and crazier in the upcoming entries. An impressive debut for sure.
I won't give away too much the plot, suffice to say, this book is virtually a non-stop thrill ride from beginning to end with moments of tension that work brilliantly in making this a very suspenseful detective story throughout. There are also flares of the fantastic and horrific that lend a depth to BLOODLINES and give it much more of a punch than your everyday noir fiction.
Infused in all of this is Hartog's tight and vivid prose that you might not necessarily expect from a debut author, but it's obvious from the first couple of chapters that he certainly has the writing chops to tell a great story. It's also obvious in the depth of his characters as I mentioned earlier, these are people who have a complex history that often motivate their actions, Tom Holliday in particular. It's really what makes a good story a great one and intensifies the reader's investment in what unfolds both good and bad.
I had an awesome time reading BLOODLINES and a big part of that enjoyment came from the amount of misdirection that Peter Hartog throws at you just when you think you might be figuring stuff out. Hartog hooked me from the very beginning and then kept me engrossed throughout as the murder mystery took hold and one perilous aspect of the investigation after another is delightfully delivered.
This was a really gripping first book in this series and I already can't wait to check out book #2. If you are looking for a more adult urban fantasy read with super cool technology, a captivating SF noir feel, intriguing mysteries, and monsters that can only be described as nightmares come to life, then Peter Hartog has written the first book in a promising new series that you should definitely check out right now. I had a ton of fun reading this and I feel like things are only going to get even better and crazier in the upcoming entries. An impressive debut for sure.
October 27, 2021
https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/10...
A while ago, I was in the mood for something different. Something that’s fantasy, but maybe a bit more modern. To be honest, I was on a bit of a “why doesn’t anyone ever include technology in their fantasy” bender, and so I happened across the delightful genre of urban fantasy. From there, it was a hop, skip, and jump until I found Peter Hartog.
Bloodlines is really one hell of a book. A nonstop thrill ride from page one, with a constant flow of action and an inability to look away from any of it. This book sucked me in quickly and left me gasping and eagerly grabbing book two.
Bloodlines is set in a megacity (known as an enclave) called Empire City. That name itself gives me a certain vibe for the place. Instantly, I think of Batman, the dark alleyways and impoverished denizens of a huge metropolis replete with secrets. Empire City makes me picture dark deeds in dark places. For a name, it’s an evocative one, and that’s one of the first things I noticed about Hartog’s writing in general. It’s evocative and extremely vivid, two things I honestly did not expect from this book. Two things that delight me when I run across them.
Hartog’s polished prose cuts like a knife. It stabs deep with visceral, vivid, colorful detail, bringing the world of Empire City to blazing life. Hartog, however, doesn’t throw readers into the deep end. He knows just how to weave in information at the right moments, easing readers into the strange, dark, messy beauty of his world and the people who inhabit it. I quickly realized I was just an enamored with his worldbuilding as I was with the characters and the story itself. It’s really rare that I come across a debut work that is this polished, this visceral, and this carefully executed.
Bloodlines is told through the first-person perspective of one Tom “Doc” Holliday. Holliday is a former homicide detective. He’s got the brooding vibe of a jaded man that I know and love in many books of this nature, with an unforgettable voice that Hartog really nails. I love first-person perspectives because they allow me to get absolutely immersed in the protagonist’s point of view, his thoughts, emotions, and feelings, and I really think that added another layer that benefitted this book, which pushed it from “very good” to “amazing” in my estimation.
Holliday has a dark past and a lot of regrets. Neither he nor life have had an easy go at it, and his somewhat cynical nature kept him interesting and fresh (I love me a good cynic.). When he’s given a chance to redeem himself by joining a Special Crimes Unit, he grabs it with both hands. Soon, he teams up with a bunch of colorful individuals who stand at the periphery of the book, and fill it with more vibrant hues, and some genuine moments that had me really admiring Hartog’s character work. More, I felt connected to these characters, their memorable voices, and the multi-hued dimension they added to this world of Hartog's.
More, I will say that the characters and the vivid writing worked together as a sort of one-two punch that not only sucked me into the story and made it genuinely matter to me, but also infused me with a sense of wonder throughout.
The plot, as I mentioned above, is relentless. There is always something happening somewhere, and all of it matters. There’s rarely a dull moment, and the constant flow of action kept me one-more-chapter-ing this book late into the night. While there were some points in the book that felt predictable, I was constantly surprised by how carefully Hartog revealed information, and his mastery of misdirection.
All in all, Bloodlines really blew me away. From prose, to plot, to characters, to the world itself, every part of this book sang. It’s a strong start to a new series, written by an author to watch.
A while ago, I was in the mood for something different. Something that’s fantasy, but maybe a bit more modern. To be honest, I was on a bit of a “why doesn’t anyone ever include technology in their fantasy” bender, and so I happened across the delightful genre of urban fantasy. From there, it was a hop, skip, and jump until I found Peter Hartog.
Bloodlines is really one hell of a book. A nonstop thrill ride from page one, with a constant flow of action and an inability to look away from any of it. This book sucked me in quickly and left me gasping and eagerly grabbing book two.
Bloodlines is set in a megacity (known as an enclave) called Empire City. That name itself gives me a certain vibe for the place. Instantly, I think of Batman, the dark alleyways and impoverished denizens of a huge metropolis replete with secrets. Empire City makes me picture dark deeds in dark places. For a name, it’s an evocative one, and that’s one of the first things I noticed about Hartog’s writing in general. It’s evocative and extremely vivid, two things I honestly did not expect from this book. Two things that delight me when I run across them.
Hartog’s polished prose cuts like a knife. It stabs deep with visceral, vivid, colorful detail, bringing the world of Empire City to blazing life. Hartog, however, doesn’t throw readers into the deep end. He knows just how to weave in information at the right moments, easing readers into the strange, dark, messy beauty of his world and the people who inhabit it. I quickly realized I was just an enamored with his worldbuilding as I was with the characters and the story itself. It’s really rare that I come across a debut work that is this polished, this visceral, and this carefully executed.
Bloodlines is told through the first-person perspective of one Tom “Doc” Holliday. Holliday is a former homicide detective. He’s got the brooding vibe of a jaded man that I know and love in many books of this nature, with an unforgettable voice that Hartog really nails. I love first-person perspectives because they allow me to get absolutely immersed in the protagonist’s point of view, his thoughts, emotions, and feelings, and I really think that added another layer that benefitted this book, which pushed it from “very good” to “amazing” in my estimation.
Holliday has a dark past and a lot of regrets. Neither he nor life have had an easy go at it, and his somewhat cynical nature kept him interesting and fresh (I love me a good cynic.). When he’s given a chance to redeem himself by joining a Special Crimes Unit, he grabs it with both hands. Soon, he teams up with a bunch of colorful individuals who stand at the periphery of the book, and fill it with more vibrant hues, and some genuine moments that had me really admiring Hartog’s character work. More, I felt connected to these characters, their memorable voices, and the multi-hued dimension they added to this world of Hartog's.
More, I will say that the characters and the vivid writing worked together as a sort of one-two punch that not only sucked me into the story and made it genuinely matter to me, but also infused me with a sense of wonder throughout.
The plot, as I mentioned above, is relentless. There is always something happening somewhere, and all of it matters. There’s rarely a dull moment, and the constant flow of action kept me one-more-chapter-ing this book late into the night. While there were some points in the book that felt predictable, I was constantly surprised by how carefully Hartog revealed information, and his mastery of misdirection.
All in all, Bloodlines really blew me away. From prose, to plot, to characters, to the world itself, every part of this book sang. It’s a strong start to a new series, written by an author to watch.
April 20, 2021
Oh, this was such a joy to read. Science Fantasy was where my love of SFF was born, so it was an absolute delight to dive into this fascinating blend of fantastical elements with advanced technology and cybernetics, and even more so when it was paired with a crime thriller. I had been looking forward to this one, and I have to say that I was pretty much sold from the first line which had me snorting aloud, and when we got the first hint of something unnatural, I was hooked and flew through the pages of this book.
Bloodlines straddles the boundary between multiple genres, and Hartog does a fantastic job of balancing the different aspects to create an intricate and cohesive whole without losing the strengths and charms of those individual elements. The world is vividly realised, from looking at the fate of a future Earth that has undergone a massive transformation due to various crisis – some of which are possibly a little too close to home now -to the inventive use of technology to adapt to this new world, and ways for humans to survive and thrive, as well as the questions that arise from such technology. What I particularly enjoyed was that this was balanced with surviving ‘old world’ elements, which gave a sense of history and maintained a strong thread of humanity in a world where technology could threaten that, and that played well into the ‘crime thriller’ aspect which gave the world a grounded feeling, even amongst the technological marvels and the supernatural elements which became more prevalent throughout the book from shadow parasites, to preternatural insight and vampires. It was a delicate balancing act, one that could have gone astray and which the author has instead crafted into a truly memorable world.
The investigation aspect was beautifully handled, and even with a lot happening just within the world itself, we are given hints and clues and red herrings. The twists and turns, with moments of clarity for the characters and the reader, kept me on the edge of my seat, especially as it became clear that the characters were dealing with more than a murder case. The pacing and tension, paired with this, had my mind racing and trying to work out who or what was responsible, as everything built towards the crescendo.
The characters were as well-written as the world itself and ‘Doc’ Holliday undoubtedly steals the show as our main POV, and it was impossible not to appreciate his unique character voice that bled through into everything he did, and it added so much to the story that I really couldn’t imagine it having been narrated by anyone else. He has a charm and appeal all of his own, from the fact that his nickname comes not from the famous gunslinger but from the fact he has a PhD in classical literature to his humour, as well as a past and experience that could have played into the stereotypical ‘detective’ but while it undoubtedly shaped him, he does not fall into that easy type and it was a delight to follow him. The rest of the cast were just as well written, although there were a few that I might have liked to have known more about, but they were still well-fleshed out, with unique voices that made them each stand out. Leyla was a favourite – I have a certain weakness for characters who are hackers – and again is a wonderful example of the intersection of the different elements of this world, as she can use magic as well. I also really liked Deacon as a character and enjoyed his relationship with Holliday. (Also, because Birmingham was mentioned near the start, I now imagine Deacon’s accent as Brummie… even though I know it’s a different Birmingham!)
I had so much fun with this book from start to finish, and that ending!! This is the perfect read for anyone who loves science fantasy or wants to lose themselves in a wonderful, gripping, multi-genre read. I can’t wait to see what else Peter Hartog does within this world, and I will definitely be picking up any future books.
Bloodlines straddles the boundary between multiple genres, and Hartog does a fantastic job of balancing the different aspects to create an intricate and cohesive whole without losing the strengths and charms of those individual elements. The world is vividly realised, from looking at the fate of a future Earth that has undergone a massive transformation due to various crisis – some of which are possibly a little too close to home now -to the inventive use of technology to adapt to this new world, and ways for humans to survive and thrive, as well as the questions that arise from such technology. What I particularly enjoyed was that this was balanced with surviving ‘old world’ elements, which gave a sense of history and maintained a strong thread of humanity in a world where technology could threaten that, and that played well into the ‘crime thriller’ aspect which gave the world a grounded feeling, even amongst the technological marvels and the supernatural elements which became more prevalent throughout the book from shadow parasites, to preternatural insight and vampires. It was a delicate balancing act, one that could have gone astray and which the author has instead crafted into a truly memorable world.
The investigation aspect was beautifully handled, and even with a lot happening just within the world itself, we are given hints and clues and red herrings. The twists and turns, with moments of clarity for the characters and the reader, kept me on the edge of my seat, especially as it became clear that the characters were dealing with more than a murder case. The pacing and tension, paired with this, had my mind racing and trying to work out who or what was responsible, as everything built towards the crescendo.
The characters were as well-written as the world itself and ‘Doc’ Holliday undoubtedly steals the show as our main POV, and it was impossible not to appreciate his unique character voice that bled through into everything he did, and it added so much to the story that I really couldn’t imagine it having been narrated by anyone else. He has a charm and appeal all of his own, from the fact that his nickname comes not from the famous gunslinger but from the fact he has a PhD in classical literature to his humour, as well as a past and experience that could have played into the stereotypical ‘detective’ but while it undoubtedly shaped him, he does not fall into that easy type and it was a delight to follow him. The rest of the cast were just as well written, although there were a few that I might have liked to have known more about, but they were still well-fleshed out, with unique voices that made them each stand out. Leyla was a favourite – I have a certain weakness for characters who are hackers – and again is a wonderful example of the intersection of the different elements of this world, as she can use magic as well. I also really liked Deacon as a character and enjoyed his relationship with Holliday. (Also, because Birmingham was mentioned near the start, I now imagine Deacon’s accent as Brummie… even though I know it’s a different Birmingham!)
I had so much fun with this book from start to finish, and that ending!! This is the perfect read for anyone who loves science fantasy or wants to lose themselves in a wonderful, gripping, multi-genre read. I can’t wait to see what else Peter Hartog does within this world, and I will definitely be picking up any future books.
October 22, 2021
I listened to an audiobook sent to me by the author – thank you very much Peter! This is an honest review and all opinions are my own. Any misspelt character/place names can be blamed on the fact that I was listening to, rather than reading this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed the narration of this book by Todd Menesses. He had a great dramatic range of voices. The mortician, Stentstrom had an amusing creepy note to his British accent and the Vellan, Besim sounded both exotic and feminine. The barrista, Moonbeam was convincing as a young hipster type. He was able to imbue the action sequences with the perfect level of tension to sustain the excitement. I will definitely look out for him as an audiobook narrator in future!
Bloodlines is a futuristic murder mystery told in first person perspective from the point of view of Tom “Doc” Holliday, a coffee-loving detective:
“Java was the only religion I could get behind.”
“Doc” is named for his Ph.D in classical literature more than his resemblance to the cowboy of the same name. He quotes from Shakespeare among other classics, which was a touch that I loved. The poor guy describes himself as having “a face for radio” and comes across as a jaded version of his former self. Once one of the top detectives in Empire City, now middle-aged, Holliday has been seduced by booze and drugs and is no longer as sharp as he once was. He describes his descent from greatness as being partly caused by the death of his beloved Kate, which resulted in “a collage of excess and abuse”.
In Bloodlines Holliday has to come to terms with this past in order to fulfill his potential as a detective. He is almost a typical noir type detective, reminiscent of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, apart from one important detail: he can use magic! He has “The Insight” an ability to see certain paranormal beings no one else can see and to relive things that have happened in the past, which is an undeniably useful crime-scene tool. Due to these unusual skills he is transferred to a department that investigates more unusual crimes, with his first case being a murder without any blood. Eye witnesses blame a vampire for killing Vanessa Mallory.
Peter Hartog must be applauded for a great variety of fully fleshed-out characters in Bloodlines, who wield wonderfully entertaining turns of phrase and distinct personalities. Holliday is assigned an alien consultant as a member of his team, one of the Vellan, who just happen to be inter-dimensional aliens with magical abilities. She is also a famous singer known as Besim Saranda who has extraordinary hearing abilities and is a quiet and insightful member of the detective team. There are musical references intertwined throughout the story which made me think that music must be important to the author. Halliday’s team also comprises Leyla, a talented young computer hacker and a magic user and Deacon Cole who is a gruff tough guy described as a confederate, who has worked with Holliday before and they have an entertaining working relationship.
In addition to the wonderful characterisations, Bloodlines is also full of solid, well-depicted world-building, showing the reader the seamier side of Empire City with its fair share of drug addicts, homeless people and ordinary folk working ordinary jobs and oh yes, aliens living amongst the humans. The world of Empire City is a post-apocalyptic version of New York City with magic, futuristic technology such as holovision and transport by pod. The world as we know it has changed following a nuclear disaster, but there are still many recognisable elements left behind.
The action in this urban science fantasy story starts fairly early on and continues at a steadily fast pace throughout the book. It is both tense and exciting and keeps you hooked right up until the end. The only reason I stopped listening halfway was because my headphones needed charging! There are plenty of red herrings and twists in the plot as well. Just when you think you can solve the mystery you realise you didn’t have all of the information you needed after all, or more likely you had been lead down the wrong path intentionally…
Bloodlines is a fantastic debut from this author and a really fun read with a few nods to ’80s culture which is something I always enjoy – I can’t wait to continue my time in Empire City by reading the sequel, Pieces of Eight.
I thoroughly enjoyed the narration of this book by Todd Menesses. He had a great dramatic range of voices. The mortician, Stentstrom had an amusing creepy note to his British accent and the Vellan, Besim sounded both exotic and feminine. The barrista, Moonbeam was convincing as a young hipster type. He was able to imbue the action sequences with the perfect level of tension to sustain the excitement. I will definitely look out for him as an audiobook narrator in future!
Bloodlines is a futuristic murder mystery told in first person perspective from the point of view of Tom “Doc” Holliday, a coffee-loving detective:
“Java was the only religion I could get behind.”
“Doc” is named for his Ph.D in classical literature more than his resemblance to the cowboy of the same name. He quotes from Shakespeare among other classics, which was a touch that I loved. The poor guy describes himself as having “a face for radio” and comes across as a jaded version of his former self. Once one of the top detectives in Empire City, now middle-aged, Holliday has been seduced by booze and drugs and is no longer as sharp as he once was. He describes his descent from greatness as being partly caused by the death of his beloved Kate, which resulted in “a collage of excess and abuse”.
In Bloodlines Holliday has to come to terms with this past in order to fulfill his potential as a detective. He is almost a typical noir type detective, reminiscent of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, apart from one important detail: he can use magic! He has “The Insight” an ability to see certain paranormal beings no one else can see and to relive things that have happened in the past, which is an undeniably useful crime-scene tool. Due to these unusual skills he is transferred to a department that investigates more unusual crimes, with his first case being a murder without any blood. Eye witnesses blame a vampire for killing Vanessa Mallory.
Peter Hartog must be applauded for a great variety of fully fleshed-out characters in Bloodlines, who wield wonderfully entertaining turns of phrase and distinct personalities. Holliday is assigned an alien consultant as a member of his team, one of the Vellan, who just happen to be inter-dimensional aliens with magical abilities. She is also a famous singer known as Besim Saranda who has extraordinary hearing abilities and is a quiet and insightful member of the detective team. There are musical references intertwined throughout the story which made me think that music must be important to the author. Halliday’s team also comprises Leyla, a talented young computer hacker and a magic user and Deacon Cole who is a gruff tough guy described as a confederate, who has worked with Holliday before and they have an entertaining working relationship.
In addition to the wonderful characterisations, Bloodlines is also full of solid, well-depicted world-building, showing the reader the seamier side of Empire City with its fair share of drug addicts, homeless people and ordinary folk working ordinary jobs and oh yes, aliens living amongst the humans. The world of Empire City is a post-apocalyptic version of New York City with magic, futuristic technology such as holovision and transport by pod. The world as we know it has changed following a nuclear disaster, but there are still many recognisable elements left behind.
The action in this urban science fantasy story starts fairly early on and continues at a steadily fast pace throughout the book. It is both tense and exciting and keeps you hooked right up until the end. The only reason I stopped listening halfway was because my headphones needed charging! There are plenty of red herrings and twists in the plot as well. Just when you think you can solve the mystery you realise you didn’t have all of the information you needed after all, or more likely you had been lead down the wrong path intentionally…
Bloodlines is a fantastic debut from this author and a really fun read with a few nods to ’80s culture which is something I always enjoy – I can’t wait to continue my time in Empire City by reading the sequel, Pieces of Eight.
February 3, 2023
I originally won this book in a giveaway in September 2021 and added it to my shelf. When 2023 came around I was in the mood for something sci-fi based; I got this and much more in Book 1 of The Guardian of Empire City series.
Bloodlines is set in first person with one POV. It follows the story of Thomas "Doc" Holliday who is kind of a washed up detective in Empire City. He's working but not exactly doing anything worthwhile for reasons explained. This all changes when a man called Deacon Kole recruits him to a Special Crimes Unit (SCU). The special crime to solve? A body found with zero blood and two bite marks in the neck.
I don't normally like first person but there are times where it works. Stormblood by Jeremy Szal is a good example and another one is this book here. I find that first person tends to work best in high-action or intense stories because it gives you a window into the mind of the person living it.
To say Bloodlines is probably the most unique mix of genres I've read is an understatement. Within this story you have sci-fi elements. There is AI and the technology is ahead of our own. There is crime and thriller elements as naturally this story revolves around the murder of someone. Then you have magic. Yep. Magic weaved into this story in a way that actually works and so there is fantasy.
It can be very hard mixing elements like AI and magic together because by the natural order of things, they just don't go together. Sci-fi is electronics and spaceships, aliens and AI. Fantasy is magic, powers and mystery. However, the way that Peter has managed to weave together everything so seamlessly is something to appreciate.
I really enjoyed the characters in this story too, especially Doc and Kole. I get a real Wax & Wayne (Mistborn 4-7) vibe from the two of them but more adult. I felt that their "relationship" is a strong driver between actions within the story alongside the clues themselves and think that without Kole, Doc just wouldn't be the same. The same can be said for the other main characters, of which there are a few, in that they all play their part and are there for a reason. I'd even go as far as saying Empire City itself is one of the cast since the city feels quite alive as Doc and team navigate their way round utilising AI and the transportation system.
The story is well written, planned and keeps you guessing until the last few chapters. I personally love the Rivers of London series and feel that this is the predominantly sci-fi equivalent to that, albeit more adult. If you enjoy crime stories, or even media like Blade Runner then I suspect that Peter's Bloodlines will be something that would appeal to you.
I really enjoyed this. There are lots of twists and turns and everything is not as it seems. Lots of different elements are brought in and it's clear to see from the epilogue that Peter is building quite the world here with more sinister, bigger things being alluded to within these pages. I'm excited to see what happens in the next book in the series, Pieces of Eight, which I have, ready to try and finish this month.
Bloodlines is set in first person with one POV. It follows the story of Thomas "Doc" Holliday who is kind of a washed up detective in Empire City. He's working but not exactly doing anything worthwhile for reasons explained. This all changes when a man called Deacon Kole recruits him to a Special Crimes Unit (SCU). The special crime to solve? A body found with zero blood and two bite marks in the neck.
I don't normally like first person but there are times where it works. Stormblood by Jeremy Szal is a good example and another one is this book here. I find that first person tends to work best in high-action or intense stories because it gives you a window into the mind of the person living it.
To say Bloodlines is probably the most unique mix of genres I've read is an understatement. Within this story you have sci-fi elements. There is AI and the technology is ahead of our own. There is crime and thriller elements as naturally this story revolves around the murder of someone. Then you have magic. Yep. Magic weaved into this story in a way that actually works and so there is fantasy.
It can be very hard mixing elements like AI and magic together because by the natural order of things, they just don't go together. Sci-fi is electronics and spaceships, aliens and AI. Fantasy is magic, powers and mystery. However, the way that Peter has managed to weave together everything so seamlessly is something to appreciate.
I really enjoyed the characters in this story too, especially Doc and Kole. I get a real Wax & Wayne (Mistborn 4-7) vibe from the two of them but more adult. I felt that their "relationship" is a strong driver between actions within the story alongside the clues themselves and think that without Kole, Doc just wouldn't be the same. The same can be said for the other main characters, of which there are a few, in that they all play their part and are there for a reason. I'd even go as far as saying Empire City itself is one of the cast since the city feels quite alive as Doc and team navigate their way round utilising AI and the transportation system.
The story is well written, planned and keeps you guessing until the last few chapters. I personally love the Rivers of London series and feel that this is the predominantly sci-fi equivalent to that, albeit more adult. If you enjoy crime stories, or even media like Blade Runner then I suspect that Peter's Bloodlines will be something that would appeal to you.
I really enjoyed this. There are lots of twists and turns and everything is not as it seems. Lots of different elements are brought in and it's clear to see from the epilogue that Peter is building quite the world here with more sinister, bigger things being alluded to within these pages. I'm excited to see what happens in the next book in the series, Pieces of Eight, which I have, ready to try and finish this month.
January 3, 2023
Take an noir urban fantasy, put it a hundred years in the future after a nuclear war, with A.I., flying cars, interdimensional aliens, and magic, add a disgraced police officer trying to solve a murder, and you end up with Bloodlines, by Peter Hartog, the first in his Guardian of Empire City series.
My description might make it sound like a Douglas Adams novel, but it isn't a comedy. There's dry, sometimes snarky humour here, as all the best noir detective stories bring, but at it's heart it's a detective thriller with a whole bunch of science fiction and fantasy add-ons. Good characters and mystery, with a tight plot.
My description might make it sound like a Douglas Adams novel, but it isn't a comedy. There's dry, sometimes snarky humour here, as all the best noir detective stories bring, but at it's heart it's a detective thriller with a whole bunch of science fiction and fantasy add-ons. Good characters and mystery, with a tight plot.
March 16, 2020
First of all, let me say I am thoroughly impressed with the quality of this book. Not only is it well written, it is well thought out and executed from beginning to end.
This engrossing science fiction adventure/mystery had me hooked from the beginning. The characters are complex and utterly believable. The story pacing is good and the detail added to set scene, move action, transition, and so on, never lets up. I found compelled to keep reading as the mystery around a strange murder is unraveled by a small team, each character with their own motivations for being committed to the investigation.
The plot twists this way and that, red herrings and questions abound and the story had me in its irresistible grasp until the ending which I was delighted to see left the door open for more stories by this author.
Highly recommended for people who enjoy a twist of fantasy in their sci-fi, an intriguing mystery and original story lines that leave you marveling at the author's talent for weaving it all together.
This engrossing science fiction adventure/mystery had me hooked from the beginning. The characters are complex and utterly believable. The story pacing is good and the detail added to set scene, move action, transition, and so on, never lets up. I found compelled to keep reading as the mystery around a strange murder is unraveled by a small team, each character with their own motivations for being committed to the investigation.
The plot twists this way and that, red herrings and questions abound and the story had me in its irresistible grasp until the ending which I was delighted to see left the door open for more stories by this author.
Highly recommended for people who enjoy a twist of fantasy in their sci-fi, an intriguing mystery and original story lines that leave you marveling at the author's talent for weaving it all together.
September 20, 2021
What a refreshing take on a scifi thriller! Hartog’s BLOODLINES mixes a whole series of subgenres in such a rich and entertaining way, and yet never loses focus on the heart of the story which is noir-esque detective crime thriller with elements of the supernatural. The author has such a comfortable use of first-person and their writing voice was a standout for me – so many great nods to classic detective stories while bringing things “forward” in time with exciting and creatively conceived characters – a detective with a Ph.D. in classical lit, love it. A unique blending of the familiar through nods and references to contemporary vernacular culture mix with a futuristic, cyberpunkish New York-gone-Empire City setting with magic, aliens, etc. There is a strong current relating to trust running through the book that I appreciated, and at the end, the story took a turn that nailed the theme in an action-packed, yet heartfelt climax. Highly recommend.
June 7, 2022
I was so interested in this book, that I requested a copy from the author, totally forgetting I had entered the contest that was going on during the Storytellers on Tour book tour, and ended up winning a physical copy as well (I feel a little greedy).
It’s beautiful and looks amazing on my bookshelf!
Thank you so much to Peter Hartog (and storytellers), apologies for the huge delay in getting to this review.
*
Ok, so this was super fun!
I love detective stories, especially when they do something a little different. This borrows a little from noir, and a bit from sci-fi/cyberpunk with a touch of fantasy, and well you get the picture. It’s a here and there, of a host of different genres. Taking the stuff that works and grafting it together with a lot other fun ideas, making Bloodlines into something fresh and exciting.
World-
It’s a really cool future our world, that feels a little crowded at first, with all the goodies. But because the stuff we recognize does some of the heavy-lifting; it’s easy to understand and follow.
Nuclear war has changed the landscape, and lowered the population down to just a few enclaves – one of which is Empire City (where this story takes place), and made it possible for the advancements that we see in the story; like cleaner energy, parallel worlds, and AI advancements- including implants that let you download information to just about anywhere, even your own head.
I could spend most of my review talking about this world because it’s so interesting and well thought-out and I loved the ideas, and how Hartog reworked them, creating new from the old.
*
Our characters come together to form a newly formed specialized crime unit:
Thomas Henry Holliday (Doc)feels like he’s going to be one of those gumshoes in a hardboiled detective story but just. Doc is lot more likeable, than most of the unredeemable types that usually come with the tag. He has a PHD in classic lit and occasionally spouts out quotes to fit the scene, and I very much liked his friendship with Leyla.
Because he has less of that self-destructive feel to him (at least now, his past is something of a different story) and obvious caring friendships with some of the peripheral cast, the story isn’t as bleak in tone and feels more hopeful than I would generally find in this genre. I liked that a lot.
Holliday has the Insight which is a type of magic, and when it decides to do its thing, it’s almost like a homing beacon directing him to the pertinent clues. Or it lets him see stuff that he really doesn’t want to- like fetch’s and other thing that aren’t seen with the naked eye.
Filling out the rest of the team -
Deacon Kole- the protector. A confederate that once worked for the church of Tribulation but had a falling out (I can see why with his personality). He has some pretty cool magic with his blessed oak baton but a lot of the times I forgot about him being there.
Besim Saranda- A Vellan consultant and popular musician. Her race was on the verge of extinction when the nexus opened gateways to their world, allowing them to take refuge from their dying planet on earth. She is going against her caste and their beliefs, by helping the police with their investigation and comes across as a little uptight.
Leyla- The thief and hacker of the group. Street-smart and spunky, she has a magic talent that allows her to make things very cold. I liked her a lot, she added some fun to the mix. Keeping the jaded uptight pov’s of the others, from being too much.
And finally, EVI- who technically is an AI- a centralized virtual network that is everywhere, and anyone can use it. She is kind of a JARVIS idea but not sentient or that intuitive.
Holliday talks to her like she one of the team- similar to that love you show your old car when you’re trying to coax her to start on a cold day, and you grow a little attached to her because of it.
Mystery/plot-
The whodunit is twisty and complicated and boils down to motives we all know and understand, despite the weirdness of the crime. I won’t go into too many details but let me just say, that this world has enough fascinating stuff going on, that when vampires became one of the possibilities of the perpetrators to the crime, we don’t even blink an eye or feel that they don’t belong.
Bloodlines does a good job of catching that gloomy crime feel in a futuristic setting, while not pushing the envelope too far- letting it be a little more hopeful, colourful and fun. I enjoyed the story and especially the world. There is a lot of room for new and exciting crimes, and our team’s pasts, have only just been brushed upon, giving lots of room for them grow, and the mysteries within them to be expanded on.
It’s beautiful and looks amazing on my bookshelf!
Thank you so much to Peter Hartog (and storytellers), apologies for the huge delay in getting to this review.
*
Ok, so this was super fun!
I love detective stories, especially when they do something a little different. This borrows a little from noir, and a bit from sci-fi/cyberpunk with a touch of fantasy, and well you get the picture. It’s a here and there, of a host of different genres. Taking the stuff that works and grafting it together with a lot other fun ideas, making Bloodlines into something fresh and exciting.
World-
It’s a really cool future our world, that feels a little crowded at first, with all the goodies. But because the stuff we recognize does some of the heavy-lifting; it’s easy to understand and follow.
Nuclear war has changed the landscape, and lowered the population down to just a few enclaves – one of which is Empire City (where this story takes place), and made it possible for the advancements that we see in the story; like cleaner energy, parallel worlds, and AI advancements- including implants that let you download information to just about anywhere, even your own head.
I could spend most of my review talking about this world because it’s so interesting and well thought-out and I loved the ideas, and how Hartog reworked them, creating new from the old.
*
Our characters come together to form a newly formed specialized crime unit:
Thomas Henry Holliday (Doc)feels like he’s going to be one of those gumshoes in a hardboiled detective story but just. Doc is lot more likeable, than most of the unredeemable types that usually come with the tag. He has a PHD in classic lit and occasionally spouts out quotes to fit the scene, and I very much liked his friendship with Leyla.
Because he has less of that self-destructive feel to him (at least now, his past is something of a different story) and obvious caring friendships with some of the peripheral cast, the story isn’t as bleak in tone and feels more hopeful than I would generally find in this genre. I liked that a lot.
Holliday has the Insight which is a type of magic, and when it decides to do its thing, it’s almost like a homing beacon directing him to the pertinent clues. Or it lets him see stuff that he really doesn’t want to- like fetch’s and other thing that aren’t seen with the naked eye.
Filling out the rest of the team -
Deacon Kole- the protector. A confederate that once worked for the church of Tribulation but had a falling out (I can see why with his personality). He has some pretty cool magic with his blessed oak baton but a lot of the times I forgot about him being there.
Besim Saranda- A Vellan consultant and popular musician. Her race was on the verge of extinction when the nexus opened gateways to their world, allowing them to take refuge from their dying planet on earth. She is going against her caste and their beliefs, by helping the police with their investigation and comes across as a little uptight.
Leyla- The thief and hacker of the group. Street-smart and spunky, she has a magic talent that allows her to make things very cold. I liked her a lot, she added some fun to the mix. Keeping the jaded uptight pov’s of the others, from being too much.
And finally, EVI- who technically is an AI- a centralized virtual network that is everywhere, and anyone can use it. She is kind of a JARVIS idea but not sentient or that intuitive.
Holliday talks to her like she one of the team- similar to that love you show your old car when you’re trying to coax her to start on a cold day, and you grow a little attached to her because of it.
Mystery/plot-
The whodunit is twisty and complicated and boils down to motives we all know and understand, despite the weirdness of the crime. I won’t go into too many details but let me just say, that this world has enough fascinating stuff going on, that when vampires became one of the possibilities of the perpetrators to the crime, we don’t even blink an eye or feel that they don’t belong.
Bloodlines does a good job of catching that gloomy crime feel in a futuristic setting, while not pushing the envelope too far- letting it be a little more hopeful, colourful and fun. I enjoyed the story and especially the world. There is a lot of room for new and exciting crimes, and our team’s pasts, have only just been brushed upon, giving lots of room for them grow, and the mysteries within them to be expanded on.
November 12, 2021
fun book.. crime thriller/murder mystery/fantasy/sci-fi all rolled into 1. the story has a solid plot, good characters...although I wish there was a little more explaining about the MC's past, but this is a minor thing because his past was explained I just personally would have liked more. I'm now a fan of the author and this series and I am
really looking forward to book 2.
really looking forward to book 2.
October 1, 2022
Doc Holliday meets the supernatural world.
I really enjoyed this murder mystery, sci-fi, thriller. It was fun, had interesting characters, a sense of humor, and a unique perspective on supernatural. I highly recommend.
I really enjoyed this murder mystery, sci-fi, thriller. It was fun, had interesting characters, a sense of humor, and a unique perspective on supernatural. I highly recommend.
June 10, 2021
An urban fantasy at its core, Bloodlines is going to get the inevitable comparisons to Dresden Files, and in the end they do share a lot of similarities. However, I think that Bloodlines brings enough to the table to set itself apart from Dresden and carve its own mark in the genre.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Bloodlines takes place in an imagined future where nuclear war and disease has left humanity reeling and has pushed it into a few hospitable zones — megacities called enclaves. Of the few enclaves in the world the only one we see is Empire City, the enclave in which the story takes place. Empire City is a future, cyberpunk version of New York City. I think that Hartog did a great job of introducing us to the setting and slowly trickling the worldbuilding details in over the course of the whole novel. Empire City feels both gritty and dirty, while still maintaining a sense of wonder and awe. Because of this Hartog can play with the increased wealth gap in interesting ways by juxtaposing the futuristic high-rises with the old city underneath. Honestly, the amount of things that Hartog manages to fit into Bloodlines without it becoming too much is kind of impressive. We have magic, aliens, and vampires in a futuristic, cyberpunk setting all added into this one story and it never feels bloated.
I won’t go into too much detail concerning the plot, but Bloodlines follows Tom “Doc” Holliday, a former homicide detective who has had quite the fall from grace. Nowadays, Holliday finds himself a disgraced cop burdened by scandal and past regrets. When he’s given the chance to somewhat redeem himself (even if only in his own eyes), he takes it and joins the newly created Special Crimes Unit, a police unit created to battle supernatural threats rather than mundane ones. Along the way, he joins up with an ex-Protector (a type of religious lawman) from the Confederate States of Birmingham, a young hacker who not only has some control over ice, but also harbors a darkness of her own, and a Vellan woman. The Vellan are the aliens I mentioned before, although technically they’re a race of extra-dimensional humanoids that came through rifts created in the aftermath of nuclear war and have now settled in enclaves of their own.
No matter what century you live in, the world will always be filled with assholes.
The writing throughout was really solid and Hartog manages to deftly weave clues in and out of the plot. I was constantly left guessing and the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat. I did feel that Hartog could be a little overly descriptive at times, describing in detail the room that they just walking into and such, but that’s a very small complaint. Overall, his prose was evocative and beautiful, while not overly complex. I have to mention Holliday’s voice, as well. We are told this story through Holliday’s first-person point of voice and Hartog does a fantastic job establishing the internal voice of the main character. He’s snarky and worn down and even a bit cynical and that comes through wonderfully. The fact that the characterization for everyone else is also done really well is further testament to the author’s skill.
For this to be his debut, I am really impressed with the level of writing that is on display. Hartog manages to navigate a complex murder mystery plot, while adding in loads of worldbuilding and character development. Each of the characters have their own demons (maybe literally?) that they have to face and watching the team come together and learn to respect each other, albeit sometimes grudgingly, was really satisfying. All in all, I thought Bloodlines was wonderful and I can’t wait for Holliday’s next case.
There was no rest of the weary, or the wicked. Besides, rest was for quitters.
And I had a job to do.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Bloodlines takes place in an imagined future where nuclear war and disease has left humanity reeling and has pushed it into a few hospitable zones — megacities called enclaves. Of the few enclaves in the world the only one we see is Empire City, the enclave in which the story takes place. Empire City is a future, cyberpunk version of New York City. I think that Hartog did a great job of introducing us to the setting and slowly trickling the worldbuilding details in over the course of the whole novel. Empire City feels both gritty and dirty, while still maintaining a sense of wonder and awe. Because of this Hartog can play with the increased wealth gap in interesting ways by juxtaposing the futuristic high-rises with the old city underneath. Honestly, the amount of things that Hartog manages to fit into Bloodlines without it becoming too much is kind of impressive. We have magic, aliens, and vampires in a futuristic, cyberpunk setting all added into this one story and it never feels bloated.
I won’t go into too much detail concerning the plot, but Bloodlines follows Tom “Doc” Holliday, a former homicide detective who has had quite the fall from grace. Nowadays, Holliday finds himself a disgraced cop burdened by scandal and past regrets. When he’s given the chance to somewhat redeem himself (even if only in his own eyes), he takes it and joins the newly created Special Crimes Unit, a police unit created to battle supernatural threats rather than mundane ones. Along the way, he joins up with an ex-Protector (a type of religious lawman) from the Confederate States of Birmingham, a young hacker who not only has some control over ice, but also harbors a darkness of her own, and a Vellan woman. The Vellan are the aliens I mentioned before, although technically they’re a race of extra-dimensional humanoids that came through rifts created in the aftermath of nuclear war and have now settled in enclaves of their own.
No matter what century you live in, the world will always be filled with assholes.
The writing throughout was really solid and Hartog manages to deftly weave clues in and out of the plot. I was constantly left guessing and the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat. I did feel that Hartog could be a little overly descriptive at times, describing in detail the room that they just walking into and such, but that’s a very small complaint. Overall, his prose was evocative and beautiful, while not overly complex. I have to mention Holliday’s voice, as well. We are told this story through Holliday’s first-person point of voice and Hartog does a fantastic job establishing the internal voice of the main character. He’s snarky and worn down and even a bit cynical and that comes through wonderfully. The fact that the characterization for everyone else is also done really well is further testament to the author’s skill.
For this to be his debut, I am really impressed with the level of writing that is on display. Hartog manages to navigate a complex murder mystery plot, while adding in loads of worldbuilding and character development. Each of the characters have their own demons (maybe literally?) that they have to face and watching the team come together and learn to respect each other, albeit sometimes grudgingly, was really satisfying. All in all, I thought Bloodlines was wonderful and I can’t wait for Holliday’s next case.
There was no rest of the weary, or the wicked. Besides, rest was for quitters.
And I had a job to do.
January 3, 2022
The year is two thousand tickity twelve, okay I don’t know for certain what year it is but there are sci-fi-ey transit pods and Gen Xers are still pulling a paycheque, so sometime around that era. Nuclear war has bombed the Earth halfway into the next genre in this thriller mystery where the coffee-slinging and grizzled detective with the haunted past and the strange gifts has to solve a ghastly murder and blow the lid off a shadow conspiracy that goes all the way to the top. Or, you know, all the way somewhere pretty high. I won’t spoil it. Also there’s another dimension where magic creatures come from so it might go all the way to the top over there. Have to read more to find out.
Bloodlines has a beyond-ambitious sub-genre mashup checklist that reads like Meredith Brooks lyrics. It’s a noir. It’s a Bladerunner. It’s a grizzled lone wolf cop buddy journey. It’s an urban fantasy. It’s a sci-fi neovampire horror. It’s a corporate espiothriller. It’s a Prophesied Reborn Chosen One Battle Through The Ages backflip with surreal pike. And since the main character is nicknamed Doc Holliday, it’s also slightly a Western somehow. It was so much.
Still, with such an ambitious and crowded framework, the story itself keeps rolling along and the action and assorted character-driven scenes work nicely. You can tell when an author has just made up a dumb world and gone “yeah, it’s like this movie and this movie and this book and this comic, all mixed together,” and then tried to make a story in it. And you can tell when an author knows the world and is just showing you a bit of it. Hartog’s that second one.
The pages turn good and easy. A murder mystery stretched over worldbuilding of this scale is a joy to read, pure and simple. As I’ve said before, I’m the sort of reader who would just happily meander through five hundred pages of normal detective procedural through the streets of Fae York (not the city’s real name but it should have been) without needing any sort of plot to keep him entertained, so the plot here was just gravy.
Yeah. Good action, distinctive characters, great scenery and interaction. I could see the city. The dialogue was a bit cheesy but that cheese felt more like Hartog was leaning into the cop drama trope and quite intentionally giving Holliday and his equally grizzled former beat-Paladin Deacon a very distinct and familiar set of gruff, no-bullshit conversational cues. It was a little difficult to trace where exactly their relationship stood at any given time because, although they did come to trust and even like each other more and more in true buddy cop style through the story, each scene had to be taken separately and they could be exchanging quips or snarling at each other like junkyard dogs depending on how grumpy Deacon was or when Holliday had last had a coffee. Again, this felt intentional more than accidental, and if it was jarring or grating occasionally I feel it’s no more than a reader deserves when they know the sort of story they’ve picked up. Oh, they were almost friends in the last scene and now they’re at each other’s throats again? What’re you gonna do? Cry? You gonna cry?
Ahem.
So as I was saying, Holliday was very old school noir detective, if you like that sort of thing. He didn’t quite narrate to us that he knew the Vellan in the makeup was bad news the second she walked in, but he could have said it and I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid.
As to the plot itself … well, I’ll just go back to my default it was so much. The twists and turns were dizzying, but from scene to scene and revelation to revelation it all sort of hangs together. The whole thing becomes almost impossibly complex as the world Hartog has created weaves itself into the case and vice versa, making it convoluted beyond belief, but then he pulls a thread and it unfolds into a remarkably simple outcome. Just ride it through to the end, is my advice. It is a noir detective whodunnit in the end, but getting there is a fucking journey.
Sex-o-meter
Holliday and Besim almost have a thing at some point there but it may just be an over-interpretation of the careful tabs Holliday keeps on her hair and makeup and overall looks. To be fair, her whole deal is sort of extraordinary and that, too, is justified by the end. All in all, our characters have more important things to worry about than getting nasty, which is fine – there’s no obligation or requirement as far as I’m concerned. Not in a gritty-dystopian-cyber-noir-fae-futurist-murder-mystery. By the time you’ve said the name of the sub-genre, it’s time for a cigarette. Bloodlines gets a Twilight series out of a possible Fifty Shades of Grey series on the sex-o-meter.
Gore-o-meter
Two-and-a-half flesh-gobbets out of a possible five here. There’s a certain amount of violence, some excellent hand-to-hand fights and shoot-outs, and of course the grisly murder that starts it all off and the additional murders that keep it rolling along. They’re not super gory or upsetting, but we do also have some really nice and visceral surrealist second-layer body horror and stuff going on with Holliday’s Insight that I feel elevates the story from a mob drama procedural with exsanguination to something a bit more special.
WTF-o-meter
Since I’ve already rhapsodised about the sub-genre and worldbuilding extensively here, and mentioned some of the more surreal elements of character and plot, I guess it’s a foregone conclusion that this book scores quite admirably on the WTF-o-meter. I’m looking at the dial and seeing that it’s clocked in at somewhere in the region of a hard-boiled flatfoot out of a possible delicately-sautéed Proudfoot. But that’s still somehow a quite high rating. Go figure.
My Final Verdict
I had a lot of fun reading this even though it took me a surprisingly long time. There was, and I say it again, just so much. And that can be hard work to get through. Detective pulp, easy. Urban fantasy cheese, no problem. Dystopian cyberpunk schlock, give me a challenge next time. Putting it all together gave my eyeballs indigestion. Four stars, for the sheer balls of it. A star for each ball. Bloodlines has disturbingly crowded pants and sits funny on barstools. Don’t stare, it’s rude.
Bloodlines has a beyond-ambitious sub-genre mashup checklist that reads like Meredith Brooks lyrics. It’s a noir. It’s a Bladerunner. It’s a grizzled lone wolf cop buddy journey. It’s an urban fantasy. It’s a sci-fi neovampire horror. It’s a corporate espiothriller. It’s a Prophesied Reborn Chosen One Battle Through The Ages backflip with surreal pike. And since the main character is nicknamed Doc Holliday, it’s also slightly a Western somehow. It was so much.
Still, with such an ambitious and crowded framework, the story itself keeps rolling along and the action and assorted character-driven scenes work nicely. You can tell when an author has just made up a dumb world and gone “yeah, it’s like this movie and this movie and this book and this comic, all mixed together,” and then tried to make a story in it. And you can tell when an author knows the world and is just showing you a bit of it. Hartog’s that second one.
The pages turn good and easy. A murder mystery stretched over worldbuilding of this scale is a joy to read, pure and simple. As I’ve said before, I’m the sort of reader who would just happily meander through five hundred pages of normal detective procedural through the streets of Fae York (not the city’s real name but it should have been) without needing any sort of plot to keep him entertained, so the plot here was just gravy.
Yeah. Good action, distinctive characters, great scenery and interaction. I could see the city. The dialogue was a bit cheesy but that cheese felt more like Hartog was leaning into the cop drama trope and quite intentionally giving Holliday and his equally grizzled former beat-Paladin Deacon a very distinct and familiar set of gruff, no-bullshit conversational cues. It was a little difficult to trace where exactly their relationship stood at any given time because, although they did come to trust and even like each other more and more in true buddy cop style through the story, each scene had to be taken separately and they could be exchanging quips or snarling at each other like junkyard dogs depending on how grumpy Deacon was or when Holliday had last had a coffee. Again, this felt intentional more than accidental, and if it was jarring or grating occasionally I feel it’s no more than a reader deserves when they know the sort of story they’ve picked up. Oh, they were almost friends in the last scene and now they’re at each other’s throats again? What’re you gonna do? Cry? You gonna cry?
Ahem.
So as I was saying, Holliday was very old school noir detective, if you like that sort of thing. He didn’t quite narrate to us that he knew the Vellan in the makeup was bad news the second she walked in, but he could have said it and I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid.
As to the plot itself … well, I’ll just go back to my default it was so much. The twists and turns were dizzying, but from scene to scene and revelation to revelation it all sort of hangs together. The whole thing becomes almost impossibly complex as the world Hartog has created weaves itself into the case and vice versa, making it convoluted beyond belief, but then he pulls a thread and it unfolds into a remarkably simple outcome. Just ride it through to the end, is my advice. It is a noir detective whodunnit in the end, but getting there is a fucking journey.
Sex-o-meter
Holliday and Besim almost have a thing at some point there but it may just be an over-interpretation of the careful tabs Holliday keeps on her hair and makeup and overall looks. To be fair, her whole deal is sort of extraordinary and that, too, is justified by the end. All in all, our characters have more important things to worry about than getting nasty, which is fine – there’s no obligation or requirement as far as I’m concerned. Not in a gritty-dystopian-cyber-noir-fae-futurist-murder-mystery. By the time you’ve said the name of the sub-genre, it’s time for a cigarette. Bloodlines gets a Twilight series out of a possible Fifty Shades of Grey series on the sex-o-meter.
Gore-o-meter
Two-and-a-half flesh-gobbets out of a possible five here. There’s a certain amount of violence, some excellent hand-to-hand fights and shoot-outs, and of course the grisly murder that starts it all off and the additional murders that keep it rolling along. They’re not super gory or upsetting, but we do also have some really nice and visceral surrealist second-layer body horror and stuff going on with Holliday’s Insight that I feel elevates the story from a mob drama procedural with exsanguination to something a bit more special.
WTF-o-meter
Since I’ve already rhapsodised about the sub-genre and worldbuilding extensively here, and mentioned some of the more surreal elements of character and plot, I guess it’s a foregone conclusion that this book scores quite admirably on the WTF-o-meter. I’m looking at the dial and seeing that it’s clocked in at somewhere in the region of a hard-boiled flatfoot out of a possible delicately-sautéed Proudfoot. But that’s still somehow a quite high rating. Go figure.
My Final Verdict
I had a lot of fun reading this even though it took me a surprisingly long time. There was, and I say it again, just so much. And that can be hard work to get through. Detective pulp, easy. Urban fantasy cheese, no problem. Dystopian cyberpunk schlock, give me a challenge next time. Putting it all together gave my eyeballs indigestion. Four stars, for the sheer balls of it. A star for each ball. Bloodlines has disturbingly crowded pants and sits funny on barstools. Don’t stare, it’s rude.
September 2, 2018
This is Peter Hartog's first novel, and looks to be the start of a new series. The story blends several genres - urban fantasy, detective, thriller, and some very light police procedural - with humor and a solid cast of eclectic characters. The little references to 80s pop culture strewn throughout the book are fun and well-timed. Tom Holliday is a believable, everyman hero struggling to cope with his past while he tries to solve the case. Hartog's use of setting descriptions and his characters' dialogue are rich and full of energy. The story itself is a steady build-up toward a variety of payoffs that left me wanting Special Crimes to take on the next case!
September 6, 2021
Great beginning to what promises to be a terrific series! I expected a lot from this book, and it delivered—BIGTIME! Hartog took on a seemingly impossible task, mashing up futuristic sci fi, cyberpunk, aliens, urban fantasy, and hardboiled crime fiction, and he pulls it off so seamlessly that you barely notice the genres crossing. The secret lies in intriguing characters (Deacon is my favorite) and good old-fashioned compelling storytelling. I’m diving right into Book Two and hoping for more soon!
September 3, 2018
I really enjoyed reading this entertaining and especially well-written mystery. At times you’re on the edge of your seat, and at others, you’re chuckling at some of the author’s/characters’ dry wit. It’s a worthwhile read to check out this syfy detective adventure. I’m very eager to see how the story continues.
September 4, 2018
A fun read. Believable but flawed characters. Good action sequences and enough mystery to keep me engaged until the end. Highly recommended for fans of the dystopian and urban fantasy crime stories.
November 22, 2021
"No matter what century you live in, the world will always be filled with assholes."
That's the first sentence folks! And just like that, I was captured, having taken the bait hook, line and sinker!
5 stars without question! What a tale and great start to this series! If your idea of a cool book involves demons, vampires, magic, witches, aliens, post-nuclear war dystopia/utopia, corporate espionage and intrique among a score of other cool pieces of an elaborately and thrillingly executed puzzle of a story, then this is definitely for you! I know I definitely found Peter Hartog's "Bloodlines" incredibly readable, immensely quotable and truly immersive in terms of its imagery and more!
2021 has really been my year for rediscovering a love of all things fantasy related - noting I haven't sacrificed my usual addictions for horror, action-adventure, space opera, superhero shenanigans or any of my other usual genre suspects at all! And this book was no exception to that trend. Now if you're one of those folks that needs me to compare this book to someone else's out there well, um, sorry? I'm sure there will be the inevitable "Harry Dresden" nods floating about out there but (a) I doubt it was really like that, not with the motley crew we follow around and (b) well, I've never read "The Dresden Files" books so I can't really comment. Awkward that, huh?
What I can say is that this was really a very, VERY unique adventure that started off all nice and noir-y - perhaps in my most recent reading list something akin to Douglas Lumsden's delicious 'Alexander Southerland' series (new book in December, he squeed!) - but then took a sharp turn at 44th and Spooky Horror Avenue about half-way through! Wowzers, I did not see that twist coming at all and we've only been treated to the briefest glimpses into what may or may not be in store for mankind. I'll say this: it doesn't look all that good even with what seems to be an impressive team of good guys on our side! But as we're building to the crescendo of this particular event, there's some serious kick-ass (and other body parts, too) to be had along with enough mysteries, conundrums and just plain weirdness to again satisfy just about anyone!
I really liked the cadence of Hartog's writing, which as I mentioned before comes with some lovely quotable bits as well as, err, bits he quotes, too! Any time I can click on the vocabulary assistant on my Kindle is a thrill to me but the author thankfully makes it all blend into the text as slickly as a soppy wet sidewalk in Empire City (which I can vouch for having spent the end of a very rainy October in NYC some years ago)! I also enjoyed how we would 'hear' of some new aspect of this world - you know, for example, "oh by the way, everything runs on alien magic power now" - and then a very natural, almost organic explanation would follow. But again, there's never a feeling of interference or interuption in the flow of the story, which I read like a goldjoy junkie feeling like each word was full of pure ecstasy. Um, let me change that last word to bliss instead so we can get away from the drug references, ok? Or is that one, too? Oh well, good sippin' bourbon, let's leave it at that!
I know I can't wait to start the second book bright and early tomorrow! This is good stuff and again, my humble thanks to the author for the promotional offer to convince me to get started on these first 2 chapters! I leave you with a quote that will be making it's way into my wee notebook filled with same. Again, just loved this style and the elegance of same!
"The void didn’t answer. It yawned deep and dark and endless. It held secrets, too far to plumb, and answers, too opaque to see. The void mocked me with its silence, my broken heart and fractured soul seeking surcease and finding none."
Enjoy!
That's the first sentence folks! And just like that, I was captured, having taken the bait hook, line and sinker!
5 stars without question! What a tale and great start to this series! If your idea of a cool book involves demons, vampires, magic, witches, aliens, post-nuclear war dystopia/utopia, corporate espionage and intrique among a score of other cool pieces of an elaborately and thrillingly executed puzzle of a story, then this is definitely for you! I know I definitely found Peter Hartog's "Bloodlines" incredibly readable, immensely quotable and truly immersive in terms of its imagery and more!
2021 has really been my year for rediscovering a love of all things fantasy related - noting I haven't sacrificed my usual addictions for horror, action-adventure, space opera, superhero shenanigans or any of my other usual genre suspects at all! And this book was no exception to that trend. Now if you're one of those folks that needs me to compare this book to someone else's out there well, um, sorry? I'm sure there will be the inevitable "Harry Dresden" nods floating about out there but (a) I doubt it was really like that, not with the motley crew we follow around and (b) well, I've never read "The Dresden Files" books so I can't really comment. Awkward that, huh?
What I can say is that this was really a very, VERY unique adventure that started off all nice and noir-y - perhaps in my most recent reading list something akin to Douglas Lumsden's delicious 'Alexander Southerland' series (new book in December, he squeed!) - but then took a sharp turn at 44th and Spooky Horror Avenue about half-way through! Wowzers, I did not see that twist coming at all and we've only been treated to the briefest glimpses into what may or may not be in store for mankind. I'll say this: it doesn't look all that good even with what seems to be an impressive team of good guys on our side! But as we're building to the crescendo of this particular event, there's some serious kick-ass (and other body parts, too) to be had along with enough mysteries, conundrums and just plain weirdness to again satisfy just about anyone!
I really liked the cadence of Hartog's writing, which as I mentioned before comes with some lovely quotable bits as well as, err, bits he quotes, too! Any time I can click on the vocabulary assistant on my Kindle is a thrill to me but the author thankfully makes it all blend into the text as slickly as a soppy wet sidewalk in Empire City (which I can vouch for having spent the end of a very rainy October in NYC some years ago)! I also enjoyed how we would 'hear' of some new aspect of this world - you know, for example, "oh by the way, everything runs on alien magic power now" - and then a very natural, almost organic explanation would follow. But again, there's never a feeling of interference or interuption in the flow of the story, which I read like a goldjoy junkie feeling like each word was full of pure ecstasy. Um, let me change that last word to bliss instead so we can get away from the drug references, ok? Or is that one, too? Oh well, good sippin' bourbon, let's leave it at that!
I know I can't wait to start the second book bright and early tomorrow! This is good stuff and again, my humble thanks to the author for the promotional offer to convince me to get started on these first 2 chapters! I leave you with a quote that will be making it's way into my wee notebook filled with same. Again, just loved this style and the elegance of same!
"The void didn’t answer. It yawned deep and dark and endless. It held secrets, too far to plumb, and answers, too opaque to see. The void mocked me with its silence, my broken heart and fractured soul seeking surcease and finding none."
Enjoy!
April 23, 2021
Bloodlines is a fantastic book to read with a coffee and listening to a TV soundtrack like the Expanse. Set in a futuristic Cyberpunk style of New York, it has everything that the reader would want. A gritty murder case set to reveal a disturbing truth, gangsters and vampires. I’ve played a lot of sci-fi and dystopian video games. The Outer Worlds for one. Cyberpunk 2077. Deus Ex Human Revolution. Every element of this book brings me to that moment. Augmentation. The next evolution in human culture. Bio-engineered Vampires? Or something else? All of these themes are present within this novel. This is a society where cruelty and greed triumph over the greater good in the world that Detective Holliday lives in.
There are many interesting and colorful characters within the book. The world-building is well done and gives a unique perspective on how the normal world came to be this different universe that is different. Nuclear War? Check. Interdimensional Aliens called the Vellans interacting with humanity? Check. Aliens doing weird stuff with Humans? Check. There are tons of moments where we’ll be in a night-bar, posh hotels, street alleyways as Holliday tries to navigate this case. He’s recruited of course by the Special Crime Unit, and bands up with Leyla, a unique character on her own whose backstory I won’t spoil. She’s an efficient hacker, a strong lady full of her own opinions, and is almost a daughter-like figure for Holliday. There’s a Confederate character, whose name is Deacon and well he’s the religious type. They all discover deeply disturbing truths. The book says what it does on the tin. You will be shocked, surprised, and even sometimes mind-boggled with the number of revelations this book offers you. I did not like the character of Besim, even though she is a Vellan helping Holliday out in this case, she’s ruthless and is manipulative.
This novel feels like an open-world sci-fi video game. It could do very well as a tabletop campaign if it was ever made into one. There is so much to uncover in this story. I will say this, Holliday is like Detective Miller from the Expanse. Very similar in terms of what they have to face. I just find it like that as a comparison. There’s a lot of influence from other sci-fi novels. One of the criticisms I have of this novel is that sometimes the world-building can get in too much. For example, in several scenes, we seemed to be visiting night-bars too often. Some scenes did drag, and some weren’t needed. Apart from that, the prose was readable and smooth, easy enough for a reader to get engaged in the story. I also felt that the pacing to the climax felt a little stretched. Some scenes could have been shortened as well. However, for a self-published novel, this is a fantastic read.
I give this an 8/10. Well worth your time!
There are many interesting and colorful characters within the book. The world-building is well done and gives a unique perspective on how the normal world came to be this different universe that is different. Nuclear War? Check. Interdimensional Aliens called the Vellans interacting with humanity? Check. Aliens doing weird stuff with Humans? Check. There are tons of moments where we’ll be in a night-bar, posh hotels, street alleyways as Holliday tries to navigate this case. He’s recruited of course by the Special Crime Unit, and bands up with Leyla, a unique character on her own whose backstory I won’t spoil. She’s an efficient hacker, a strong lady full of her own opinions, and is almost a daughter-like figure for Holliday. There’s a Confederate character, whose name is Deacon and well he’s the religious type. They all discover deeply disturbing truths. The book says what it does on the tin. You will be shocked, surprised, and even sometimes mind-boggled with the number of revelations this book offers you. I did not like the character of Besim, even though she is a Vellan helping Holliday out in this case, she’s ruthless and is manipulative.
This novel feels like an open-world sci-fi video game. It could do very well as a tabletop campaign if it was ever made into one. There is so much to uncover in this story. I will say this, Holliday is like Detective Miller from the Expanse. Very similar in terms of what they have to face. I just find it like that as a comparison. There’s a lot of influence from other sci-fi novels. One of the criticisms I have of this novel is that sometimes the world-building can get in too much. For example, in several scenes, we seemed to be visiting night-bars too often. Some scenes did drag, and some weren’t needed. Apart from that, the prose was readable and smooth, easy enough for a reader to get engaged in the story. I also felt that the pacing to the climax felt a little stretched. Some scenes could have been shortened as well. However, for a self-published novel, this is a fantastic read.
I give this an 8/10. Well worth your time!
February 9, 2023
Quintessential Supernatural Neo-Noir
The Nukes changed everything. They laid waste to swaths of the population, they tore through the fabric of reality, phase-shifting nodes of magical energy into existence from another dimension, and with them came an intelligent alien race called Vellans. But that was a long time ago.
Detective Tom "Doc" Holliday is a cop in Empire City, one of Earth's remaining habitable enclaves - huge cities filled with skyscrapers of spellforged steel along with the relic architecture of the world before. He's a recovering addict with a secret psychic gift that just landed him a spot on a newly formed special police unit, and his first case is an unusual murder: a woman found dead without a drop of blood left in her body. The eyewitnesses, hopped up on designer drugs, say a vampire killed her, but Holliday isn't sure what to believe. He's seen some strange and ghoulish things ever since a brush with death unlocked his uncanny ability, but never a monster right out of the pages of fiction - and Holliday knows his English Lit.
What follows is a winding mystery full of dark secrets and powerful people for whom bodies are an expendable resource - a quintessentially neo-noir theme.
Holliday is a wry protagonist who gives us such gems as: “I live by a few simple rules, one of which is when someone offers you coffee, you say yes.” And, “The media had their uses, but our relationship was like divorced parents with shared custody of the kids and lots of acrimony.” But he's not as tough as he lets on. He cares deeply about the people around him and about solving this case and stopping the perpetrators one way or another so that nothing like what he finds will ever happens again.
The Special Crimes team that assembles around Holliday is equal parts plucky, charming, rough-around-the-edges, and alien, and everyone has their secrets. They bandy theories on the case, volley insults, grit their teeth and get through the hard moments with gallows humor, and even sometimes offer a shoulder to cry on. The comradery of the group was the heart of the novel for me. Each voice was distinct, and each character was distinctly interesting. By the end of the story, I felt I knew them well and wanted to keep spending time with them. Lucky for me there's already another novel in the series.
Hartog's writing shines when bringing Empire City to life and during the action set-pieces of Bloodlines. The mystery that kicks off the case was uniquely interesting and reminded me of something out of X-Files (one of my favorite shows). The supernatural elements of the story, including a certain descent into darkness, were just the kind of thing I love reading about. Even at its darkest, the writing is never gruesome or exploitative. The story and the characters lead.
I'm eager to see more of the strange, supernatural future bubbling in the maze of Empire City with Tom Holliday as my guide, and excited to find a talented new author in Peter Hartog.
The Nukes changed everything. They laid waste to swaths of the population, they tore through the fabric of reality, phase-shifting nodes of magical energy into existence from another dimension, and with them came an intelligent alien race called Vellans. But that was a long time ago.
Detective Tom "Doc" Holliday is a cop in Empire City, one of Earth's remaining habitable enclaves - huge cities filled with skyscrapers of spellforged steel along with the relic architecture of the world before. He's a recovering addict with a secret psychic gift that just landed him a spot on a newly formed special police unit, and his first case is an unusual murder: a woman found dead without a drop of blood left in her body. The eyewitnesses, hopped up on designer drugs, say a vampire killed her, but Holliday isn't sure what to believe. He's seen some strange and ghoulish things ever since a brush with death unlocked his uncanny ability, but never a monster right out of the pages of fiction - and Holliday knows his English Lit.
What follows is a winding mystery full of dark secrets and powerful people for whom bodies are an expendable resource - a quintessentially neo-noir theme.
Holliday is a wry protagonist who gives us such gems as: “I live by a few simple rules, one of which is when someone offers you coffee, you say yes.” And, “The media had their uses, but our relationship was like divorced parents with shared custody of the kids and lots of acrimony.” But he's not as tough as he lets on. He cares deeply about the people around him and about solving this case and stopping the perpetrators one way or another so that nothing like what he finds will ever happens again.
The Special Crimes team that assembles around Holliday is equal parts plucky, charming, rough-around-the-edges, and alien, and everyone has their secrets. They bandy theories on the case, volley insults, grit their teeth and get through the hard moments with gallows humor, and even sometimes offer a shoulder to cry on. The comradery of the group was the heart of the novel for me. Each voice was distinct, and each character was distinctly interesting. By the end of the story, I felt I knew them well and wanted to keep spending time with them. Lucky for me there's already another novel in the series.
Hartog's writing shines when bringing Empire City to life and during the action set-pieces of Bloodlines. The mystery that kicks off the case was uniquely interesting and reminded me of something out of X-Files (one of my favorite shows). The supernatural elements of the story, including a certain descent into darkness, were just the kind of thing I love reading about. Even at its darkest, the writing is never gruesome or exploitative. The story and the characters lead.
I'm eager to see more of the strange, supernatural future bubbling in the maze of Empire City with Tom Holliday as my guide, and excited to find a talented new author in Peter Hartog.
April 20, 2021
A world of aliens, enhanced humans, vampires, robots, AI... the list goes on. This book has all the wow factor you need. An absolute well written thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat 💺 through out the read.
A great read that crossed all my expectations and delivered me an unexpected whirlwind of suspense and thrill. Just wow. I can't even choose a fav character or a fav part from the book. This is the very first time I'm reading a book like this, there's so much in it. Right when you get used to the enhanced humans and AI, you get aliens 👽 and when you think that's all, here comes vampires. Every character has their own dark past and when they all comes together it's one hell of wild ride. Boom💥
A great read that crossed all my expectations and delivered me an unexpected whirlwind of suspense and thrill. Just wow. I can't even choose a fav character or a fav part from the book. This is the very first time I'm reading a book like this, there's so much in it. Right when you get used to the enhanced humans and AI, you get aliens 👽 and when you think that's all, here comes vampires. Every character has their own dark past and when they all comes together it's one hell of wild ride. Boom💥
February 1, 2023
Bloodlines is an urban sci-fi fantasy mystery, which is not a genre I typically go for, but I thought it was fun for what it was! It is set in a world with an alternate history to ours and features a main character investigating a murder. While the main character himself wasn’t a favorite, I did think the interactions between the group of people working on this mystery were interesting! There were lots of twists and turns along the way and it definitely left some things open for the sequel.
November 18, 2021
This is a highly enjoyable, well written crime story set in beautifully imagined future. The descriptions brought to my mind a BladeRunner-esque city. The characters are well formed and the story is exciting and thrilling, mixing elements of your typical detective story with futuristic tech, fantasy, magic, and the supernatural.
A great read!
A great read!
Read
April 5, 2024RTC
August 31, 2024
The cat told me
April 28, 2023
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For more reviews, go to: https://wolfmantula.com/recent-posts/
MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.5/5
FORMAT: Kindle Whispersync
I had planned reading this in 2022 but I wasn’t able to get to it, so I made it a mission to read it in 2023. Mission accomplished! I’ve heard a few people say that this has a lot of parallels to The Dresden Files, since I actually haven’t read those yet, I can’t make that comparison. But what I can say is that this reminds me of films such as: RIPD, Constantine, Blade Runner 2049, and even a little of Men in Black. These are a bit different from each other because Bloodlines is an amalgamation of genres perfectly blended together. It’s a first person, neo-noir detective story in an urban fantasy setting with futuristic elements, and traces of sci-fi and fantasy with magic, enhanced humans, aliens, vampires… and even a little bit of Shakespeare dropped. You may be saying that it seems like a lot, but it doesn’t feel convoluted whatsoever!
Bloodlines is a suspenseful ride that takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, where nuclear war has left humanity in multiple enclaves. Empire City, where the story takes place, is a cyberpunk version of New York City, and just like NYC in all those noir type detective films, it has that grimy feel to it, while Hartog injects a bit hypnotic flavoring to it with his exquisite world-building. The story is filled with misdirection, once I thought I had it figured out, I was scratching my head at how I was lead astray. There are some truly tense moments that got my heart pounding and all excited to find out what will happen next as Doc and co tried to solve the crime.
“The bookstore was my sanctuary, a home away from home where I could flee into my imagination and forget life’s travails for a while.”
I found all of the characters to be very good and loveable, their development throughout the book was phenomenal as we are finding out about their history and watch how it motivates their actions. A character I instantly fell in love with, was Deacon. This is in part due to Todd Menesses narration making him sound a bit like Josh Brolin’s Jonah Hex and Jeff Bridges’ character from RIPD which because Deacon is an old confederate, it gave the him an even more old west, gunslinger vibe. The main character, Doc was very fun and fascinating and just kept getting more likeable as the story kept unfolding. His heavy NY accent and the constant “cwa-fee” pronunciation of coffee made me giggle. I also liked Besim and her mysteriousness that unfolds a little at a time.
It’s hard to believe that this is the debut novel for Mr. Hartog. If you didn’t know it ahead of time, you never would’ve guessed it going in. The story and the characters are so well written, and the misdirects that he works in flows so smoothly with the story that you never actually see them coming as misdirects or actual information being dropped. I’ll be looking very forward to book 2, Pieces of Eight, once the audio comes out an I can whispersync it. Gotta have that narration with it!
For more reviews, go to: https://wolfmantula.com/recent-posts/
MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.5/5
FORMAT: Kindle Whispersync
I had planned reading this in 2022 but I wasn’t able to get to it, so I made it a mission to read it in 2023. Mission accomplished! I’ve heard a few people say that this has a lot of parallels to The Dresden Files, since I actually haven’t read those yet, I can’t make that comparison. But what I can say is that this reminds me of films such as: RIPD, Constantine, Blade Runner 2049, and even a little of Men in Black. These are a bit different from each other because Bloodlines is an amalgamation of genres perfectly blended together. It’s a first person, neo-noir detective story in an urban fantasy setting with futuristic elements, and traces of sci-fi and fantasy with magic, enhanced humans, aliens, vampires… and even a little bit of Shakespeare dropped. You may be saying that it seems like a lot, but it doesn’t feel convoluted whatsoever!
Bloodlines is a suspenseful ride that takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, where nuclear war has left humanity in multiple enclaves. Empire City, where the story takes place, is a cyberpunk version of New York City, and just like NYC in all those noir type detective films, it has that grimy feel to it, while Hartog injects a bit hypnotic flavoring to it with his exquisite world-building. The story is filled with misdirection, once I thought I had it figured out, I was scratching my head at how I was lead astray. There are some truly tense moments that got my heart pounding and all excited to find out what will happen next as Doc and co tried to solve the crime.
“The bookstore was my sanctuary, a home away from home where I could flee into my imagination and forget life’s travails for a while.”
I found all of the characters to be very good and loveable, their development throughout the book was phenomenal as we are finding out about their history and watch how it motivates their actions. A character I instantly fell in love with, was Deacon. This is in part due to Todd Menesses narration making him sound a bit like Josh Brolin’s Jonah Hex and Jeff Bridges’ character from RIPD which because Deacon is an old confederate, it gave the him an even more old west, gunslinger vibe. The main character, Doc was very fun and fascinating and just kept getting more likeable as the story kept unfolding. His heavy NY accent and the constant “cwa-fee” pronunciation of coffee made me giggle. I also liked Besim and her mysteriousness that unfolds a little at a time.
It’s hard to believe that this is the debut novel for Mr. Hartog. If you didn’t know it ahead of time, you never would’ve guessed it going in. The story and the characters are so well written, and the misdirects that he works in flows so smoothly with the story that you never actually see them coming as misdirects or actual information being dropped. I’ll be looking very forward to book 2, Pieces of Eight, once the audio comes out an I can whispersync it. Gotta have that narration with it!
January 14, 2022
★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S BLOODLINES ABOUT?
Er, actually...this is the wrong place to start. Let's try this instead:
DESCRIBE THIS WORLD
This takes place in a futuristic world where human population/civilizations have been destroyed through a combination of "terrorist cyber-attacks, a bunch of nuclear catastrophes, and the pandemics that followed." Nations have been replaced by a number of enclaves throughout the world, like Empire City (that grew from the ruins of New York), the Confederate States of Birmingham (a theocratic state), and the People’s Republic of Boulder.
Long story short: one of the side effects of the nuclear catastrophes was a new form of energy in the world that acted close enough to magic that people called it that. Also, it made it possible for beings from another dimension to travel to Earth. They're called Vellans, and I'm going to leave it to Hartog to describe them to you when you read the book (a thing I think you should do).
So, as our setting we've got that rebuilt NYC, patching a society and culture together, in a world that looks not dissimilar from Scott's Blade Runner, powered by magic, and that has pan-dimensional aliens walking around. Clear enough?
Now, with that out of the way, we can ask:
WHAT'S BLOODLINES ABOUT?
Our protagonist/narrator is Detective Tom "Doc" Holliday, his career has taken a hit and while he still gets to investigate the occasional homicide, he's primarily the guy who does paperwork for everyone else. He's recruited to be part of the Special Crimes Unit, working on "the unsolvable and inexplicable" (think Dresden Files' Special Investigations or Rivers of London The Folly). At this point, the unit consists of a retired legend of ECPD leading a former Protector (a law enforcement officer from Birmingham) and another consultant. But once they make their mark on the city, there's a suggestion that they'll get more legitimacy and funding. Holliday doesn't much care, it's a chance to do more than paperwork.
Their first case involves a murder that a tabloid is claiming a vampire committed (farfetched, sure, but it's a solid explanation for the eyewitness testimony and the physical evidence—at first glance, anyway). Still, a vampire is far-fetched even for this new magical reality. Holliday doesn't buy it, he's looking for a more rational explanation. But this is the kind of thing that SCU is for so Holliday and the tiny team dive in.
DOC HOLLIDAY
If you can enjoy—to some extent—Holliday, you're going to enjoy the novel. I can see where some won't get along with him, and they'll have a miserable time with this book. Me? I'm not going to declare us BFFs after just one book, but I'd be more than happy to have a few cups of coffee with the man.
In addition to being the driven detective (at one time, he was considered one of the top three homicide detectives in the enclave), he has a Ph.D. in Literature and a Master's in gourmet cooking. That's a tried and true combination of interests, sure to resonate with fans of Detective Fiction. His troubled past, self-destructive tendencies, and wiseguy mouth/attitude add to that appeal.
Along those lines, I appreciate the way Holliday leans on his literary background to get him through tough moments, quoting Shakespeare or other notables to talk steel himself—or calm himself—in a tight situation is nice to see.
As for his clairvoyance? It's interesting to see in action, and hopefully, as he learns to master and develop the ability, I'll enjoy it more. It's a good start at a character with magic, but he needs a little work.
A QUESTION OF GENRE
As I've established before, once I decide to read a book, I pretty much forget everything I learned about it. I remembered that this was an Urban Fantasy—which made me a little leary, and also insanely curious. It's been a while since I read a new-to-me Urban Fantasy, because most of the new ones I dabbled in didn't work for me. At the same time, I really want a new-to-me Urban Fantasy series...
I wasn't prepared for this "blend of science fiction, urban fantasy and crime thriller" (as the author describes it at the end of the book). I'd read one book like that years ago—and it was...okay? In many ways, this is that book, but better. Significantly better.
This reads more like a Futuristic Police Detective novel with Urban Fantasy flourishes. Most of the time. The rest of the time, it's an Urban Fantasy with neat technology.
The magic system is pretty vague at this point in the series—one of the advantages of "magic" being a new thing to this world, so no one understands it that well, and an author can make it do whatever he wants. Each instance of magic at work is just cool. It reminded me of why I got into Urban Fantasy in the first place, actually, any kind of Fantasy with magic users.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT BLOODLINES?
This really impressed me—I was distracted with a non-reading project most of the time that I was reading this book, so I couldn't devote the time I wanted to devote to it, only reading thirty minutes or so a day. It's the kind of thing I could've been very happy to read in a session or to (and I might have enjoyed it more if I could've taken the plunge).
I'm a little tired of authors mining a vague, pop-understanding of Roman Catholicism for their Magical/Fantasy purposes. But I guess it's easier to do that than to try to find aspects of Protestantism to serve that purpose (the presence of someone with roots in a vaguely Southern Evangelical culture suggests that Hartog intends to try). I'm not going to hold it against this book, I'm just taking the opportunity to belly-ache. Because, if you're doing to co-opt bits of Roman Catholic practice, this is a pretty tame way to go about it.
I'm definitely coming back for more—I want to explore this world some more, I want more time with the members of the Special Crimes Unit, and I'm curious about the overarching story introduced in the latter parts of this book. I'm not there yet, but I can see me becoming a pretty big fan-boy for this series.
I think anyone who thinks an Urban Fantasy/Science Fiction/Detective mashup novel might be interesting will find themselves entertained with this one-stop source to get your genre-itch scratched. Give it a try, let me know what you think.
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
"Aren't you supposed to be governed by logic and all that?”
“Even your most famous literary detective said, ‘once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth,’” she said.
“Sherlock Holmes wouldn’t have believed in vampires, either,” I countered.
“Well, we do live in interesting times, Holliday,” Deacon quipped.
WHAT'S BLOODLINES ABOUT?
Er, actually...this is the wrong place to start. Let's try this instead:
DESCRIBE THIS WORLD
This takes place in a futuristic world where human population/civilizations have been destroyed through a combination of "terrorist cyber-attacks, a bunch of nuclear catastrophes, and the pandemics that followed." Nations have been replaced by a number of enclaves throughout the world, like Empire City (that grew from the ruins of New York), the Confederate States of Birmingham (a theocratic state), and the People’s Republic of Boulder.
Long story short: one of the side effects of the nuclear catastrophes was a new form of energy in the world that acted close enough to magic that people called it that. Also, it made it possible for beings from another dimension to travel to Earth. They're called Vellans, and I'm going to leave it to Hartog to describe them to you when you read the book (a thing I think you should do).
So, as our setting we've got that rebuilt NYC, patching a society and culture together, in a world that looks not dissimilar from Scott's Blade Runner, powered by magic, and that has pan-dimensional aliens walking around. Clear enough?
Now, with that out of the way, we can ask:
WHAT'S BLOODLINES ABOUT?
"They aren’t equipped to deal with the things that I want Special Crimes to handle.”
“Such as what, exactly?” I asked.
“Things that require more than a badge, a pair of handcuffs and a warrant,” Mahoney replied, fierce heat coating his words. “Things that laugh at the law, thinking they are above, or beyond it. Things that don’t give a damn about you or me.”
Our protagonist/narrator is Detective Tom "Doc" Holliday, his career has taken a hit and while he still gets to investigate the occasional homicide, he's primarily the guy who does paperwork for everyone else. He's recruited to be part of the Special Crimes Unit, working on "the unsolvable and inexplicable" (think Dresden Files' Special Investigations or Rivers of London The Folly). At this point, the unit consists of a retired legend of ECPD leading a former Protector (a law enforcement officer from Birmingham) and another consultant. But once they make their mark on the city, there's a suggestion that they'll get more legitimacy and funding. Holliday doesn't much care, it's a chance to do more than paperwork.
Their first case involves a murder that a tabloid is claiming a vampire committed (farfetched, sure, but it's a solid explanation for the eyewitness testimony and the physical evidence—at first glance, anyway). Still, a vampire is far-fetched even for this new magical reality. Holliday doesn't buy it, he's looking for a more rational explanation. But this is the kind of thing that SCU is for so Holliday and the tiny team dive in.
DOC HOLLIDAY
I live and work in the real world. I go after criminals, arrest them, then do it again, and hope I don’t get killed in the process. I do it because it’s my job, I’ve got the training and it’s the right f****** thing to do.”
If you can enjoy—to some extent—Holliday, you're going to enjoy the novel. I can see where some won't get along with him, and they'll have a miserable time with this book. Me? I'm not going to declare us BFFs after just one book, but I'd be more than happy to have a few cups of coffee with the man.
In addition to being the driven detective (at one time, he was considered one of the top three homicide detectives in the enclave), he has a Ph.D. in Literature and a Master's in gourmet cooking. That's a tried and true combination of interests, sure to resonate with fans of Detective Fiction. His troubled past, self-destructive tendencies, and wiseguy mouth/attitude add to that appeal.
Along those lines, I appreciate the way Holliday leans on his literary background to get him through tough moments, quoting Shakespeare or other notables to talk steel himself—or calm himself—in a tight situation is nice to see.
As for his clairvoyance? It's interesting to see in action, and hopefully, as he learns to master and develop the ability, I'll enjoy it more. It's a good start at a character with magic, but he needs a little work.
A QUESTION OF GENRE
As I've established before, once I decide to read a book, I pretty much forget everything I learned about it. I remembered that this was an Urban Fantasy—which made me a little leary, and also insanely curious. It's been a while since I read a new-to-me Urban Fantasy, because most of the new ones I dabbled in didn't work for me. At the same time, I really want a new-to-me Urban Fantasy series...
I wasn't prepared for this "blend of science fiction, urban fantasy and crime thriller" (as the author describes it at the end of the book). I'd read one book like that years ago—and it was...okay? In many ways, this is that book, but better. Significantly better.
This reads more like a Futuristic Police Detective novel with Urban Fantasy flourishes. Most of the time. The rest of the time, it's an Urban Fantasy with neat technology.
The magic system is pretty vague at this point in the series—one of the advantages of "magic" being a new thing to this world, so no one understands it that well, and an author can make it do whatever he wants. Each instance of magic at work is just cool. It reminded me of why I got into Urban Fantasy in the first place, actually, any kind of Fantasy with magic users.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT BLOODLINES?
This really impressed me—I was distracted with a non-reading project most of the time that I was reading this book, so I couldn't devote the time I wanted to devote to it, only reading thirty minutes or so a day. It's the kind of thing I could've been very happy to read in a session or to (and I might have enjoyed it more if I could've taken the plunge).
I'm a little tired of authors mining a vague, pop-understanding of Roman Catholicism for their Magical/Fantasy purposes. But I guess it's easier to do that than to try to find aspects of Protestantism to serve that purpose (the presence of someone with roots in a vaguely Southern Evangelical culture suggests that Hartog intends to try). I'm not going to hold it against this book, I'm just taking the opportunity to belly-ache. Because, if you're doing to co-opt bits of Roman Catholic practice, this is a pretty tame way to go about it.
I'm definitely coming back for more—I want to explore this world some more, I want more time with the members of the Special Crimes Unit, and I'm curious about the overarching story introduced in the latter parts of this book. I'm not there yet, but I can see me becoming a pretty big fan-boy for this series.
I think anyone who thinks an Urban Fantasy/Science Fiction/Detective mashup novel might be interesting will find themselves entertained with this one-stop source to get your genre-itch scratched. Give it a try, let me know what you think.
May 13, 2021
Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to read a book that involves vampires, highly advanced AI-driven guns and systems, cybernetics mixed with magical elements all wrapped into a who-dunnit murder investigation? Bloodlines by Peter Hartog delivers exactly that. This book was for me one of those precious gems I found and want to talk about it to everyone, especially if you enjoy the genres mentioned above.
The self-published novel starts by introducing far-fetched science fiction elements melded with elements we’re very familiar with. For example, I truly enjoyed when one minute the main character, Doc, does research on holoscreens or tests his voice-activated gun, and the next he’s grabbing coffee from a barista in a coffee shop reminiscent of a Starbucks. Again the familiar mixed with amazing fiction-driven elements. Then Peter builds a world rich in fantasy (magic, anyone?) and gadgets to rival any SciFi lore. Did I mention I want my voice-activated gun like yesterday (this device is so cool)!?
At the heart of the story there is a bizarre murder, which could involve futuristic or fantasy factors, and Peter does an amazing job of throwing us in many directions that either dilutes or clarifies the mystery until the very last minute (or pages). I kept guessing and theorizing on who (or what) was behind the first and following homicides, and I never saw it (the ending) coming.
Our major character, Doc Holliday, was aided by a tapestry of unique characters who once again covered the magical through the SciFi and each played an important role at a specific moment in need of their expertise. Doc’s history introduced us to a character that experienced tragedy, and this backstory shaped his behaviours and resolve throughout the rest of the novel. However, I wished we had a bit more background information to understand the rest of the cast better, but other than that I truly enjoyed the dynamic of the group. I’m told their background will be explored further in book two (coming soon).
As a final thought, when you create a shiny toy filled with electronic parts, add magic dust and grim creatures of the night and compile it all with a murder mystery, the result is Peter Hartog’s Bloodlines. Highly recommended.
The self-published novel starts by introducing far-fetched science fiction elements melded with elements we’re very familiar with. For example, I truly enjoyed when one minute the main character, Doc, does research on holoscreens or tests his voice-activated gun, and the next he’s grabbing coffee from a barista in a coffee shop reminiscent of a Starbucks. Again the familiar mixed with amazing fiction-driven elements. Then Peter builds a world rich in fantasy (magic, anyone?) and gadgets to rival any SciFi lore. Did I mention I want my voice-activated gun like yesterday (this device is so cool)!?
At the heart of the story there is a bizarre murder, which could involve futuristic or fantasy factors, and Peter does an amazing job of throwing us in many directions that either dilutes or clarifies the mystery until the very last minute (or pages). I kept guessing and theorizing on who (or what) was behind the first and following homicides, and I never saw it (the ending) coming.
Our major character, Doc Holliday, was aided by a tapestry of unique characters who once again covered the magical through the SciFi and each played an important role at a specific moment in need of their expertise. Doc’s history introduced us to a character that experienced tragedy, and this backstory shaped his behaviours and resolve throughout the rest of the novel. However, I wished we had a bit more background information to understand the rest of the cast better, but other than that I truly enjoyed the dynamic of the group. I’m told their background will be explored further in book two (coming soon).
As a final thought, when you create a shiny toy filled with electronic parts, add magic dust and grim creatures of the night and compile it all with a murder mystery, the result is Peter Hartog’s Bloodlines. Highly recommended.
June 9, 2021
Take a great detective named Tom “Doc” Holliday with a troubled past stuck at a lousy desk job, a designer drug called goldjoy, aliens living among us, and magic that comes from the energy of Empire City and you have the perfect urban fantasy. Peter Hartog’s brilliant debut novel, Bloodlines, follows Holliday as he is assigned to a special unit to solve “unusual” crimes, the first is a body found with no blood in or around it. Bloodlines is told in the first-person perspective of Holliday, and he is gritty, sarcastic and smart. He also possesses magic from the city in what he calls the “Insight”. The detective has the ability to see people as they really are, which could be anything from knowing why and what a person will do, to looking into their soul in which he often sees demons. The insight doesn’t work all the time, but when it does, it leaves it’s mark on him. It’s not easy seeing people as they really are. I could not have asked for a better urban fantasy. Mr. Hartog perfectly mixes the excitement of solving the crime, Holliday’s coming to terms with his past, and the subtle magic of the city to bring together an amazing urban fantasy. I have been looking for a good urban fantasy series, and I found an excellent one in Empire City Special Crimes. This book has something for everyone: mystery, crime solving, thriller and fantasy. I love reading through Holliday’s perspective on the other character’s and how he solves the crime. He is a fully fleshed out character and I love his java-drinking take on life. I highly recommend this book. I am looking forward to the next in the series.
You can read my full review here: https://bookandnatureprofessor.com/20...
You can read my full review here: https://bookandnatureprofessor.com/20...
December 13, 2022
Excellent debut by a promising new SciFi writer, whom I shall be following with great interest. Possible spoilers, don't read on unless you finished the book. Thank you, Peter H., for a really good read! WARNING for sensitive readers, there are disturbing elements related to child abuse and drug use, so this is an adult read. Hastily written on a lunch break, and I weep that I cannot do this book full justice in my review; there's just SO MUCH going on in a single book!
The worldbuilding is particularly strong here, with lots of twists and jaw-dropping moments in a post-Apocalyptic Divided States of America, with rumors of the fearsome cult of neo-Confederates running a Southern enclave as protagonist Tom "Doc" Holiday battles evil in Empire City (formerly NYC).
The magic system, in which select users can leverage Nexus point energy unlocked by the nuclear apocalypse and its dimension-twisting fallout, was particularly pleasing, and I am jealous to see more of the fascinating ice witch, Leyla, along with her backstory as Doc's protegé. She's one of my favorite characters.
One of the most shocking (in a good way) revelations is the almost casual twist that the nuclear apocalypse not only unlocked magic in the form of Nexus energy but introduced aliens from another dimension to earth, the Vellans. This was cool and I want to see more. When the mysterious Vellan Besim joins the investigation, you can tell that a cast of great recurring characters are being set up for future journeys. I particularly liked Deacon, Besim's tough-talking, ex-Confederate with supernatural powers and a mysterious backstory of his own (I have a theory, but time will tell in future novels).
The blend of tech and magic is great, along with the AI system EVI and the way Hartog describes the thought-integration with the SMART gun's HUD (as a gamer, I really enjoyed the cyberpunk elements, including the combat scenes). A quibble of personal taste, I would prefer to see Doc use thought control more often with EVI and with the SMART gun instead of saying commands out loud, but that's just taste (and in a screenplay the verbal commands would certainly function well). I really liked the "spell-forged" super-materials as well, combining the power of nanoengineering with magic. Nerd brain-candy! And the piece de resistance, the shocking revelation that the perpetrator of a key crime is not merely a vampire, but a hybrid cyborg-vampire - this entire scene was so cool, and the concept was so well-executed. This is my jam, as they say! I also like the twist of the master fetch and the "long game" revealed later. And again, Marko, single best SciFi twist I've seen in film, books, or games for quite some time, along with the fight. Bravo!
Doc is damaged, having lived through (and done) some pretty awful stuff, and I started out disliking him, but something told me he is a living character on a journey of redemption that my gut tells me will arc through several stories. In fairness, he's a tortured soul, having weathered a rising star career in the police force cut short by addiction and the suicide of his true love, which he still blames himself for. He's kind of a dick in the beginning, with lots of mistrust and dislike for women (he thinks about his female partner as fat and ugly, and calls lots of female characters "bitches" a bit often for my taste, though in fairness most of those women are in fact trying to murder him in various ways). I like how he develops, though, growing in empathy, self-awareness. Even with his murderous former partner, he uses his supernatural Insight to see the Fetch possessing and feeding on her soul and causing her evil deeds. One could argue this reduces accountability, but I felt it was a moment of growth and empathy, helping Doc stop being such a misogynistic prick and helping him move beyond his belief that the world is almost entirely dark and negative. Also, the spin of having a cyberpunk homicide detective who has a PhD in literature, has traded drugs for coffee (the darker and staler the better) and who quotes Shakespeare throughout even the most gritty action scenes is delightful.
Besim is a great character, and I want to see more of her. I can't even do her justice. 'Nuff said. Honorable mention of the original twist on the obligatory quirky mortician (who ends up being fresh and amusing, but pathos-inducing when he sees the severity of the sweatshop, which was a quite moving moment on several levels). Father Jack is very cool and I want to see more of him in future! And I like the community of misfits in Doc's adopted family, including bookstore and deli denizens.
I'm (in)famous in my circles for my vocabulary, and haven't owned a dictionary in years. Not bragging, just explaining how momentous it was that I had to purchase a dictionary while reading this book. The vocabulary is damned impressive! Hartog is the first novelist I've ever seen to use the word lemniscate, inter alia, but beyond his lexical profundity, he is constantly dropping bon mots, and I underlined or highlighted countless quotes. For brevity I shall only include three favorites:
(1) "No." Mahoney grimaced as if he'd just swallowed day-old puke. "I've already been down that road. They aren't equipped to deal with the things that I want Special Crimes to handle."
"Such as what, exactly?" I asked.
"Things that require more than a badge, a pair of handcuffs and a warrant," Mahoney replied, fierce heat coating his words. "Things that laugh at the law, thinking they are above, or beyond it. Things that don't give a damn about you or me." — p. 19
(2) "I gave him one of my patented reassuring smiles, the kind I reserved for little kids, potted plants, and drunks." —p. 75
(3) "Your inadequacy is an illusion," Besim spoke quietly. Her voice resonated, the words palpable and telling. "It is a tool of the enemy you chase, to drag you down and subvert your strength." —p. 367
Now, some personal quibbles that some readers may completely disagree with: I'd like to see a bit more development on some key villain confrontations and reveals, such as the club and Crain facedown, and especially the confrontation with Orpheus and their assistant, which felt a bit incomplete. I also would like more dev in the fight scene at the deli.
In sum, a strong, clever debut by an intellectually gifted writer with compelling characters, complex and interesting plot and subplots, setting up a vibrant world and many future installments. With the occasional inevitable debut-novel plot or dialogue stumble here and there, I expect this strong beginning to lead to even stronger iterations. 4.5/5, round it on up to 5 because this is a good book!
The worldbuilding is particularly strong here, with lots of twists and jaw-dropping moments in a post-Apocalyptic Divided States of America, with rumors of the fearsome cult of neo-Confederates running a Southern enclave as protagonist Tom "Doc" Holiday battles evil in Empire City (formerly NYC).
The magic system, in which select users can leverage Nexus point energy unlocked by the nuclear apocalypse and its dimension-twisting fallout, was particularly pleasing, and I am jealous to see more of the fascinating ice witch, Leyla, along with her backstory as Doc's protegé. She's one of my favorite characters.
One of the most shocking (in a good way) revelations is the almost casual twist that the nuclear apocalypse not only unlocked magic in the form of Nexus energy but introduced aliens from another dimension to earth, the Vellans. This was cool and I want to see more. When the mysterious Vellan Besim joins the investigation, you can tell that a cast of great recurring characters are being set up for future journeys. I particularly liked Deacon, Besim's tough-talking, ex-Confederate with supernatural powers and a mysterious backstory of his own (I have a theory, but time will tell in future novels).
The blend of tech and magic is great, along with the AI system EVI and the way Hartog describes the thought-integration with the SMART gun's HUD (as a gamer, I really enjoyed the cyberpunk elements, including the combat scenes). A quibble of personal taste, I would prefer to see Doc use thought control more often with EVI and with the SMART gun instead of saying commands out loud, but that's just taste (and in a screenplay the verbal commands would certainly function well). I really liked the "spell-forged" super-materials as well, combining the power of nanoengineering with magic. Nerd brain-candy! And the piece de resistance, the shocking revelation that the perpetrator of a key crime is not merely a vampire, but a hybrid cyborg-vampire - this entire scene was so cool, and the concept was so well-executed. This is my jam, as they say! I also like the twist of the master fetch and the "long game" revealed later. And again, Marko, single best SciFi twist I've seen in film, books, or games for quite some time, along with the fight. Bravo!
Doc is damaged, having lived through (and done) some pretty awful stuff, and I started out disliking him, but something told me he is a living character on a journey of redemption that my gut tells me will arc through several stories. In fairness, he's a tortured soul, having weathered a rising star career in the police force cut short by addiction and the suicide of his true love, which he still blames himself for. He's kind of a dick in the beginning, with lots of mistrust and dislike for women (he thinks about his female partner as fat and ugly, and calls lots of female characters "bitches" a bit often for my taste, though in fairness most of those women are in fact trying to murder him in various ways). I like how he develops, though, growing in empathy, self-awareness. Even with his murderous former partner, he uses his supernatural Insight to see the Fetch possessing and feeding on her soul and causing her evil deeds. One could argue this reduces accountability, but I felt it was a moment of growth and empathy, helping Doc stop being such a misogynistic prick and helping him move beyond his belief that the world is almost entirely dark and negative. Also, the spin of having a cyberpunk homicide detective who has a PhD in literature, has traded drugs for coffee (the darker and staler the better) and who quotes Shakespeare throughout even the most gritty action scenes is delightful.
Besim is a great character, and I want to see more of her. I can't even do her justice. 'Nuff said. Honorable mention of the original twist on the obligatory quirky mortician (who ends up being fresh and amusing, but pathos-inducing when he sees the severity of the sweatshop, which was a quite moving moment on several levels). Father Jack is very cool and I want to see more of him in future! And I like the community of misfits in Doc's adopted family, including bookstore and deli denizens.
I'm (in)famous in my circles for my vocabulary, and haven't owned a dictionary in years. Not bragging, just explaining how momentous it was that I had to purchase a dictionary while reading this book. The vocabulary is damned impressive! Hartog is the first novelist I've ever seen to use the word lemniscate, inter alia, but beyond his lexical profundity, he is constantly dropping bon mots, and I underlined or highlighted countless quotes. For brevity I shall only include three favorites:
(1) "No." Mahoney grimaced as if he'd just swallowed day-old puke. "I've already been down that road. They aren't equipped to deal with the things that I want Special Crimes to handle."
"Such as what, exactly?" I asked.
"Things that require more than a badge, a pair of handcuffs and a warrant," Mahoney replied, fierce heat coating his words. "Things that laugh at the law, thinking they are above, or beyond it. Things that don't give a damn about you or me." — p. 19
(2) "I gave him one of my patented reassuring smiles, the kind I reserved for little kids, potted plants, and drunks." —p. 75
(3) "Your inadequacy is an illusion," Besim spoke quietly. Her voice resonated, the words palpable and telling. "It is a tool of the enemy you chase, to drag you down and subvert your strength." —p. 367
Now, some personal quibbles that some readers may completely disagree with: I'd like to see a bit more development on some key villain confrontations and reveals, such as the club and Crain facedown, and especially the confrontation with Orpheus and their assistant, which felt a bit incomplete. I also would like more dev in the fight scene at the deli.
In sum, a strong, clever debut by an intellectually gifted writer with compelling characters, complex and interesting plot and subplots, setting up a vibrant world and many future installments. With the occasional inevitable debut-novel plot or dialogue stumble here and there, I expect this strong beginning to lead to even stronger iterations. 4.5/5, round it on up to 5 because this is a good book!
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