BOOK REVIEW: Dark Currents
Title: Dark Currents
Author: Jacqueline Carey
Series: Agent of Hel (Book 1)
Daisy Johnson has lived her entire life in the small town of Penkowet. Like many of its residents, Daisy is not completely human. The daughter of an incubus and a mortal woman, Daisy fights against the temptation of the seven deadly sins every day of her life. She also serves as a bridge between the town's law enforcement and the local supernatural (or eldritch) community. When a college boy shows up murdered, Daisy soon realizes that something is not quite right. What would cause a boy to have salt water in his lungs if he drowned in a freshwater source?
From an outsider's perspective, any genre can look like no more than a collection of tropes. So why I may love urban fantasy novels due to their exciting story lines, lovable characters, and diverse types of worldbuidling, other people look at the genre and see sexy vampires, dominance-obsessed werewolves, and the tramp-stamped, leather pants wearing heroines caught between them. And while Jacqueline Carey's doesn't stick to these sterotypes that closely, I can't help but wonder if she focused so much on the tropes of the genres that she forgot about making the series truly her own. For although the book does possess some of her trademarks (such as satisfyingly fair treatment of LGBT characters), it ultimately comes across as bland and generic on pretty much every level.
Like many urban fantasy titles, the main storyline in Dark Currents is also a mystery. But even though it does a good job introducing us to the various types of eldritch characters in Penkowet, I found it to be pretty forgettable and free of the satisfying twists and turns you would hope to find in a mystery plot. As far as Carey's worldbuilding goes, it feels like we've barely scratched the surface with Dark Currents, and not in a good way. It's true that there are some elements here that you don't find in every urban fantasy series (such as the Norse goddess Hel), but we spend such a short time with each supernatural group that they all end up feeling rather undeveloped. I feel like I could have dealt with this, had our characters been interesting, but the book falls short here as well. As a heroine, Daisy came across as pretty dull to me. Yes, she likes movies and occasionally loses her temper due to the temptation of the seen deadly sins, but there doesn't seem to be much going on with her personality beyond that, which is disappointing. Like many urban fantasy heroines, Daisy finds herself surrounded by plenty of love interests including a protective werewolf, and a sexy ghoul (like a vampire that feeds off of emotions instead of blood). This habit of surrounding a heroine with multiple suitors is one of my least favorites in the genre. I don't have anything against heroines that aren't into monogamy, but with paranormal books, it too often leads to much of the suspense of the series being tied to who our heroine will end up with, so I flinch away from it automatically. Also, although I know that I shouldn't be comparing Agent of Hel with Carey's Kushiel books, but I couldn't help but be miffed with the way the religion was presented here. In the Kushiel series, religion is presented in such a complex way, but here religious people tend to be characterized as abrasive and superstitious, and are not very well developed beyond that.
Final Thoughts: While thinking back in this review, the words that so often came to my mind were “dull,” “generic,” and “undeveloped.” I know that plenty of other readers have not have this much of an issue with Dark Currents. After all, it's not offensively bad, and perhaps I'm wrong for expecting more of it. Unfortunately, Jacqueline Carey is not only one of my favorite writers but pretty much the standard I hold other fantasy writers up to when it comes to world building. To see her turn from writing such unique stories to something so bland really disappoints me. Not only does Dark Currents not stand up to Kushiel's Legacy, but it falls short when you compare it to her paranormal contemporaries If you're looking or a good paranormal read please check out Kelley Armstrong, Carrie Vaughn, Jim Butcher, or Patricia Briggs. I'm not saying any of them are perfect but they all do a much better job of taking the tropes of urban fantasy and making them their own. I will not be continuing this series. Two Stars.
Author: Jacqueline Carey
Series: Agent of Hel (Book 1)
Daisy Johnson has lived her entire life in the small town of Penkowet. Like many of its residents, Daisy is not completely human. The daughter of an incubus and a mortal woman, Daisy fights against the temptation of the seven deadly sins every day of her life. She also serves as a bridge between the town's law enforcement and the local supernatural (or eldritch) community. When a college boy shows up murdered, Daisy soon realizes that something is not quite right. What would cause a boy to have salt water in his lungs if he drowned in a freshwater source?
From an outsider's perspective, any genre can look like no more than a collection of tropes. So why I may love urban fantasy novels due to their exciting story lines, lovable characters, and diverse types of worldbuidling, other people look at the genre and see sexy vampires, dominance-obsessed werewolves, and the tramp-stamped, leather pants wearing heroines caught between them. And while Jacqueline Carey's doesn't stick to these sterotypes that closely, I can't help but wonder if she focused so much on the tropes of the genres that she forgot about making the series truly her own. For although the book does possess some of her trademarks (such as satisfyingly fair treatment of LGBT characters), it ultimately comes across as bland and generic on pretty much every level.
Like many urban fantasy titles, the main storyline in Dark Currents is also a mystery. But even though it does a good job introducing us to the various types of eldritch characters in Penkowet, I found it to be pretty forgettable and free of the satisfying twists and turns you would hope to find in a mystery plot. As far as Carey's worldbuilding goes, it feels like we've barely scratched the surface with Dark Currents, and not in a good way. It's true that there are some elements here that you don't find in every urban fantasy series (such as the Norse goddess Hel), but we spend such a short time with each supernatural group that they all end up feeling rather undeveloped. I feel like I could have dealt with this, had our characters been interesting, but the book falls short here as well. As a heroine, Daisy came across as pretty dull to me. Yes, she likes movies and occasionally loses her temper due to the temptation of the seen deadly sins, but there doesn't seem to be much going on with her personality beyond that, which is disappointing. Like many urban fantasy heroines, Daisy finds herself surrounded by plenty of love interests including a protective werewolf, and a sexy ghoul (like a vampire that feeds off of emotions instead of blood). This habit of surrounding a heroine with multiple suitors is one of my least favorites in the genre. I don't have anything against heroines that aren't into monogamy, but with paranormal books, it too often leads to much of the suspense of the series being tied to who our heroine will end up with, so I flinch away from it automatically. Also, although I know that I shouldn't be comparing Agent of Hel with Carey's Kushiel books, but I couldn't help but be miffed with the way the religion was presented here. In the Kushiel series, religion is presented in such a complex way, but here religious people tend to be characterized as abrasive and superstitious, and are not very well developed beyond that.
Final Thoughts: While thinking back in this review, the words that so often came to my mind were “dull,” “generic,” and “undeveloped.” I know that plenty of other readers have not have this much of an issue with Dark Currents. After all, it's not offensively bad, and perhaps I'm wrong for expecting more of it. Unfortunately, Jacqueline Carey is not only one of my favorite writers but pretty much the standard I hold other fantasy writers up to when it comes to world building. To see her turn from writing such unique stories to something so bland really disappoints me. Not only does Dark Currents not stand up to Kushiel's Legacy, but it falls short when you compare it to her paranormal contemporaries If you're looking or a good paranormal read please check out Kelley Armstrong, Carrie Vaughn, Jim Butcher, or Patricia Briggs. I'm not saying any of them are perfect but they all do a much better job of taking the tropes of urban fantasy and making them their own. I will not be continuing this series. Two Stars.