Henry, Christina: Black Wings
Black Wings (2010)
Written by: Christina Henry
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 295 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book One
This book was received for review by Dreams & Speculation
Why I Read It: I'd seen the cover here and there, but never gave it much thought until Dreams & Speculation offered it to me for a Guest Review. I took a quick look at the premise, shrugged, and said, "Sure, why not?" I picked it up not just to satisfying a Guest Reviewer duty, but because I needed something light that would give my brain a break from all the heavy SF reading I've been attempting lately.
The premise: ganked from BN.com: As an Agent of Death, Madeline Black is responsible for escorting the souls of the dearly departed to the afterlife. It's a 24/7 job with a lousy benefits package.
Maddy's position may come with magical powers and an impressive wingspan, but it doesn't pay the bills. And then there are her infuriating boss, tenant woes, and a cranky, popcorn-loving gargoyle to contend with.
Things start looking up, though, when tall, dark, and handsome Gabriel Angeloscuro agrees to rent the empty apartment in Maddy's building. It's probably just a coincidence that as soon as he moves in demons appear on the front lawn. But when an unholy monster is unleashed upon the streets of Chicago, Maddy discovers powers she never knew she possessed. Powers linked to a family legacy of tarnished halos.
Powers that place her directly between the light of Heaven and the fires of Hell . . .
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. Since this review will be cross-posted to Dreams & Speculation, I'll be kind and keep it spoiler free. But I will talk about my reasons why I think this book might have worked better as a YA, and that gets into details. Nothing that spoils the ending, mind you, but still, details. Skip to "My Rating" if you're paranoid, otherwise, onward!
It's nice coming to a book and not having any expectations whatsoever. The world-building here was pretty interesting in a casual sort of way: we see Maddy at her job, trying to usher the newly departed to the Gate. We see what can go wrong and why, and in a way, it's entertaining. And it doesn't take too long for the main story to kick in either, and which is always nice, especially in a book this short.
However, two things struck me: 1) I'm sorry we didn't see Maddy at her job more often. Once the main story kicked in and Maddy was fighting for her life, we really didn't get to see her DO her job. Oh, sure, the job follows the rule of three, in that we see three separate cases and each of those cases are different. That said, there's a part of me that wishes her job had been a little more closely connected to the plot. I'll be the first to admit that despite Maddy only having three cases, the author utilizes Maddy's workplace and boss pretty well in terms of the overall plot. I still wanted more connection though, especially when we learn the origin of the Agents, which raises questions in and of itself (to raise those questions here would be serious spoiler material, but I will say I'm not quite clear on why Maddy's special from the rest of the Agents in terms of her heritage, if they all, essentially, came from the same source. At least, I was lead to believe they came from the same source . . . )
Moving on, the other thing that struck me was 2) I kept getting the feeling this book wanted to be YA. Don't get me wrong: it isn't YA. The violence doesn't flinch away from gory descriptions, and the heroine is firmly 30 years old. So why did I keep getting the YA vibe? Well, I think anyone who's read Kim Harrison's YA series might feel these two series are kin to each other, but more to the point, the plot lends itself to a YA kind of story: missing fathers who are suddenly found, surprising family history discoveries are made, heroine meets love of her life and others fall at her feet, but most puzzling but pointed of all: the fact that Maddy is a 30 year old virgin.
Erm, what?
Okay, yay for Maddy not being your typical sex-crazed heroine. That's great. But why is she a virgin? I never get a satisfying response in that regard: hasn't she met anyone worthy? Is she naturally distrusting and refuses to give into that kind of vulnerability? The most logical explanation is that her job requires it, and for a while, I thought that was the case, yet by the end of the book, my theory was never verified and I was given reason to doubt it. So why make her a virgin? It seems like too big a deal the way it's handled here, and it's one of the major reasons I thought that maybe this book wanted to be YA more than UF.
Not that there's anything wrong with being a 30 year old virgin. They do exist, it's not unheard of (in fact, I know a few). It's just an odd thing to have stressed in the book. And trust me, it's stressed. When a demon makes note of the fact the heroine's a virgin, it's a big deal, right?
I've got some nit-pickery as well in terms of writing style, and trust me, this is nit-pickery to the max. Don't get me wrong, the book is a fast and smooth read, but a few sentences stopped me in my tracks and made me wish the author had a crit partner who'd said the following before the book was published.
Page 58: He dropped me to the ground and yowled in pain, which accomplished what I had wanted -- to be released. Unfortunately, the abrupt landing also made my head explode.
Really? Her head exploded? Okay, I know in context she's got a headache and the landing made the headache WORSE, but we're dealing with speculative fiction here, and in speculative fiction, there's ALWAYS the chance the metaphors might be LITERAL, so really? Her head exploded? Let's try that again.
Speaking of explosions, how about page 84: Beezle looked at Gabriel, whose jaw was clenched. There were meteors exploding in Gabriel's eyes.
Okay, how serious am I supposed to take that? Are there ACTUAL meteors exploding in his eyes? Maybe mini-ones? I'm usually good with light dancing in eyes and such, though that would make my grad school mentor cringe to hear me say that, but when it comes to exploding meteors, I'm not sure what to do with that. Later on, we get the impression that certain peoples' eyes seem to contain their own universes, so I guess it makes sense, but the first time you come across it, it's a little odd. Also, try as I might, I just can't picture it.
But I will give the author credit for this exchange on page 150, when J.B. meets Beezle the gargoyle for the first time:
"What are you looking at, ape?"
"An ugly little what-the-fuck-are-you?"
For all my nitpicking, I do want to say there's plenty to enjoy in this book. Mainly, the gargoyle named Beezle. I loved that little guy! Yes, I admit I have a fondness for characters that are sidekicks/pets (especially things that are in firmly in the so-ugly-they're-cute department), but Beezle is seriously awesome and entertaining. He likes POPCORN, for goodness' sakes!
And the word-building did interest me (though there were portions that had me scratching my head and chasing logic. Sometimes, it seemed like the author was either contradicting herself and if not that, then she wasn't providing a good reason for making exceptions to the rules). I can see myself reading the sequel with ease, just to see how Maddy navigates the new world she's discovered, all the while trying to do her job.
My Rating: Worth Reading, with Reservations
This is the kind of book that's great for airplane or beach reading. You don't have to focus too hard to enjoy the story, and it's a fun story, especially if you're like me and fall in love with sidekicks who are so-ugly-they're-cute (the gargoyle). That said, sometimes I felt like this book really wanted to be a YA instead of an urban fantasy (despite the heroine's age and the violent, bloody battle scenes), and while the world-building definitely engages me, the author leaves me with the kind of questions I probably shouldn't be asking (like, "did I read this too fast, or does this not add up?"), and I'm worried about a potential love triangle. Oh, and I saw certain revelations coming MILES away. All that said, I'd happily read the second book if it were made available to me, and in terms of having something fast and fluffy to enjoy, this works great.
Cover Commentary: It's a nice cover. It's not totally eye-catching, but it doesn't make me cringe either. The artist put Maddy in dark clothes, which is commented upon in the books, though I will note that I can't remember how her wings were described in the book: the wings on the cover are so well rendered that I just pictured them, period. But it's not a bad-ass post (yay), it's not a butt-shot, and there's no tattoos. Yay!
Next up: Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi