Not Dead Yet

Not Dead Yet is a cross-genre sitcom that combines elements of chick-lit with urban fantasy. Gina Rodriguez plays Nell Serrano, a flustered and frustrated woman trying to return to her newspaper career after devastating divorce. Unfortunately for Nell, the only job available at the paper is writing obituaries. And once she's assigned to write an obit, she starts to see the person's ghost.

Not Dead Yet attempts to reverse the usual trope. Instead of the living helping the dead move on, the dead attempt to help Nell deal with her problems and move on from the traumatic divorce. They help her meet new friends, reconnect with old friends, reenter the dating world and of course, write their obits.

Based on the first five episodes, Not Dead Yet is a mediocre (at best) sitcom. Rodriguez plays Nell essentially the same as she played Jane the Virgin. She's constantly flustered and frustrated. Showing a great deal of talent, but not much range as an actress. The supporting characters are one dimensional and the humor falls flat. (I haven't laughed once.) Hanna Simone, playing Nell's best friend, Sam, Josh Banday, playing their token gay coworker and Lauren Ash, playing their insecure and nutty boss are little more than set dressings. And most of the ghosts have been one-dimensional. Martin Mull's character is the exception. Mull plays Monty as sweet, sentimental, and romantic old man, which is very different from the acerbic characters he usually plays. Unfortunately, he's only in two of these five episodes.

The sitcom format means there's about 22 minutes of program. Combine that with Nell's flustered approach to the world and everything feels rushed. The format also stretches the credibility of the premise a bit. Nell appears to be assigned only one obit per week, which begs the questions: Does only one person die in that city every week? And how good of a writer can she be if she needs a whole week to write two paragraphs?

As chick-lit, it has some potential, though it still needs work. But as an urban fantasy, it's very disappointing.

Hounded by Kevin Hearne

 

Hounded by Kevin Hearne, the first book in The Iron Druid series, is an urban fantasy in the same vein as The Dresden Files and the Alex Verus series. 

Atticus O'Sullivan is a two thousand year old druid living in contemporary Arizona. Some time in the distant past, Atticus absconded with a magical sword that belonged to the Celtic god, Aenghus Og. And he's been either running or hiding ever since.

Things start to heat up when two goddesses separately bring warnings that Aenghus has found him and will soon come to kill him. He's then attacked several times until he's forced to stand and fight.

Like Harry Dresden, Atticus O'Sullivan has lots of magical allies and lots of enemies, including werewolves, witches and vampires.  But unlike Dresden, O'Sullivan has two thousand years of magical experience. He knows himself,  his powers, and the people around him. And he has no trouble seeing through most of the enemy's deceptions. Atticus is smart, personable, and resourceful. Exactly the kind of character I enjoy reading about.

Story wise, Hounded doesn't break any new ground. But it's solidly written and entertaining. The one thing that makes Hounded stand out from other urban fantasies is the canine humor. Atticus has a telepathic link with his intelligent Irish wolfhound, who likes to  joke about sausages and French Poodles. Again, nothing new, but entertaining.

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

I don't normally read paranormal romances, but after a conversation with one of my customers, I thought I should look into it. On her recommendation, I started reading Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 1). And I have to say, I was a bit surprised. This is not what I expected from a romance novel.

None of that sappy pining away for the perfect lover. No mushy courting or poetry. Ward's hero makes women feel raw animal lust beyond their control. He turns two women's brains to instant mush just by his presence. In fact, the women's responses in at least two scenes very closely resemble many scenes in the mind control porn at The Mind Control Story Archive.

Naturally, Ward's hero is better developed and much more interesting than any character found in amateur porn. And the provoked lust is just a small component of her stories as a opposed to the focus of mind control porn. But now I understand why my customer said that my hypnotic audio stories would appeal to the same audience as Dark Lover. We both 1) aim to develop sympathetic and identifiable characters, and 2) aim to provoke intense erotic feelings in our characters and our audience.

The backstory for Wrath, the male lead, was also very interesting. This is a strong, but flawed character who doesn't understand his own worth. He is the hereditary king of the vampires, but he has refused to accept the throne because he blames himself for his parents death. After 300 years of living alone, he is surprised to find a woman that can make him feel any emotion beyond self loathing. And it is through the desire to be worthy of that woman that he finally starts to accept that he might be worthy of more himself.

I found the villains of the story to be superficial and a bit forced, but they played a crucial role in Wrath's decision to become more than he previously was.

Overall, Dark Lover is a fairly good book. Enjoyable even for those of us who'd rather read sci fi than romance.