From the back cover:
Atlanta: it’s the promised city for the off-worlders, foreigners from the alternate dimensions of heaven-like Elysia and hell-like Charbydon. Some bring good works and miracles. And some bring unimaginable evil….
Charlie Madigan is a divorced mother of one, and a kick-ass cop trained to take down the toughest human and off-world criminals. She’s recently returned from the dead after a brutal attack, an unexplained revival that has left her plagued by ruthless nightmares and random outbursts of strength that make doing her job for Atlanta P.D.’s Integration Task Force even harder. Since the Revelation, the criminal element in Underground Atlanta has grown, leaving Charlie and her partner Hank to keep the chaos to a dull roar. But now an insidious new danger is descending on her city with terrifying speed, threatening innocent lives: a deadly, off-world narcotic known as ash. Charlie is determined to uncover the source of ash before it targets another victim — but can she protect those she loves from a force more powerful than heaven and hell combined?
This book showed up in the mail a couple of days ago *cut to me excitedly opening the envelope* and as soon as it was in my hands I thought, well, there’s no harm in reading the first few sentences. Yeah, right! Those first few sentences turned into me ignoring the laundry basket, settling down on the sofa, and digging in.
“You told a two-thousand-year-old oracle to prove it.” Hank kept pace beside me, nursing his bloody nose with a handful of fast-food napkins I’d pulled from the glove box earlier. “I mean, do you ever think before the words spew out of your mouth, Charlie?”
“Yeah, all the time.” I jogged up the four brick steps. “If Alessandra didn’t have to act like a know-it-all, then I wouldn’t have to say things to her.”
“She is a know-it-all!”
The scene goes on, the banter goes on; I immediately liked Hank, and got a good sense of what following Charlie around for three hundred-plus pages would be like. Perhaps a little wearying, maybe with a few nerves grated the wrong way, but I’d do it because she probably had reason to be tough and ornery. And boy, did she ever. But still.
Okay, since I already mentioned Hank, that’s where I’ll start. Charlie and Hank are partners, they work for the ITF, a department of the Atlanta police that deals with the off-worlders from Elysia and Charbydon that came to our world after the Revelation.* Neither character is what they initially seem to be, of course, and we learn about Hank pretty early on. We also learn that he and Charlie are tight, real tight, but at times they had a funny way of showing it. One thing I love in my books are strong friendships, secure bonds between people, and this one threw me because Charlie was always “I hate Hank for that,” “I could punch Hank for this,” and not in a funny, ha-ha, pseudo-sibling teasing kind of way. We get the depth of their friendship in flashes, mostly as it revolves around Charlie’s daughter, Emma, and I would have loved for there to have been more…believability? Less bickering? It’s picky on my part to point out, but when you’ve set-up something good like that, why not really run with it?
But that brings me nicely to Emma. I don’t particularly like when kids are involved in urban fantasy novels** because it almost always comes down to being a ploy – especially when said kids are fully human. Let’s get the kid kidnapped or, hey, let’s have the child put into a really, really dangerous situation in which the parent/guardian has to choose between the kid and the rest of the world. I thoroughly appreciated Charlie’s dedication as a mother, it brought out a side of her that we probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise, but it bothered me nonetheless, and for reasons already stated. Emma herself was a sweet character and seemed pretty typical to her age.
The Better Part of Darkness had a lot of really wonderful characters. Hank, as I said, and Charlie’s sister, Bryn, who plays a big role in the book as the story arc begins to resolve. There’s also an intriguing noble and an equally intriguing Magnus, both of whom I’d like to see more of in future books.
Also, the world-building was nicely done. In Gay’s Atlanta there are mages, jinn, goblins, gods, and each group has a history and backstory that’s hinted at throughout the story. I was always able to picture Charlie’s surroundings and thought that many of the descriptions were wonderful in painting a just-so kind of picture.
Despite the old-fashioned-style streetlamps that burned twenty-four hours a day, the light on Solomon Street was murky at best, the perfect environment for crooks and convicts. Old Savannah bricks paved the street. Peddlers occupied alleyways. Butcher shops, inns, bars, herberies, magic ship, and strip clubs practically spilled onto the sidewalk. Doors stayed open. Inventory was piled against walls and storefronts. Small carts had permanent spaces on curbs. Open fires burned in barrels, making the air steamier than normal. This was the Charbydon quarter, and while they could tolerate the sunlight, they liked things crowded, hot, and dark. (pgs 190-191)
Despite a few problems I had with the book – a rather drawn out resolution, for one – I enjoyed The Better Part of Darkness quite a bit and will definitely read The Darkest Edge of Dawn when it’s released. Gay has come up with something a little different with this book; it’s not quite police procedural, not quite urban fantasy, a little dark and definitely dangerous, and you’re never completely sure you know what the real deal is. I can appreciate that. And I can say, too, that this review only barely begins to scrape the surface of what goes down in the book. You’ll have to read it yourself to see what I mean.
*This reminded me too much of Douglass’s Delilah Street books in which vampires, shifters, etc., started to come out of the wood work after the Post Millennium Revelation. It was the only part of the world-building that seemed pat to me.
**There are exceptions, of course, and the one that comes immediately to mind is Ilona Andrews’ On the Edge. I loved Georgie and Jack, but they, at least, could defend themselves somewhat.
_________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: This review is based on a finished copy of the book that was sent to me by the publisher. The Better Part of Darkness will be released by Pocket Books on November 24th.
Hm. Thanks for the honest review. I’ve been kind of looking forward to this one. Afraid to hope for too much, but intrigued by it just the same.
Angie – It was a hard review to write because so much happens. There were things I enjoyed, things I didn’t, and I just hope I struck a balance when talking about it here. I’ll be looking very much forward to reading what you think if you get around to reading it.
I had fun understanding this post. I want to see more on this subject.. Gives Thanks for writing this respectable article.. Anyway, I’m going to sign to your rss and I wish you write great articles again soon.