Fire & Water
by Alexis Hall
Trigger warning: Lots of violence, death of major characters
Fire & Water is the third urban fantasy novel featuring Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator. I have not read the previous books in this series, but I had no trouble finding my way into Kane’s world – she provides the necessary backstory in her laconic, humorous style, and it’s enough. Having said that, I’m not sure that it stands alone, precisely – the end, while not a cliff-hanger, does leave some pretty crucial things unresolved.
The absolute strength of this book is Kate. She is a private investigator in the hard boiled (and lightly-pickled) mold, and her voice is dry, witty, and self-deprecating. She makes a lot of bad decisions and she knows she makes a lot of bad decisions, and she has a tendency, upon finding herself in yet another sticky situation, to comment to herself:
Here lies Kate Kane. Something creepy with mirrors. Beloved daughter, sorely missed.
Or
Here lies Kate Kane: really walked into that one. Beloved daughter, sorely missed.
Or perhaps:
Here lies Kate Kane, fucked to death in a cellar because she thought it was a good idea to trust a succubus. Beloved daughter, sorely missed.
You get the picture.
The ensemble of characters with whom Kate surrounds herself is great. There is Elise, her sidekick, an animated statue, abandoned by her creator and still figuring out how to be human-ish; Julian, Kate’s vampire girlfriend, a Prince of Pleasure who is inclined to bemoan Kate’s “silly rules about not killing your ex-girlfriends”; Nimue, the mystical Queen of London, who is one of the ex-girlfriends in question; Tara, a posh werewolf, who finds all these machinations for control of London just too common for words (and who is also trying to get Kate into bed); Ash, a celibate incubus; and Sofia, an accidental oracle. I loved them, and their existence made the stakes very high… because for all the humour, this is a pretty dark book.
There are pretty strong hints of this up front – Kate refers in passing to the recent deaths of several friends and colleagues, and this is a story about a mystical war for the magical control of London, so there is going to be bloodshed and violence and loss. Do not be seduced by the humour into expecting sunshine and roses and happy endings.
On the other hand, if you like well-written urban fantasy with strong characters, plenty of queerness, humour, and a touch of darkness (think Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series, only with 100% more lesbians), I think you’ll enjoy this.
I liked this book a lot – I’m a sucker for a strong narrative voice, and we definitely have that here. However, I found the ending very upsetting, and the fact that it also left something I desperately cared about hanging really bothered me. I can’t quite give this an A – to me, the ending makes this feel like a chapter, not a full story, and I feel that a book needs to be more self-contained to get a top grade. But it’s an entertaining, well-written story in a well-realised fantasy London. I’m giving it a B.
I like my whiskey like I like my women: embroiled in a magical war
Ten years ago I fought for the Witch Queen of London in a mystical showdown against a King Arthur wannabe with a shaved head and a shotgun. Back then, the law did for him before he could do for us.
I don’t think we’ll get that lucky again.
As if the mother of all wizard battles wasn’t bad enough, fate or destiny or a god with a really messed-up sense of humor has dropped a weapon that could rewrite the universe right into the middle of London, and anybody with half a sniff of arcane power has rocked up to stake their claim on it. Last time this happened, the city went to pieces. This time, it might just go to Hell.
Also, still dating a vampire. Still got an alpha werewolf trying to get in my pants. Still sharing a flat with a woman made of animated marble—only now apparently there are two of her. But you know what they say: the more things change, the more they stay the same crap that’s been trying to kill you your entire life.
LGBTQIA, Urban Fantasy
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