Some spoilers for Magic Bites and The Hunger Games, herein.
In which the curse of high expectations strikes. I’ve really been looking forward to Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. While I found the novel readable, it was ultimately disappointing.
The problem? I was hoping for something more than the standard, tough-as-nails, chip-on-her-shoulder, loner heroine that typifies the urban fantasy(UF) genre. Magic Bites’s heroine, Kate Daniels, unfortunately, is not a departure from the trope. I love strong female characters, so my disinterest in tough girl UF protagonists puzzles me.
To get to the heart of my aversion, I first looked at one my newest, favorite fictional strong woman: the Hunger Games Trilogy’s Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is no girly girl. She is the ultimate survivor; a young women whose skills are forged through deprivation and a fierce love for her family, notably her little sister. She’s tough, but she also recognizes that survival involves more than a shoot-first, think-later mentality. Despite her ultimate role as a symbol of the rebellion, her preferred approach to dealing with authoritarian leadership is to keep her head down and not attract notice.
When the chips are down, Katniss is the kind of hero who will fight for what’s right, but she doesn’t go around picking fights and acting like a testosterone-poisoned bravo. She’s also heartbreakingly vulnerable and not at ease with the violence that comes so easy to others.
She’s a fully human character.
Kate Daniels, however, is a flat archetype. She swaggers and struts, only smiles to get what she wants, and deliberately antagonizes potential allies. Even though the character carries the trappings of an independent, feminist character, female friends or any kind of sistahood are nowhere to be seen. In the quest for “tough,” she’s been stripped of any maturity or humanity, and what’s left bears a strong resemblance to a dumb-ass teenage boy.
Magic Bites‘s entertainment value comes from the world building, not characterization. Here we have an Atlanta where magic and technology jostle for supremacy; one taking control for a span, then the other. The result is a fascinating mix of technological and magical products (magic cars that run on water). Under the influence of magic, skyscrapers have collapsed and people sometimes get around on horses. (Why not bikes, I wonder?) Werewolves and other werefolk are part of the landscape. Those who prefer that their vampires sparkle, emote, and chase teenage girls, should look elsewhere, as Magic Bites’s vamps are more like zombies with fangs.
The narrative doesn’t waste time with tiresome exposition dumps, instead dropping the reader right into the story and the action. As for action, there’s plenty, along with the lovely gritty, gory, details you’d expect from the genre.
The plot, however, is muddled and characterization is uneven. (For this, I blame the authors’ agent and editors, as it’s their job to spot inconsistencies.) Two of the worst plot glitches come later in the book.
Curran, the King of [were] Beasts, implicates Kate’s love interest as the villain. The werefolk gather up their metaphorical pitchforks and march over to love interest’s home to question him. When loverboy turns out to be innocent, everyone is furious at Kate for implicating the wrong man. Whuh-huh? This flub ruined the book for me. I’m not quick on the uptake and I breeze right over inconsistencies of this kind. If I have to flip back to double check a scene, it’s a huge problem.
Later, the villain is revealed (and frankly, given the weak setup, the revelation is kind of “meh.”). Villain does the evil monologue thing; attacks Kate; she escapes, and villain scurries off to inflict pain and suffering on Kate’s friends. At least, I think they are her friends. Kate’s response? She goes to sleep. Granted there was alcohol involved, but this hardly seems like the time for a nap. Especially since she’s been storming about, taking on evil, even when badly injured, throughout the novel.
Magic Bites is action-packed, violent and fast-paced. For readers who like the tough-chicks-with-swords archetype, this is probably a great read. But for me, book one may be the first and last of this series I read. (I’m told it gets better; debating putting the next book on my library queue.)
