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catrev's review against another edition
5.0
Fever Season by Barbara Hambly is the second book in the Benjamin January series. Benjamin is finally becoming comfortable in his hometown of New Orleans in 1833, returning after a sixteen-year absence and recovering from the events of the previous book, A Free Man of Color. Cholera has settled into the city for the summer, leaving it largely abandoned and his work as a musician in little need, so he's working at the local hospital caring for the many sick and dying from the dread illness known as Bronze John. When a runaway slave named Cora asks for his help getting a message to her lover, Benjamin has no idea what it will do to his life. When Cora's owner is found dead and she is accused of poisoning him and attempting to kill his wife the same way, Benjamin begins trying to discover the truth, but that journey leads him to discover that many slaves and free people of color are disappearing from the city. Eventually that discovery will destroy his reputation and put his life in grave danger. Hambly has recreated the city of New Orleans in all of its complex glory. Benjamin is a hero perfect for his city; he is tortured by his lost love and while he hates how he must never look a white man in the eyes here and is always in fear of losing his freedom, he can't bring himself to leave the city of his birth. Hambly does something completely unexpected in this sequel; she takes all control away from our hero. As the whispering campaign takes away Benjamin's livelihood and reputation, there is little he can do against the accusations, and when he finally takes action, the consequences nearly takes his life. Hambly places Benjamin in true historical events of the city, and retells a controversial and fascinating story through our hero's eyes. By pulling the rug out from under Benjamin so completely, she solidifies readers' affection for him. It's a stunning and completely successful move, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
alba89's review against another edition
4.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. Barbara Hambly is a very talented writer. Her prose is beautiful, the setting is compelling and she really makes you feel the difficulties of living as a free black man at the time. But the story takes absolutely forever to get going here. I managed to finish it but I kind of had to force myself. So much of this story is relentlessly grim, as well. It's a bit of a slog.
sadie_slater's review against another edition
3.0
The second of Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January mysteries takes place in a shuttered, stifling New Orleans in the grip of a summer epidemic of yellow fever. Returning from a night shift tending fever victims, January is approached by a young woman who asks him to try to pass a message to her husband, who has been sold to a household where January is piano teacher to the daughters. Despite being certain the woman is a runaway slave, January agrees to help, and when she subsequently disappears he finds himself investigating not just her disappearance, but a series of disappearances of people of colour, both slaves and free.
Hambly does an excellent job of evoking the steamy, stinking plague-ridden city and the fearful atmosphere of its deserted streets. The mystery is capably plotted but mostly doesn't overshadow the careful historical detail about the precarity and constriction of the lives of people of colour, and particularly women of colour, in 1830s New Orleans, which makes it all the more nailbiting when Hambly does turn up the plotting and the tension. The ending, which is based on an actual reported case (though there are some questions about its veracity) combines both elements to produce a denouement I would have thought was perhaps overdoing the grimdark a bit if I hadn't then read the author's note explaining it was based on real events; as it was, it did remind me that a scene in one of Hambly's fantasy novels once disturbed me enough to keep me awake one night when I was in my teens. Despite the grimness, I did enjoy this a lot, and look forward to reading more of the series.
Hambly does an excellent job of evoking the steamy, stinking plague-ridden city and the fearful atmosphere of its deserted streets. The mystery is capably plotted but mostly doesn't overshadow the careful historical detail about the precarity and constriction of the lives of people of colour, and particularly women of colour, in 1830s New Orleans, which makes it all the more nailbiting when Hambly does turn up the plotting and the tension. The ending, which is based on an actual reported case (though there are some questions about its veracity) combines both elements to produce a denouement I would have thought was perhaps overdoing the grimdark a bit if I hadn't then read the author's note explaining it was based on real events; as it was, it did remind me that a scene in one of Hambly's fantasy novels once disturbed me enough to keep me awake one night when I was in my teens. Despite the grimness, I did enjoy this a lot, and look forward to reading more of the series.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
3.0
I am re-reading this series this summer. Fever Season is the second volume of the January Mysteries. In New Orleans, many people have fled the city because of the epidemic. January hasn’t, though he might wish he had.
Hambly’s series succeeds because she mixes history in with a smidge of gothic and compelling characters that confronted racial issues, not only in adjusting to how the Americans have changed New Orleans, but also with an institution that denies Ben his ability to practice medicine and forces him to earn money with his skills as musicians.
In this book as well, we are introduced to Rose, a mixed-race woman, who struggles to be a science teacher to those mixed-race girls who are destined to be concubines to the rich white men who control New Orleans society, much the same way Ben’s youngest sister is, as was his mother.
Livia, Ben’s mother, is perhaps one of the greatest things about this series. She was a field hand until she, and her two children, were sold and her new master freed her. She became his concubine, and this former master paid for Ben’s education and is the father of Dominque. Livia’s determination to ensure her family’s survival has alienated her eldest daughter, who has established herself in the free black community as a voodoo priestess. But Livia is a fascinating character because she knows and works the structure that is forced on her. She is far more aware of what is at stake than Ben is in many cases, and she appears unfeeling, uncaring, and driven only by money. But one wonders.
To review the plot of the novel would be to offer a major spoiler, but the plot does involve Ben trying to discover what has happened to a missing young escaped slave as well as who is trying to destroy his reputation. The fictional plot is interwoven with real history and New Orleans lore in a realistic and compelling way.
Older ReviewIn many ways, the mystery is secondary to the relationship between January and his mother. Couched in the unusual story of a men who does not fit, is a look at familial relationships and the destruction and harm it can bring to a family.
Hambly’s series succeeds because she mixes history in with a smidge of gothic and compelling characters that confronted racial issues, not only in adjusting to how the Americans have changed New Orleans, but also with an institution that denies Ben his ability to practice medicine and forces him to earn money with his skills as musicians.
In this book as well, we are introduced to Rose, a mixed-race woman, who struggles to be a science teacher to those mixed-race girls who are destined to be concubines to the rich white men who control New Orleans society, much the same way Ben’s youngest sister is, as was his mother.
Livia, Ben’s mother, is perhaps one of the greatest things about this series. She was a field hand until she, and her two children, were sold and her new master freed her. She became his concubine, and this former master paid for Ben’s education and is the father of Dominque. Livia’s determination to ensure her family’s survival has alienated her eldest daughter, who has established herself in the free black community as a voodoo priestess. But Livia is a fascinating character because she knows and works the structure that is forced on her. She is far more aware of what is at stake than Ben is in many cases, and she appears unfeeling, uncaring, and driven only by money. But one wonders.
To review the plot of the novel would be to offer a major spoiler, but the plot does involve Ben trying to discover what has happened to a missing young escaped slave as well as who is trying to destroy his reputation. The fictional plot is interwoven with real history and New Orleans lore in a realistic and compelling way.
Older ReviewIn many ways, the mystery is secondary to the relationship between January and his mother. Couched in the unusual story of a men who does not fit, is a look at familial relationships and the destruction and harm it can bring to a family.
lirazel's review against another edition
5.0
I love this series. I love it so much that I want to read all of them RIGHT NOW, but the thought of having read them all and not having more to look forward to is intolerable.
It's rare to find a series that does everything as well as this one does: character, plot, setting. All three are vivid and believable and create an immersive experience. I want to live in this world despite all its darkness. And I feel like I'm learning about a very distinctive culture I knew nothing about before. The themes are strong, the insights into human behavior and how we order our societies are sharp. What's not to like?
It's rare to find a series that does everything as well as this one does: character, plot, setting. All three are vivid and believable and create an immersive experience. I want to live in this world despite all its darkness. And I feel like I'm learning about a very distinctive culture I knew nothing about before. The themes are strong, the insights into human behavior and how we order our societies are sharp. What's not to like?
tashabye's review against another edition
4.0
I love the feeling of historical New Orleans this book evokes.
threerings's review against another edition
4.0
I considered giving this five stars. It's certainly 4.5 stars. The setting, characters, and historical detail of 1830's New Orleans are just as awesome as in the first book, but the plot and mystery are even better. I enjoyed this so much. Ms. Hambly does a fantastic job of conveying to the reader the feeling of frustration and powerlessness of being a man of color in this world. Stunningly well done. Screw it, I'm giving it 5 stars.
pussreboots's review against another edition
4.0
Here's a book and a series I had completely forgotten about until the series was recommended during a recent round of the Book Blogger Hop. Going through my book diary I realized I'd read a book from the series. Then I remembered the fevers and murders during a hot New Orleans summer.
hopeevey's review against another edition
5.0
This is my choice for the Book Riot 2020 Read Harder challenge task# 7. Read a historical fiction novel not set in WWII
alesia_charles's review
5.0
The second of Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January series manages to hit the big trifecta of "reasons to be very glad you're living in 21st century America": we now know what causes diseases like yellow fever and cholera and how to cure them; we've abolished chattel slavery; and we let women pursue education and careers if they want to.
And it does all this in the context of an engrossing and troubling mystery about a certain type of person disappearing that's (loosely) based on reports of an actual historical event. Well, actually there are two mysteries that wind up crossing each other by accident. Hambly is at the top of her game here, and the novel explores the back alleys and fine houses of New Orleans with a clear, pitiless, and often shocking gaze.
And it does all this in the context of an engrossing and troubling mystery about a certain type of person disappearing that's (loosely) based on reports of an actual historical event. Well, actually there are two mysteries that wind up crossing each other by accident. Hambly is at the top of her game here, and the novel explores the back alleys and fine houses of New Orleans with a clear, pitiless, and often shocking gaze.