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kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
Are you a fan of Urban Fantasy but already over-fed on the glut of kick-butt heroines out there? Already over-dosed on Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and sadly have finished Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles?
Well here's a treat for you.
Fortitude Scott, his cranky "older sister", and a kitsune spirit love interest.
And really, really, excellent snarky dialogue.
This is full-throttle city Urban Fantasy with shapeshifters and vampires and vampire-politics and pediaphiliac yuckiness. But it's also how Fort is kind of a doormat, is just barely managing to scrape by, and the events that conspire that finally force him out of emotional inertia and to stand up for something he believes in (rescuing someone from the yucky pediaphile).
It kind of made me wince how passive and whiny Fort is. But about 2/3's of the way through the book (and especially whenever trading dialogue shots with Suzume) he started to grow on me. By the end, I was all in. Fortitude is a human who is transitioning (through no choice of his own) into a vampire. His older vampire sister, Prudence hates him (she gives off the snarky, cranky vibe Charlaine Harris perfected with her character Pam from the Southern vampire series), his older brother, Chivalry doesn't understand how he can survive in a broke-down car, ratty sneakers, and t-shirts with holes. But Fort's just trying to retain his sanity and morals in a vampire world that thinks humans are as expendable as cabbages, and where his beloved foster parents were killed by a person he has to make polite dinner conversation with.
And then there's Suzume Hollis. She's a kitsune, a fox spirit. One might see her portrayal as a bit on the cliche side, but I loved her. She's not a human who shifts shape once in a while, she's a fox who deigns to become human occasionally, and she sasses/teases/criticizes Fort the entire time while being a major source of support.. And she's funny, and she and Fort trade alot of fun banter.
My main complaint with Harry Dresden and the Iron Druid series is that I like a bit of romance with my Urban Fantasy. While there isn't the full-throttle lovin' one gets in a Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, or Ilona Andrews book, there's just enough emotional development between Fort and Suzume to keep me happy. (and actually, emotional development between Fort and his brother Chivalry as well).
Looking for a nicely plotted, entertaining, slice of Urban Fantasy pie with a dash of serial-killer? Generation V has what you're looking for. I'm off to order the next in the series, as long as Suzume's still in it.
Well here's a treat for you.
Fortitude Scott, his cranky "older sister", and a kitsune spirit love interest.
And really, really, excellent snarky dialogue.
This is full-throttle city Urban Fantasy with shapeshifters and vampires and vampire-politics and pediaphiliac yuckiness. But it's also how Fort is kind of a doormat, is just barely managing to scrape by, and the events that conspire that finally force him out of emotional inertia and to stand up for something he believes in (rescuing someone from the yucky pediaphile).
It kind of made me wince how passive and whiny Fort is. But about 2/3's of the way through the book (and especially whenever trading dialogue shots with Suzume) he started to grow on me. By the end, I was all in. Fortitude is a human who is transitioning (through no choice of his own) into a vampire. His older vampire sister, Prudence hates him (she gives off the snarky, cranky vibe Charlaine Harris perfected with her character Pam from the Southern vampire series), his older brother, Chivalry doesn't understand how he can survive in a broke-down car, ratty sneakers, and t-shirts with holes. But Fort's just trying to retain his sanity and morals in a vampire world that thinks humans are as expendable as cabbages, and where his beloved foster parents were killed by a person he has to make polite dinner conversation with.
And then there's Suzume Hollis. She's a kitsune, a fox spirit. One might see her portrayal as a bit on the cliche side, but I loved her. She's not a human who shifts shape once in a while, she's a fox who deigns to become human occasionally, and she sasses/teases/criticizes Fort the entire time while being a major source of support.. And she's funny, and she and Fort trade alot of fun banter.
My main complaint with Harry Dresden and the Iron Druid series is that I like a bit of romance with my Urban Fantasy. While there isn't the full-throttle lovin' one gets in a Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, or Ilona Andrews book, there's just enough emotional development between Fort and Suzume to keep me happy. (and actually, emotional development between Fort and his brother Chivalry as well).
Looking for a nicely plotted, entertaining, slice of Urban Fantasy pie with a dash of serial-killer? Generation V has what you're looking for. I'm off to order the next in the series, as long as Suzume's still in it.
texaswolfman's review against another edition
5.0
Great book!! New take on vampires, which was refreshing. Wonderful fleshed out characters. Started slow but stick with it. When the shape-shifter is introduced, the excitement, suspense and entertainment ratchet it up several notches.
jezzebelljc's review against another edition
5.0
Strength and Firmness of Mind
I love a good vampire book as much as the next person, but authors face the daunting task of giving me what I want and making sure I'm not reading the same story over and over again.
The Good
Generation V is definitely unlike any vampire book I've read before. I had to throw away all of my preconceptions about what it means to be a vampire. Well, let me re-phrase that. I had to throw away all of my preconceptions about what it means to be MOSTLY a vampire. Fortitude is not all vampire yet, and he doesn't hold any of the traits that I know I stereo-typically associate with a vampire. He's not sauve, he's not calculating, he's not callous, and he most certainly does not have money. More than that, he's the underdog. I root for him the whole story to completely cut ties with that cheating girlfriend, to grow a pair and kick out that free-loading roommate, to kiss the girl despite nerves (plus who cares if she's out of your league!), and to get the bad guy despite no real super powers.
The names are a lot of fun in Generation V. Fortitude is such an apt name for our hero. He's strong of mind and firm in resolve, but doesn't have that physical strength or superman body. His brother Chivalry is someone I'd like to know more of. His name is fitting with regards to what I've seen so far in that he's a vampire and doesn't have qualms about human life being lower on the scale to theirs, but he stands up for his brother every chance he can as well as being a gentleman in some odd ways. You'll have to read more to know what I mean on that score. Fort's sister Prudence is all about her own interests and acts in a very practical fashion, so that one is right on as well. I also met Fort's mother, the matriarch of the clan Madeline.
"AH! You better make him pay!!" Fort takes on the task of saving some local girls from a visiting vampire, Luca, that flat-out sickens me. I want Fortitude to succeed so badly while reading that I yell at the book. Thankfully, he has help in the form of a sultry shape-shifter that has to be my favorite in the book, Suzume. I don't want to tell you too much about her because I want her to be a surprise, but just know I don't come across someone like her everyday, I love her fierce attitude and nonchalant hear-me-roar nature, and I ADORE the fact that Brennan gave us this creature to appreciate in Generation V.
The Bad
There were some definite times when I wanted to shake Fort and ask him why on earth he puts up with half the crap in his life that he does. Man, you are a doormat for part of the story!
I want to put this here for some to be fair-warned. There is a pedophile vampire as the bad guy. He's seriously nasty. Messing with kids is not ok! There is mention of what is 'probably' happening to the young girls but nothing graphic is shown or told in the story.
The Romance
There's not a lot of romance in Generation V. Fortitude's girlfriend is not someone that I liked. Suzume was a nice bit of chemistry and mixed things up well but while there was a lot of potential there and some flirting, there's not a romance.
Conclusion
By the end of this book, Fortitude was a nice strong character that I could really stand behind. I cheered for him and wanted him to succeed the whole time. He grew and made better decisions as time progressed and I was happy to see him in a much better place at the end. A true underdog that is on a mission with a wonderful sidekick. There is humor, action, and the extreme desire for the hero to win. Again, messing with kids is not ok so the bad guy had to go down!! Very recommended.
*Original Review at JC's Book Haven and given 4.5 stars. Sent by author for honest review.
I love a good vampire book as much as the next person, but authors face the daunting task of giving me what I want and making sure I'm not reading the same story over and over again.
The Good
Generation V is definitely unlike any vampire book I've read before. I had to throw away all of my preconceptions about what it means to be a vampire. Well, let me re-phrase that. I had to throw away all of my preconceptions about what it means to be MOSTLY a vampire. Fortitude is not all vampire yet, and he doesn't hold any of the traits that I know I stereo-typically associate with a vampire. He's not sauve, he's not calculating, he's not callous, and he most certainly does not have money. More than that, he's the underdog. I root for him the whole story to completely cut ties with that cheating girlfriend, to grow a pair and kick out that free-loading roommate, to kiss the girl despite nerves (plus who cares if she's out of your league!), and to get the bad guy despite no real super powers.
The names are a lot of fun in Generation V. Fortitude is such an apt name for our hero. He's strong of mind and firm in resolve, but doesn't have that physical strength or superman body. His brother Chivalry is someone I'd like to know more of. His name is fitting with regards to what I've seen so far in that he's a vampire and doesn't have qualms about human life being lower on the scale to theirs, but he stands up for his brother every chance he can as well as being a gentleman in some odd ways. You'll have to read more to know what I mean on that score. Fort's sister Prudence is all about her own interests and acts in a very practical fashion, so that one is right on as well. I also met Fort's mother, the matriarch of the clan Madeline.
"AH! You better make him pay!!" Fort takes on the task of saving some local girls from a visiting vampire, Luca, that flat-out sickens me. I want Fortitude to succeed so badly while reading that I yell at the book. Thankfully, he has help in the form of a sultry shape-shifter that has to be my favorite in the book, Suzume. I don't want to tell you too much about her because I want her to be a surprise, but just know I don't come across someone like her everyday, I love her fierce attitude and nonchalant hear-me-roar nature, and I ADORE the fact that Brennan gave us this creature to appreciate in Generation V.
The Bad
There were some definite times when I wanted to shake Fort and ask him why on earth he puts up with half the crap in his life that he does. Man, you are a doormat for part of the story!
I want to put this here for some to be fair-warned. There is a pedophile vampire as the bad guy. He's seriously nasty. Messing with kids is not ok! There is mention of what is 'probably' happening to the young girls but nothing graphic is shown or told in the story.
The Romance
There's not a lot of romance in Generation V. Fortitude's girlfriend is not someone that I liked. Suzume was a nice bit of chemistry and mixed things up well but while there was a lot of potential there and some flirting, there's not a romance.
Conclusion
By the end of this book, Fortitude was a nice strong character that I could really stand behind. I cheered for him and wanted him to succeed the whole time. He grew and made better decisions as time progressed and I was happy to see him in a much better place at the end. A true underdog that is on a mission with a wonderful sidekick. There is humor, action, and the extreme desire for the hero to win. Again, messing with kids is not ok so the bad guy had to go down!! Very recommended.
*Original Review at JC's Book Haven and given 4.5 stars. Sent by author for honest review.
chllybrd's review against another edition
4.0
I have not read many stories where there is a male protagonist. I don't know if it's because there are not many of them or that I just don't pick them up but GENERATION V was a character driven story with a neat take on vampires that I had a good time reading.
Fortitude starts out as a dorky, quite, uncomfortable in his own skin kinda guy. He has a "girlfriend" and roommate that walk all over him and a family that he would rather not be associated with. He works in a nasty coffee shop with a boss that treats her employees like crap. He is the youngest of his siblings and he has not yet made the transition to full vampire so he really doesn't have anything in common with them and he likes it that way. Throughout the story Fortitude grows into himself and learns to embrace who he is to save a few little girls that were kidnapped by another vampire. Suzume was a neat character. She is a Kitsune shifter hired by Fortitude's mother to protect him. She does a great job of throwing him off his game but also giving him the confidence he needs to pursue what he wants to do. She calls him out on his faults often but you can tell she cares about what happens to him no matter how hard she claims not to. There is not a romance between the two but there were a few times where some sparks can be seen.
Fortitude's family was interesting to say the least. His mother is a very old vampire that makes him come home for family dinners although she adopted him out after he was born to be raised by humans. His brother Chivalry is loving and devoted to his human wife while also killing her a little more every day. His sister hates him and would do anything to see him fail. You end up getting to know them well during the story and you will either love them or hate them.
GENERATION V was an interesting read. It managed to pull off a well-rounded story while also introducing you to everyone and everything that makes up Brennan's world. With the way things progressed I'm definitely interested in what will happen next for Fortitude. I'm not sure when book 2 will be here but I will be reading it!
Fortitude starts out as a dorky, quite, uncomfortable in his own skin kinda guy. He has a "girlfriend" and roommate that walk all over him and a family that he would rather not be associated with. He works in a nasty coffee shop with a boss that treats her employees like crap. He is the youngest of his siblings and he has not yet made the transition to full vampire so he really doesn't have anything in common with them and he likes it that way. Throughout the story Fortitude grows into himself and learns to embrace who he is to save a few little girls that were kidnapped by another vampire. Suzume was a neat character. She is a Kitsune shifter hired by Fortitude's mother to protect him. She does a great job of throwing him off his game but also giving him the confidence he needs to pursue what he wants to do. She calls him out on his faults often but you can tell she cares about what happens to him no matter how hard she claims not to. There is not a romance between the two but there were a few times where some sparks can be seen.
Fortitude's family was interesting to say the least. His mother is a very old vampire that makes him come home for family dinners although she adopted him out after he was born to be raised by humans. His brother Chivalry is loving and devoted to his human wife while also killing her a little more every day. His sister hates him and would do anything to see him fail. You end up getting to know them well during the story and you will either love them or hate them.
GENERATION V was an interesting read. It managed to pull off a well-rounded story while also introducing you to everyone and everything that makes up Brennan's world. With the way things progressed I'm definitely interested in what will happen next for Fortitude. I'm not sure when book 2 will be here but I will be reading it!
snazel's review against another edition
3.0
The main character is the biggest pushover of all time, and his sidekick/side character is a trickster. Would continue to read series.
rclz's review against another edition
4.0
Good book. Really like the world he's put together. Parts of it are kind of horrifying, like Prudence, but all in all it's well done. The characters are very unique. I really like Forte and Suzume. His mother and brother grow on you. The plot was well done for an intro book. The info dump only drug the plot a little but that's good for a first book in a series. I'm looking forward to the next one.
bookish_babe's review against another edition
4.0
My oh my, what can I possibly say about Fortitude Scott? Fort's life is a complete mess and the poor guy got a crappy deal in life but this kid has a freaking heart of gold. He's the guy that never gives up even when he knows.. knows, that he is on the losing end. Fortitude is genuine and sincere and a complete push over in the beginning but watching him figure out who he wants to be and what he has to do to get there is worth the journey!
I truly enjoyed reading Generation V. It's honestly a book that I probably never would have picked up had I seen it on a shelf and what a shame that would have been. Brennan has an entirely new take on Vampires and the super natural world as a whole that was really interesting and unique. The story is unlike anything I've come across and Suzume, well, she's freaking amazing and I want her to be my friend. I highly recommend you give Generation V a shot. It will not disappoint and just wait till you get to the little fox and the bathroom. I'm not kidding when I say I read this part and laughed out loud suffering several, 'that chick is crazy' looks from the random strangers near by.
Generation V is a book I am extremely grateful I had the chance to read. The characters captivated my attention and the story kept me turning the page. I will admit to occasional lulls in the story but it was pretty awesome none the less!
I truly enjoyed reading Generation V. It's honestly a book that I probably never would have picked up had I seen it on a shelf and what a shame that would have been. Brennan has an entirely new take on Vampires and the super natural world as a whole that was really interesting and unique. The story is unlike anything I've come across and Suzume, well, she's freaking amazing and I want her to be my friend. I highly recommend you give Generation V a shot. It will not disappoint and just wait till you get to the little fox and the bathroom. I'm not kidding when I say I read this part and laughed out loud suffering several, 'that chick is crazy' looks from the random strangers near by.
Generation V is a book I am extremely grateful I had the chance to read. The characters captivated my attention and the story kept me turning the page. I will admit to occasional lulls in the story but it was pretty awesome none the less!
kmpuzzled's review against another edition
4.0
Great start to a solid Urban Fantasy series. Our hero is a slacker, the baby in a family of vampires, whose only goal is not to grow up to be like his relatives. He comes across a bad situation and is disturbed enough to try to do something, even with few skills or resources. There's humor and snark, investigations and fighting. The characters are well developed and the author does a nice job of finishing without cliffhangers while still leaving places for future books to go.
book_hoarding_dragon's review against another edition
5.0
I originally came across this book while shopping in Fred Meyer in an attempt to spice up my to-read shelf. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, this one didn't stay there for long.
The story opens with Fort who is a vampire and a door mat. His girlfriend is openly cheating on him (cause that's what present relations are like?), his roommate hasn't paid rent in four months, and his coworkers and managers walk all over him at work. The story opens with Luca, the tool European vampire, requesting a visit with Madeline (Fort's mother) cause she's basically a baby-making machine (I guess in the vampire world having one child is a gift but three is all WTF? What nefarious things are you doing to have so many children?). Luca shows up with two in his entourage Philip, a creepy 'host', and Maria (a little girl he was attempting to have Philip get pregnant, cause Maria no longer fit his 'needs'. Yep, Luca is a pedophile.). Luca is all this place is cool, I'm going to kick back my heels for a week. Fort tries to save Maria, but fails. Soon after, Maria turns up dead and then the parents of two little girls are murdered with the girls missing. Fort knows that Luca was involved and when Madeline forbids Chic (Fort's older brother) from helping. Fort gets help from Suzume, the kitsune that Madeline hired as a bodyguard. They are off to try to save the girls cause Fort, he got feels.
I really enjoyed this book. Cause kitsune, how awesome is that?! I really like it when other mythological creatures/people are used in American literature. Also, M.L. Brennan has an interesting take on vampires. For example, vampires don't live forever. They can grow old and die but it'd take a really long time.
There was a few things that bugged me about the story, story-building wise. So, there's something in a vampire bite that due to long-term feeding basically kills the human. This is brought up in the story cause of Maria and this is also happening to Chiv's wife. He's supposed to be absolutely in love with his wife and she's his whole world, but he's fine with slowly killing her? Can't he just drink bagged blood,animal,or artificial? And if he could, that's just douchey. Alas, it isn't addressed in the book.
Another thing, I don't get is the baby-making. A Host is made when you take a human drain their blood and replace it with your own vampiric blood. Since it's not human blood, it causes the body to undergo all these changes and become insane (kind of reminded me of the Reavers from Firefly). When you have a host you either take a male or female (maybe) and get them to have a baby and voila! you have your very own genetic baby. The vampire is considered to be the real parents since they're so genetically similar than to the Hosts. Luca's host was male and again it wasn't if in European vampire culture, it's the culture to have your Host be male. Now, it was mentioned that vampires have functioning sexual reproductive organs but they do it this way cause it's just what they do. Seriously? Since this way is really difficult and it takes finesse and time to make a good Host. Two vampires never looked at each other and wondered wouldn't it just be easier to boink one another?
Okay, the story was still interesting with the other supernatural creatures included in book. It was also a fast, good read. But it is dark and gritty. If you like light-heartened stories this isn't for you (I really like Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus series, but I know that some people have gotten turned off by it cause of how dark it can get).
The story opens with Fort who is a vampire and a door mat. His girlfriend is openly cheating on him (cause that's what present relations are like?), his roommate hasn't paid rent in four months, and his coworkers and managers walk all over him at work. The story opens with Luca, the tool European vampire, requesting a visit with Madeline (Fort's mother) cause she's basically a baby-making machine (I guess in the vampire world having one child is a gift but three is all WTF? What nefarious things are you doing to have so many children?). Luca shows up with two in his entourage Philip, a creepy 'host', and Maria (a little girl he was attempting to have Philip get pregnant, cause Maria no longer fit his 'needs'. Yep, Luca is a pedophile.). Luca is all this place is cool, I'm going to kick back my heels for a week. Fort tries to save Maria, but fails. Soon after, Maria turns up dead and then the parents of two little girls are murdered with the girls missing. Fort knows that Luca was involved and when Madeline forbids Chic (Fort's older brother) from helping. Fort gets help from Suzume, the kitsune that Madeline hired as a bodyguard. They are off to try to save the girls cause Fort, he got feels.
I really enjoyed this book. Cause kitsune, how awesome is that?! I really like it when other mythological creatures/people are used in American literature. Also, M.L. Brennan has an interesting take on vampires. For example, vampires don't live forever. They can grow old and die but it'd take a really long time.
There was a few things that bugged me about the story, story-building wise. So, there's something in a vampire bite that due to long-term feeding basically kills the human. This is brought up in the story cause of Maria and this is also happening to Chiv's wife. He's supposed to be absolutely in love with his wife and she's his whole world, but he's fine with slowly killing her? Can't he just drink bagged blood,animal,or artificial? And if he could, that's just douchey. Alas, it isn't addressed in the book.
Another thing, I don't get is the baby-making. A Host is made when you take a human drain their blood and replace it with your own vampiric blood. Since it's not human blood, it causes the body to undergo all these changes and become insane (kind of reminded me of the Reavers from Firefly). When you have a host you either take a male or female (maybe) and get them to have a baby and voila! you have your very own genetic baby. The vampire is considered to be the real parents since they're so genetically similar than to the Hosts. Luca's host was male and again it wasn't if in European vampire culture, it's the culture to have your Host be male. Now, it was mentioned that vampires have functioning sexual reproductive organs but they do it this way cause it's just what they do. Seriously? Since this way is really difficult and it takes finesse and time to make a good Host. Two vampires never looked at each other and wondered wouldn't it just be easier to boink one another?
Okay, the story was still interesting with the other supernatural creatures included in book. It was also a fast, good read. But it is dark and gritty. If you like light-heartened stories this isn't for you (I really like Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus series, but I know that some people have gotten turned off by it cause of how dark it can get).
leelah's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars read for me.
In a genre that is dominated by strong female lead character, I was all over new series with male character. UF is my favorite genre, but I do love variety. :)
Well, I think this was excellent debut for M.L. Brennan. It was fun, it held my attention from the beginning and I read it one sitting.
Fortitude is a vampire. Kind of... :) He is a vampire in becoming, but he holds to his human side very strongly. That's easily understood once you meet Fort's vampire family. Charming people, really. :)
Vampires are so overused in fiction and it's very hard coming with something new that's not ridiculous like sparkling, but it's still interesting. And Brennan managed that,she introduced a new twist on vampire lore preserving scary and dangerous image of them. I liked that.
Plot is fast-paced. New vampire is in town and he is killing girls. Unlike his family who don't really understand what's the big deal, Fort can't sit still. Not fully a vampire, with no money and no sense of preservation Fort goes on a mission to save girls. His only help is Suzume, shifter bodyguard his mother asigned to him. I absolutely loved her. She is funny, confident and she wrecks havoc wherever she is.:)
I deducted one star,because I didn't like how Fort was so damn miserable at the beginning. It's cliche and for someone who is living on his own defying his vampire family he didn't fit the spineless guy with cheating girlfriend and bad roommate.
I added book #2 on my tbr list.
In a genre that is dominated by strong female lead character, I was all over new series with male character. UF is my favorite genre, but I do love variety. :)
Well, I think this was excellent debut for M.L. Brennan. It was fun, it held my attention from the beginning and I read it one sitting.
Fortitude is a vampire. Kind of... :) He is a vampire in becoming, but he holds to his human side very strongly. That's easily understood once you meet Fort's vampire family. Charming people, really. :)
Vampires are so overused in fiction and it's very hard coming with something new that's not ridiculous like sparkling, but it's still interesting. And Brennan managed that,she introduced a new twist on vampire lore preserving scary and dangerous image of them. I liked that.
Plot is fast-paced. New vampire is in town and he is killing girls. Unlike his family who don't really understand what's the big deal, Fort can't sit still. Not fully a vampire, with no money and no sense of preservation Fort goes on a mission to save girls. His only help is Suzume, shifter bodyguard his mother asigned to him. I absolutely loved her. She is funny, confident and she wrecks havoc wherever she is.:)
I deducted one star,because I didn't like how Fort was so damn miserable at the beginning. It's cliche and for someone who is living on his own defying his vampire family he didn't fit the spineless guy with cheating girlfriend and bad roommate.
I added book #2 on my tbr list.