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A review by kimberlybea
Dead To Me by Anton Strout
3.0
This one has been sitting on my TBR shelf for awhile, patiently waiting for me to pick it up. It was in good company , among a lot of other urban fantasy novels waiting to be read, but what finally convinced me to pick up Dead to Me was a. Strout's interview at Bitten by Books and b. my reading of Ann Aguirre's Blue Diablo, which also involves a psychometrist---I was curious to compare the two. Psychometry is the ability to read the history of an object solely by touch; it's an ability that I haven't seen crop up too much in urban fantasy, and Strout and Aguirre both handle it well, in distinctly different ways (yeah, I was worried, I'll admit it). For Simon Canderous, psychometry is both a burden that prevents his having ordinary relationships and a gift that led to his joining New York's Department of Extraordinary Affairs. Previously a petty thief, Simon has been working for the bureau for seven months, mentored by the older, somewhat more conservative Connor Christos, when he spills his drink through a beautiful woman. Irene Blatt doesn't remember how she died, and of course it falls to Simon and Connor to solve the mystery, though they'll have to face down the powers of darkness to do so.
Reviewing this book reminds me in a way of grading a B paper; although B is a good grade, I find myself having to defend it by pointing out all the reasons I didn't give it an A. Similarly, Dead to Me was an enjoyable read, though it falls short of amazing; enjoyable enough that i am now reading the second book to see if any of the issues I had with book one will have been resolved. I really like Simon for both his personality and his ability, which has the drawback of making him terribly hypoglycemic. I also really like the world of the DEA, which has its headquarters behind a coffee shop called Lovecrafts (hee hee!), officers known as Inspectres and Enchancellors (hee hee hee!), and subdivisions like Things that Go Bump in the Night. I giggled at every reference to the workshops and pamphlets the Department has to offer (e.g. Deadside Manner: Staying Cool in Troubled Times), and I agree with those who have compared the the department to something out of Men in Black. So those are the things I liked about the book.
The things I dislike about Dead to Me are all more or less connected and relate to how Strout portrays the female characters in this book: that is, not well. I have no problem with Irene being as damsel in distress---since she is non-corporeal and an amnesiac, it makes sense that she would need Simon and Connor's help. I'm less willing to make allowances for Tamera, a minor character with whom Simon has an abortive attempt at intercourse at the beginning of the book----in her position, feeling like my date has been spying on me, the last thing I'd do is call him fifty times demanding explanations (I'd get as far away as possible). However, the worst example of a poorly portrayed female character is Jane, about how I can't say too much without revealing spoilers, but who really struck me as both incompetent and juvenile. Most of the urban fantasy I read features strong female characters, and in some of those I'll admit the male characters seem to be there mostly for the heroine to ogle. However, I don't enjoy those one dimensional male characters anymore than I do one dimensional female characters, although the former at least are usually good at their jobs. I am hoping that as the series continues and Strout grows as a writer, the women in his books will become more realistic, and what I've read of book 2 suggests that they might.
Reviewing this book reminds me in a way of grading a B paper; although B is a good grade, I find myself having to defend it by pointing out all the reasons I didn't give it an A. Similarly, Dead to Me was an enjoyable read, though it falls short of amazing; enjoyable enough that i am now reading the second book to see if any of the issues I had with book one will have been resolved. I really like Simon for both his personality and his ability, which has the drawback of making him terribly hypoglycemic. I also really like the world of the DEA, which has its headquarters behind a coffee shop called Lovecrafts (hee hee!), officers known as Inspectres and Enchancellors (hee hee hee!), and subdivisions like Things that Go Bump in the Night. I giggled at every reference to the workshops and pamphlets the Department has to offer (e.g. Deadside Manner: Staying Cool in Troubled Times), and I agree with those who have compared the the department to something out of Men in Black. So those are the things I liked about the book.
The things I dislike about Dead to Me are all more or less connected and relate to how Strout portrays the female characters in this book: that is, not well. I have no problem with Irene being as damsel in distress---since she is non-corporeal and an amnesiac, it makes sense that she would need Simon and Connor's help. I'm less willing to make allowances for Tamera, a minor character with whom Simon has an abortive attempt at intercourse at the beginning of the book----in her position, feeling like my date has been spying on me, the last thing I'd do is call him fifty times demanding explanations (I'd get as far away as possible). However, the worst example of a poorly portrayed female character is Jane, about how I can't say too much without revealing spoilers, but who really struck me as both incompetent and juvenile. Most of the urban fantasy I read features strong female characters, and in some of those I'll admit the male characters seem to be there mostly for the heroine to ogle. However, I don't enjoy those one dimensional male characters anymore than I do one dimensional female characters, although the former at least are usually good at their jobs. I am hoping that as the series continues and Strout grows as a writer, the women in his books will become more realistic, and what I've read of book 2 suggests that they might.