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A review by mdstepp1998
My Dead Body by Charlie Huston
4.0
Personally, finishing the series at five books seems like the right thing to do. Anymore and it becomes either too ridiculous (even for a story about vampyres, but how could Joe Pitt keep getting shot and cut up and still live) or stale (more story arcs like [b:Half the Blood of Brooklyn|1061262|Half the Blood of Brooklyn (Joe Pitt Casebooks, #3)|Charlie Huston|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255623495s/1061262.jpg|2564066] wouldn't be a good thing, in my opinion).
My Dead Body deviates from the theme of the previous four by being structured almost like a final journal entry of a person before death. Pitt even comes off as ready and waiting for death, which is a stark contrast to his previous headstrong survival for the sake of being with his girl Evie (now a vampyre of the Enclave Clan).
While it may not seem possible, the action scenes are even more brutal and fast paced while the dialogue surrounding the main tangential characters (Predo of the Coalition, Terry of the Society, and Amanda of the Cure Clan) is very witty and suspenseful. All of the great prose of the preceding books is still here, but on steroids at times.
The only weakness of the story is how quickly (even with the additional 50 or so pages Charlie Huston gives to the story compared to the others) Pitt runs through cleaning up all loose ends. Intriguing characters like Percy, Lament, and Chubby Freeze are handled very quickly and without regard for any previous connection the reader may have had with them. In hindsight, though, this could be chalked up to an ode to how Pitt views the people around him, but that may be a stretch.
By the end though, you should take a breathe and realize how many twists, turns, and plot results have taken place on each page. It really is quite a ride and even though many interesting characters seemed to be glossed over, the combined story arc of Predo, Terry, and Amanda is excellent and quite memorable. Compare how much occurred in the equivalent of ~1300 pages of text to how many series seem to drag on and on without consequence (I'm thinking of Robert Jordan here).
A highly recommended series for anyone looking for an intense, no holds bar crime drama with a good shot of vampyre fantasy and politics involved.
My Dead Body deviates from the theme of the previous four by being structured almost like a final journal entry of a person before death. Pitt even comes off as ready and waiting for death, which is a stark contrast to his previous headstrong survival for the sake of being with his girl Evie (now a vampyre of the Enclave Clan).
While it may not seem possible, the action scenes are even more brutal and fast paced while the dialogue surrounding the main tangential characters (Predo of the Coalition, Terry of the Society, and Amanda of the Cure Clan) is very witty and suspenseful. All of the great prose of the preceding books is still here, but on steroids at times.
The only weakness of the story is how quickly (even with the additional 50 or so pages Charlie Huston gives to the story compared to the others) Pitt runs through cleaning up all loose ends. Intriguing characters like Percy, Lament, and Chubby Freeze are handled very quickly and without regard for any previous connection the reader may have had with them. In hindsight, though, this could be chalked up to an ode to how Pitt views the people around him, but that may be a stretch.
By the end though, you should take a breathe and realize how many twists, turns, and plot results have taken place on each page. It really is quite a ride and even though many interesting characters seemed to be glossed over, the combined story arc of Predo, Terry, and Amanda is excellent and quite memorable. Compare how much occurred in the equivalent of ~1300 pages of text to how many series seem to drag on and on without consequence (I'm thinking of Robert Jordan here).
A highly recommended series for anyone looking for an intense, no holds bar crime drama with a good shot of vampyre fantasy and politics involved.