Kit Whitfield

Lola lives in a world where she is the minority. As a bareback she was born with a birth defect that results in her not changing into a wolf during a full moon. She and others like her have no choice but to work for DORLA (Department for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycanthropic Activity), a government agency tasks with patrolling the streets during the change to make sure no one is out and about as wolves. One of her colleagues is maimed by a bad Lune and shortly after the man responsible was show more assigned to be advised by Lola someone kills her friend. Now Lola must find out if her client is responsible for murder.

Benighted is unlike any book I have read before. On the surface it looks like a typical paranormal fantasy, it is about a world where werewolves are the majority. But it reads much more like a police procedural or mystery novel. Whitfield uses the fantasy set up to examine prejudice and what it does to people on both sides. By making "regular people" the minority, she puts the reader in the place of those that are discriminated against. It allows you to see similarities and insights about how other minority groups are treated without having to single out one group. Overall it is how people react when put in tough situations. The main character has plenty of flaws and does a lot of unforgivable things, but I found myself pulling for her and hoping that she finds some internal peace. I recommend this book to anyone that likes books that make you reflect on the world, even they are not necessarily a fan of fantasy and paranormal stories. show less

Whistle knows he's not like everyone else. His lungs give out after only a half hour underwater, and his tail is strangely divided. Finally, his mother gives up on him and casts him out onto the land, where a scholar takes him in and tries to civilize him.

This could be an interesting tale (heh) of a fish out of water (heh) with a critique of colonialism and humanism running beneath it. But then we get the explanation of *why* Henry/Whistle is being raised, and to me, the explanation turns show more this book into something even greater.

[b:In Great Waters|6309140|In Great Waters|Kit Whitfield|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266629732s/6309140.jpg|6494266] is a cross between British history, and [b:The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing|169762|The Pox Party (The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, #1)|M.T. Anderson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172369018s/169762.jpg|577024], but with mermaids. It sounds like crack, but Whitfield is an incredible writer. As in [b:Benighted|362956|Benighted|Kit Whitfield|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174108230s/362956.jpg|353041], fantastical creatures are used to people and complicate a world that is recognizable but a bit off. Issues of power and control, of who gets to make decisions, of what world-view is acknowledged, how history is created, of how norms are created/overturned/reaffirmed--all of it roils through her books. Physicality has a power here that few authors acknowledge, from the calloused hands of lycanthropes in [b:Benighted|362956|Benighted|Kit Whitfield|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174108230s/362956.jpg|353041] to the curved backs and crutches of royalty here. These are the books I would give to anyone who doubts that fantasy can still have new things to say. show less

Lola May Galley is human. When the moon rises, she does not go lyco. Instead of growing fur and howling at the moon, she sets out with others from the Department for the Ongoing Regulation of Lycanthropic Activity (DORLA) to catch stray lycos and criminals who haven't locked themselves up properly. She is a human in a world run by werewolves. She is looked down upon for being born non-lyco (considered a disability by most in her world), and like all others with her disability, she spends her show more days and nights working for the lycos in a lyco run world.

During a full moon, a friend loses a hand when a lune goes bad and then he ends up murdered before the attacker is brought to trial. She finds herself wrapped up in a case that runs much deeper than she thought with societal implications that leave her terrified and almost numb.

I know vampire and werewolf stories are starting to run thin, and even I myself, who happens to like stories with these creatures, am getting a bit tired. Yet, after reading In Great Waters, I found I liked Whitfield's writing and wanted to read more. I found Benighted and became entranced with her world. She takes the normal werewolf story and turns it upside down. It is now the humans living in poor conditions, fighting prejudice at the hands of a world run by werewolves, and living degrading and horrifying lives. Being born a bareback (the negative term given to those children born head first and human) means living a life only to attend to lycos. They are given no other choice and for them it is a sad, scary, dangerous, and mostly short life.

Lola was the only non-lyco born in her family and she lived her entire life wondering what it would be like to turn with the full moon. When she finds herself in a relationship with a lyco, she ends up finding answers to questions that she never thought about. The devastating consequences make for a good, and sad, story. There are some, more like many, disturbing moments in this book. When Lola talks about her childhood I felt like she shared a bit too much and I wished she would take some of it back but it was already on the table at the point. It took me a while to like Lola even though I felt for her from the start. She does things that she hates, and begins to hate herself with good reason. It's unfortunate that she feels, and in many cases is right, that she has no other choice. For someone in her position, it is only a life of servitude and nothing more even if she is made to feel free. It is the life she was born into and nothing will change her. She becomes more hardened against the outside world and that's just to keep herself sane.

Whitfield is a good writer and I enjoyed this one much more than In Great Waters. Even if you're tired of werewolves, I'd say give this one a chance. It's an interesting, if sad and disturbing, world to get drawn into. There are a lot of themes at play, many of which I haven't even touched on here, that leave you wondering more about societal ramifications than actual werewolves. It's a dark world to get drawn into. show less

This was an absolutely exquisite novel, engrossing and so entirely believable I am now a little disappointed at the lack of deepsmen in the real world. The points of divergence from our own history are perfectly orchestrated, and the consequences thoroughly worked out. This is the kind of book that doesn't need a sequel, but I do desperately want to know what happens in later history.