Nancy Holzner

I read Nancy Holzner's short story 'The End Of Eternity' in the 'Apocalyptic' anthology and decided to look for more of her work. I checked out her novels and bought 'Deadtown' when I read the opening paragraph:

“TWO RULES I LIVE BY: NEVER ADMIT TO BEING A shapeshifter on a first, second, or third date with a human. And never, ever bring along a zombie apprentice wannabe on a demon kill.”

'Deadtown' is the first book in a six-book series starring Victory Vaughn, a Cerddorion (Welsh show more shapeshifters) and the only professional demonslayer in an alternative Boston where everyone is aware of the existence of vampires, werewolves and zombies but most people don't believe they should have any rights.

The opening of 'Deadtown' was fast, slick and original, I slipped straight into the story and was hungry to learn more about Victory and her world. I loved the idea of a section of Boston being quarantined as a Disaster Enclosure Area (DED) because of a zombie plague and then becoming known as Deadtown, where all the non-humans are made to live.

I was surprised and pleased when, six chapters in, the pace changed as we slipped back into Victory's childhood and started to learn how she became who she is. It was good to know that there was going to be more to the story than sass, flash and supernaturals. Victory's motives for killing demons are personal. Her family has been feuding with a lethal Hellion demon for generations and Victory is determined to be the one to kill it.

I liked that, rather than having academic discussion about the politics of rights for supernaturals, Nancy Holzner made the impact personal by showing law enforcement's indifference when Victory's young neice, who may or may not be classified as human when she reaches puberty, is threatened.

I liked the originality and the depth of the lore in 'Deadtown'. There's a lot of detail on the types of demons that Victory slays. Most of them are dream demons, Eidolons, Drudes and Harpies. I loved the Harpies. Truly fearsome, loathsome things, who live to torment. The zombies in 'Deadtown' are also quite different from the 'Walking Dead' variety because they have a very different origin. One of my favourite characters is Tina, a teen zombie who begs to become Victory's apprentice. Tina is a lot of fun and teaching her is a great means of passing on demonology details without the need for ugly infodumps.

The plot was pleasingly complicated, with links to Victory's clients, her family, her (vampire) roommate and the two males in her life, a werewolf lawyer specialising in legal rights for supernaturals and a detective investigating bizarre deaths that seem to be caused by a Hellion demon. The last quarter of the book was tense and exciting. There was so much going on and so little time left that I worried I was heading for a cliffhanger ending but the plot was cleverer than that and delivered an unexpected but satisfying ending.

I'm hooked now. I don't know how I missed this series when it came out back in 2009 but I've already set about remedying the ommission, book two, 'Hellforged' is already in my TBR pile. show less

Besides the first book in the series, this is my favorite sequel of the group. While the first was unique and addictive, the follow-ups have been a little hit and miss. Thankfully the fifth book regains a lot of the charm and heart of the series. Vicky is back in Boston where she belongs, but this time instead of battling demons in other people’s dreams, she’s disturbed by the visions in her own.

The politics with the city’s zombies is interesting enough, but the ending with two show more long-standing demonic villains is where the book won the most brownie points. Actually most of the series plotlines are tied up in this book, with a new one rearing its head for the sixth and last one. The series has a usual mix of vampires, werewolves, and zombies but the author does it all differently. The shapeshifters are banned to a three day a month camp, which Vicky is able to get out of soon since she’s a special and invented type of a shifter called the Cerdorrian. Vampires play a small role outside of comedic relief of her Shakespeare doted roommate. Zombies are done completely differently – they are humans with emotions, thoughts and traits, victim of a virus that randomly transformed who it chose to.

She and Kane have overcome a lot of their relationship issues and finally they have a strong connection that doesn’t feel as wobbly and uncertain. There’s that pesky agreement he made with the wicked hag to overcome, but it is resolved in a well-done manner. I was done with the uncertainty so it’s nice they admit their feelings more in force and have reached that other layer of bonding.

The aunt still overdoes the “child” in dialogue but she has become less obnoxious. Pacing wasn’t non-stop but it was mainly well-done and the writing as always is clever with humor doses injected in between the dark tension that’s well crafted.

An underrated series that kept up the steam and uniqueness of the series. There’s a tiny cliffhanger feeling with a development of a certain Goddess, but it’s awesome anyway. show less

Two rules I live by: Never admit to being a shapeshifter on a first, second, or third date with a human. And never, ever bring along a zombie apprentice wannabe on a demon kill.

This book pushed almost all my UF-Fangirl buttons. It even has an artful (non-cheesy) cover.

Demons? Check. Shifters? Check. Zombies? Check. Vampires? Check. Weird social system? Check. New creature invented for series? Check, several times.

Vicky Vaughn is a demon slayer, but not the Buffy-The-Vampire type. There are show more different forms of demons and they mainly attack people in their sleep, where Vicky battles them on a dreamscape setting. The town has been quarantined as the 'Deadzone' since the plague that hit and turned many alive into zombies. Vicky's boyfriend, Kane, is a werewolf who fights for the rights of all the paranormal. She lives with a roommate vampire. You can't get more paranormal than this story character-wise, or this plot.

Vicky herself is a shapeshifter, but not the Sam kind from Sookieverse. She can only shift three times per month, although it's not restricted to the three day lunar cycle.

How the author conceived the world fascinated me - the paranormal are not trusted and are cursed by various laws. Werewolves have to be locked up in compounds with gates, guns and guards for the three day lunar cycle. Vampires are cold and lethal but out in the open, perhaps against their will. There is a designated goon squad invented to police the supernatural, and not all cops on that team are pleased about it.

Vicky rocks as the main character - I'm tired of female protagonists with a chip on their shoulder the size of a boulder, who snap at everyone who comes near them, thinking they have to prove something every time they blink. She's reasonable so her sarcasm works, and she's compassionate so she's not a melodramatic pushover. She's the only one of her kind in the town (yay) but she isn't so bad ass it's unrealistic and eye rolling. She knows her stuff but she's still learning.

Juliette as the roommate vamp is...odd. As expected with the age old vamp types, they don't have much feeling or personality. They intrigue, however, in the small spaces they're shown. The zombies are like their former selves, reanimated corpses killed by the virus, subtly rotting. If they were injured when dying, they keep the ugly blemishes and dismemberments. Their personality is the same as before, so they aren't the mindless brain-eating monsters of typical lore. There is the issue of their appetite, though - they consume large quantities, and any blood in the area can send them in a mindless, blood-thirsty frenzy.

This book is fun because of the humor that works naturally through Holzner's appealing writing style, not hokey, complex enough with it's supernatural world building, and pacing is kept swift as Vicky has to battle several obstacles that shove themselves in her way. There's a mini love triangle potential, but it doesn't take away from the story or the characters themselves.

The only thing I didn't like was Tina, the apprentice. She's supposed to be funny on an annoying teenager style, but she got on my nerves and I hated her. Besides her screwing up the dreamscape fight, she then actually stole a sword and plays it off like it's not a big deal. Couldn't stand her, but have a feeling she'll be a series regular.

Already bought the rest of the series - can't wait to lose myself into more of this intriguing supernatural world.

As a series starter, it's almost drool-worthy. show less

I wanted to like this more than I did. I liked it quite a bit anyway, and I loved that it was set in a Boston I could recognize. I very much enjoyed the premise, that of a post-plague Boston with paranormal inhabitants and their struggle to gain rights outside of Massachusetts. It could have been a transparent allusion to LGBTIQ rights, but it went further than that in that PAs (Paranormal Americans) weren't considered human in other states. I found the plotline involving Victory's 10 year show more old niece and the question of her humanity to be chilling.

Holzner included some touches of humor that I liked--including Victory's vampire roomie Juliet and the is she or isn't she Juliet Capulet question. I was less intrigued by Tina the teenaged zombie who seemed to exist only as a foil for Victory. I was also less than thrilled with the men in Victory's life because it seemed as if Holzner was struggling to set up a love triangle and tossing out problems and resolutions as fast as she could to accomplish that end goal.

I'm of two minds about Victory. I like that there are things in her life that are big and awful and that, for the most part, she isn't consumed by them. I like that she's snarky and takes care of herself. There's a potential here for a large cast of characters and for my favorite of all things found family, but that potential is lessened because the majority of the supporting characters are flat and underdeveloped. In comparison to them Victory comes off as a bit of a Mary Sue. However when she's with a better fleshed out character, such as Frank, she seems far more human and engaging.

It's a good first effort in a very crowded genre. I think if Holzner can develop the supporting characters and keep Victory from becoming all-powerful then I'll enjoy any other books in this series. show less