Even Though I Knew the End

Helen Brandt has one last job, and then she's ready to die, leaving behind her lover, Edith, and her brother, Ted - who isn't talking to her anyway, not since she sold her soul ten years ago. But then this job of finding the ritual killer nicknamed the White City Vampire gets sweetened: she can get her soul back if she finds the perpetrator before they come for her.

Polk creates an alternate historical world just a tad different from ours believable and intricate in a very short space. It's masterful, really. And then Helen is a great narrator, worldly wise and a magic wielder who wants to be able to live her life with the people she loves. In some ways, it was like reading a Supernatural episode, but it's a story all its own.

This story was definitely not for me.

I had bad feelings just reading the title. It telegraphs that there's something not positive about the ending, right? And the publisher's blurb for it cheerily states that the protagonist, Helen, sold her soul to save her brother's life. This is accurate.

As a direct result, she and her brother are no longer on good terms, or even in contact. She also got kicked out of the magical order they belonged to because, of course, damned soul.

Then years later, her time is almost up, and she gets pulled into the investigation of Chicago's White City Vampire, a serial killer who is apparently a demon. She doesn't want to be involved; she has only three days left and wants to spend them with her girlfriend, show more Edith. Her client offers irresistible bait, though--the chance to win her soul back, and have a lifetime with Edith.

It turns out Edith has her own secret, and also the White City Vampire isn't a demon, although they are something closely related.

Helen, Edith, and Edith's secret start investigating the killings, the victims, and seeming bystanders who had mental breakdowns shortly after each killing. It's what happens to those bystanders that makes the real identity of the killer even more appalling.

There's so much I want to say about what happens here and why I dislike the story. Unfortunately, I can't say what I want without spoilers, and it probably doesn't matter because probably most readers, or at least enough readers for this story to have the audience that made it a Hugo Finalist, either wouldn't agree with me, or wouldn't care.

It is a very well-written story. It's a good mystery, and a good romance, despite the thing that spoils the enjoyment of it for me. It doesn't, however, have the substance and depth that made me consider "Rabbit Test" a serious candidate for my first place vote in the short story category, despite also being dark and depressing in a way that made it hard for me to read. This story is supposed to be just a fun story, and maybe it is for many, but not for me.

I received this story as part of the 2023 Hugo Voters Packet. show less

Helen has 3 days to live - she made a deal with a devil 10 years ago and her 10 years are up. She may be a warlock and a detective but even she cannot wiggle out of that one. And she really wants to - because she finally found the love of her life, Edith, and she is not ready to give all up. So when a wealthy client called Marlowe offers her soul back, she is ready to do anything.

Choosing to set the story in the late 1920s in Chicago and to call he employer Marlowe sends a message about the tone of the story. The story mostly lives up. There is a moment towards the end when there is something that feels like a plot hole on first reading - when a character was kidnapped in the end game, it made no sense to do it in the place and time show more where it happened - the only reason seemed to be to ensure that everyone gets to the same place when they need to be there. Either that or Polk was emulating the noir novels of the era where bad guys do stupid things thus allowing the hero to save the day. I am still not sure what is the case but considering the rest of the tale, I suspect the latter.

The ending was unexpected but logical. And at the end I was more upset with the fact that there is no logical way to create a sequel (well, technically there may be a way) than with anything which I may have disliked in the story. It is a fascinating alternative Chicago where most things look like just in ours - but there are enough differences to keep you on your toes - and not all of them are related to magic. Plus some of the rules of the Brotherhood of the Compass (the premier organization of the magic users) made me feel even more in the 1920s.

It already got a Nebula nomination and I suspect that it may get some more nods before the year is over. It is a funny romp, mashing together fantasy and noir, with a sprinkling of mystery, history and romance. show less

So much heart in such a little book! Sapphic 1940’s noir with paranormal gumshoe vibes. I loved the historical turn of phrase and speech.

Helen and Edith’s relationship was so perfect. Sometimes an author can squeeze your heart by adding just a few words to a mundane action to show someone’s devotion.

The concept was original and the narrative through Helen’s perspective was so much fun. I’m not one for detective or historical type books but this just made my heart happy. Add in demons, human sacrifice and angels and it became a solid read for me!

It’s a super short story…. But it’s also because it cut out the middle with all the shit that usually just drags on and on and on…. I would have liked a little more world building and explanation on the non human aspects but I still enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I wouldn’t mind seeing all these characters in a longer series

This is so good! The crossroads deals and secret gay relationships and women defying gender stereotypes are right up my alley. The story weaves together familiar tropes from noir and monster-hunter fiction into something original and compelling.

There were a lot of things I enjoyed about this book, especially in the first half. (The second half feels like reading something I've read a LOT of times before.) Loved the characters, really liked the period feel and noir-ish tone, pleased with the details of how a detective uses magic. But the worldbuilding is incredibly shaky, and in the end, that kind of undermined the book for me.

It doesn't feel entirely fair complaining about this -- Polk clearly wanted to write about a world based on Catholic beliefs, and they did that. But when you set something like that in a real place in the real world (1940s Chicago), I start to have questions. Like, okay, so this entire world is Catholic, apparently? Where are all the other religions? You show more can't really have Christianity without having Judaism first, so -- where are the Jews? Do other religions have their own thing going on in this world while Catholics are hanging out with angels and demons and whatnot, or do they not exist? (Like, even the concept of the soul is not a thing in every religion, so are those religions just wrong? Please explain, C. L. Polk!)

And it's not just that. Polk gives us tiny glances of the Brotherhood, but doesn't really give any background or information on them, or on how magic has changed the world, or what's happening outside of Chicago. Sure, some of that could be because of the narrator's narrow viewpoint, but she knows the Brotherhood! There had to be a way to give the reader a little more information there.

I don't know. Basically: I loved the vibes of this book. But I can't live on good vibes alone. show less