Blue Diablo

Ann Aguirre's new book Blue Diablo is a gem in the midst of a world of increasingly bland and predictable urban fantasy novels. The story is narrated by Corine Solomon, a "handler," who can read an object's history just by touching it. On the run, she is tracked down by her ex, Chance, whose gift is an uncanny ability to always run into the right people at just the right time. He asks her to help him find his mother, Min, whom he fears has been kidnapped, and when Corine's gift shows her that Min is in danger she cannot say no.


The search for Chance's mother leads Corine to find that she is not the only one with a supernatural gift-in fact, there is a whole world of empaths, mediums, witches, and the like, not all of whom are as show more interested in helping others as Corine is, and some of whom use their power for darkness, to murder and then to control the spirits and bodies of the dead. But she is also reminded that humans are perfectly capable of evil without turning to black magic when she discovers a horrifying world of gangs, drug trading, and white slavery.

The way Aguirre writes Corine's narration makes it a joy to read. Her introduction to Corine Solomon's world is smoothly integrated into the story without any awkward exposition. Corine reveals it bit by bit, only as it is relevant. In fact, much of the exposition is presented as if this is the second book in a series and the reader already knows most of the backstory. In the hands of a lesser writer this strategy would be disastrous, but Aguirre plays it with ease, presenting existing character relationships and situations without making her narrator seem self-conscious about the fact that she is explaining everything to an audience.

The tension between Corine and Chance helps flesh out the story and characters without overshadowing the plot, and they are helped by a wonderful supporting cast. There are several plotlines which integrate very smoothly with each other, their relation becoming clear only at the very end, and which are left open-ended enough for several sequels.

The world itself, of course, begs for more stories. It does not seem underdeveloped or incomplete, as in some first novels of series, but it does suggest that there are many other parts which we are missing and which will only be revealed to us when they become relevant. I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for the next books in the series.

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Did Not Finish

Corine, the protagonist, really irritated me. I read about half of the book before I gave up because page after page Corine lamented about her failed relationship with Chance. She also repeatedly engaged in an emotional tug-of-war with herself over the decision of whether or not to give a romance with Chance another go. I lost track of how many times Corine flip-flopped between the desire to rekindle things with Chance and the need to push him away. Consequently, all of the never-ending relationship introspection combined with Corine's mercurial disposition distracted me from the rest of the story and made reading too tedious to continue through to the end.

Corine, a handler (she gets images from objects), comes out of hiding to help her ex-boyfriend track down those who have kidnapped his mother.
I find that I particularly like urban fantasy that is set in the "real world." In other words, the world isn't operating on magical principles, humans aren't aware of and loving and/or hating the magical community. Hiding or disguising their abilities makes the characters just a little bit more interesting.
Ann Aguirre offers well-developed characters, a few twists, and lots of action.
I had two relatively minor complaints. The ex-boyfriend has an ability to make luck go his way and his name is Chance--ugg. And at one point, he prowls through a house shooting some bad guys. There was no explanation show more in his background for having the experience to start doing that. Is he ex-military, police,etc?
All in all, a good read, and I look forward to the next in the series. show less

This book had everything I look for in a UF. It was dark and gritty, the plot was smart and interesting, the characters were tough and badass without losing their vulnerability, and of course the world building is fascinating. Corine is just the right balance of jaded and fragile and watching her discover layers to Chance that she never thought possible as well as having to examine his past behavior in a new light and what that might mean to her was so very real. Chuch and Eva, Booke and Jesse were fantastic secondary characters that fleshed out their world that much more. I can't wait to read the next one!

One of the biggest complaints I have with urban fantasy as a whole is that it tends to lean very far into the paranormal and make realism second place. Not so with Ann Aguirre's latest offering, Blue Diablo, which, put simply, is To Cast a Deadly Spell meets Commando.

Corine Solomon is a woman on the run. She's settled in Mexico City and managed to keep up a life as a shopkeeper for eighteen months when her ex-boyfriend, one of the many people she's hiding from, walks in her shop door. She still isn't over Chance, not what he put her through or her love for him. But none of it matters because Chance asks for Corine for the one thing he knows she'll give--her help finding his kidnapped mother.

Corine isn't the only person whose past has show more caught up with them, but she is the only one who can help because Min, Chance's mother, has left a trail of clues that only Corine's gift of psychometry (psychic reading of events through objects) can decipher.

Blue Diablo stands out from the genre, not just because it wholly encompasses "bad guys" outside of the serial killer and supernatural varieties, or because of its higher than typical body count. One of the biggest stand out features of this book is the cast of realistic, almost entirely minority characters and non-Celtic/European magic mythos.

In comparison to Aguirre's other books (Grimspace and Wanderlust) Blue Diablo is a true blend of the genres that make urban fantasy; fantasy, mystery, romance and horror, whereas the former are science fiction with romantic elements. Blue Diablo's heroine and hero are no less emotionally tortured, in either their pasts or their feelings for each other.

Aguirre likes the devastated hero, and the heroine whose power costs something. Readers who like mixed blessings in their magic and desperate, delicious heroes will find a lot to like in Aguirre's books. Nothing comes easy, if at all. Not defeating the bad guy, or winning the day or even getting the guy/girl. It makes Blue Diablo not an effortless read, but a tension-filled exciting tale nonetheless. show less

I absolutely adore Ann Aguirre’s science fiction books. Grimspace and Wanderlust are two of the most refreshingly creative SF books I’ve read in a long time. So I was very excited to receive an ARC of Blue Diablo. The genre is completely different–urban fantasy as opposed to science fiction–and I was eager to see what Ann could do in this new sandbox.She definitely doesn’t disappoint. Blue Diablo is an intricately plotted mystery that had me gasping in surprise several times. I definitely like that I could guess at the motives behind Chance’s mother’s disappearance, but I never felt certain that I knew what was going on. It kept me guessing right until the very end.Blue Diablo has a great cast of characters, all of whom show more are nicely developed and never flat. Corine is quirky and likable, and I found myself wishing that I could visit her pawn shop in Mexico City, because her apartment sounds SO cool. I really appreciate that her caution around Chance felt realistic; it didn’t exist just to create tension in the plot. I could really feel the history between these two, and that history affected every move Corine made around him. Chance is just mysterious enough to really interest me and just developed enough to make me really, really like him. Jesse Saldana hovers at the edges of my interest, but I’m intrigued by him. I want to know his motivations and if they really are his own, especially where Corine is concerned. The supporting characters, particularly Eva and Chuch, are nicely rounded and entertaining.My only complaint is that the book takes a while to really get rolling. The first quarter, where Corine and Chance are making their way from Mexico City to Laredo, moved pretty slowly, and I think that if something other than broken down cars had happened, I would have been much more engaged and satisfied with the first part.But overall, Blue Diablo is an exciting, engaging urban fantasy set in a locale that, as far as I know, hasn’t been featured in the genre before. I really enjoyed it, and I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the series, Hellfire, which is coming out in April of 2010. show less

Corine Solomon changes her address as often as she changes her hair color – a side effect of having the ‘gift’ of being able to touch an object and know what happened to the last person who used it. Many people are fascinated with her gift, for good or bad, keeping her continually on the run but when her ex Chance comes looking for her to help him find a missing person close to them both, he gives her an offer she can’t refuse and Corine reluctantly agrees to help. Like any couple with a history, things are a little iffy when Corine and Chance are together but when they discover this isn’t some simple kidnapping but that there are all sorts of nasties on their trail: demons, warlocks, and black magic up the wazoo things go show more straight from Uh Oh to Craptastic in a hurry. Really making this book come alive for me were the secondary characters who agree to help them along the way. This stellar lineup includes Chuch, an ex-merc who can do séances with the best of them, his protective wife Eva, the tiny Chihuahua Butch and a cop Jesse Saldana who may be more than professionally interested in Corine. I just loved Chuch and Eva’s interactions – especially every time she called him by his full name – she just kills me.The setting itself seems to almost be a living, breathing character in this book - most of the action takes place in Mexico or Laredo, Texas and the surrounding border towns. Since Aguirre herself is an ex-pat living in Mexico, I could see the authentic flair everywhere, right down to the smell of rice and beans which of course, made me hungry every time I opened the book up. Sometimes the transitions were less than smooth but all said this was a pretty good read with potential for future installments (watch out for the cliffhanger). Still, I do enjoy Aguirre’s Jax series more. I mean, can anyone compare with that feisty jumper? No. No they can’t. show less