Bloodshot

Smart-mouthed, fast-talking, and a wee bit prone to panic attaches, Raylene Pendle, a.k.a. Cheshire Red, is no stranger to trouble. She's made more than one international most-wanted list for sticking her nose and her fingers where someone else doesn't want them - in fact, she makes her living doing so. It's a good gig - but retrieving other people's pornographic miss-steps is getting the tiniest bit boring. Her latest client promises to be something more interesting... and there's an old Chinese proverb about interesting times - not to mention being careful what you wish for....

No zombies in this one - except for me the next day at work after I stayed up too late finishing. Raylene's commentary is a riot, and the plot doesn't suck. It show more will definitely be interesting to see what kind of trouble finds the group next. show less

After a while, I get tired of vampire novels so it was really nice to find one that wasn't really a normal vampire novel. There have been vampire novels involving PIs, but nothing quite like Bloodshot. I'm a big fan of Priest's writing and so I was excited to find she had a new book. The vampire(s) in this novel are unlike maybe vampires I've encountered before. In some ways they remind me of the characters in my favorite vampire series (Blood and Smoke books by Tanya Huff), which is definitely a good thing. The plot (PI (who is really a thief) is hired by another vampire to find out what exactly happened to him -- so it can be reversed -- only to discover there's something even weirder lurking behind every corner).

Priest uses show more technology extremely well, along with a combination of subverting traditional vampire myth and embracing it. I really hope this is the first in a series, because I really cannot wait to see what kind of adventures are in store. show less

I had a few misgivings when I learned that the latest book by one of my new favorite writers was going to be an urban fantasy vampire story. Not my thing. I didn't make it even half-way through a crazy popular novel about sparkly vampires that's been made into crazy popular series of films. I finished, barely, a literary classic that had been paranormalized with vampires and zombies. But based on my delightful experiences with Cherie Priest's [b:Boneshaker|1137215|Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century, #1)|Cherie Priest|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1270598392s/1137215.jpg|1124460], [b:Clementine|7670800|Clementine (The Clockwork Century, #2)|Cherie Priest|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1277163268s/7670800.jpg|10282140], and show more [b:Dreadnought|7911067|Dreadnought (The Clockwork Century, #3)|Cherie Priest|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1293632674s/7911067.jpg|10282187], I had to give Bloodshot a try.

It worked for me. It kept me awake past my bedtime turning pages (which is more than I can say for the classic science fiction book I set aside). I'll tell you why. You can read the cover blurb for yourself.

Action. This book has plenty of action. One thing you must say about being a vampire master thief on the run from every police department including Interpol is that you don't lead a dull life. When Raylene isn't breaking into somebody else's warehouse or office, somebody is breaking into hers. This tends to lead to either a fight or a chase or both. The author does a great job with them all.

Adventure. This comes from being on the run and being a vampire. Raylene inhabits the night. She has to keep moving. Her latest job has her tracking down and stealing government documents about a secret project. This forces her to travel the country to follow clues and break into the aforementioned warehouses and offices and the reader gets to follow along.

Suspense. There are some good twists and turns here. I did see a couple of them coming, but not all. Secret government projects and mysterious men-in-black are not unfamiliar territory. But the author does a good job of weaving them into a fairly believable story (once you get past the bit about vampires existing).

Snark. I wasn't sure I would be able to tolerate Raylene's first-person narrative for the entire 359 pages. It grew on me. I mostly enjoyed it. I didn't find the humor to be laugh-out-loud funny. But the note of bemusement kept the tone of the story light.

I have a few complaints. There is at least one killing in the book that does not seem justified, even by Raylene's apparent moral code. Then again, she's a vampire, and a thief, and a killer. On at least one, maybe two, occasions I felt a little cheated by the ease and convenience of Raylene's escape from an impossible situation. This wasn't due to her skill or power, just a break that went her way.

But overall I was happy with my reading experience. I give it 4 stars out of 5. I'll be looking forward to the next Cheshire Red book, along with the next Clockwork Century book, and anything else that Cherie Priest writes. show less

Guys. GUYS. Two words for you: Vampire. Thief. That's all you need to know going into reading this series. It's so very, very awesome and it blew me away. I think I actually like this series more than Priest's "Clockwork Century" series and I've only read the first book so far. Needless to say, I'm practically foaming at the mouth for the next book now.

I loved everything about this book. Priest executed all of the pieces of her plot more or less perfectly. Raylene is a sympathetic, hilarious character that has neurotic pitfalls - making her more human than vampire most of the time (especially with her magical bag of tricks that she carries everywhere with her). I mean, come on. Neurotic vampires? In 99% of urban fantasy (and YA show more paranormal, though this isn't YA, obviously), vampires are cocky, gorgeous, and utterly sure of themselves with excellent self-esteem. Raylene is pretty and cocky, but not the rest. Her cockiness comes from years and years of experience within the game of thievery and fencing, not out of just being undead. I like that Priest made her that way, because I felt like I could connect to her all the more easily. I'm pretty neurotic myself, so it was nice to see a paranormal creature have some mental issues herself.

And then there's the main plot - government experiments. I love plots with government experiments. And this one just made me hunger for more information, as this book kind of left us on a cliffhanger. Yes, there were some of the questions answered at the end, but the larger ones (how did the government find out that there were vampires, or werewolves, at all, for instance?) were left open. As we're getting a second book soon (and I seriously cannot wait to get my hot little hands on it), I'm hoping we'll get more of these larger answers soon. It looks like the entire cast will be back for book two, which makes me all the more excited.

This, of course, means more ass-kicking ex-Navy SEAL drag queens, of course. Priest, I love you. Seriously. Have my literary babies, won't you? Thieving vamps, government experiments, and drag queens. What a book.

If you're tired of the "chicks in leather pants" stereotype/truth of the urban fantasy genre, try out "Bloodshot" and get some much needed fresh air into you. You definitely will NOT regret it. Definitely one of my picks for the best of 2011 in the urban fantasy genre.

(crossposted to librarything, goodreads, shelfari, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com) show less

Cheshire Red is a vampire and an acquisitions expert (thief). Raylene likes that many people assume Cheshire Red is a man and she’s not about to dissuade them, enjoying working in the shadows as she does. Ian, another vampire who is oddly blind, has hired her to track down his medical records from his enforced stay at a secret government complex. Yet before she can dig into this case, things start to unravel in her cushy little life in Seattle – someone breaks into her warehouse and someone else blows her well laid cover. She drops it all to follow a thin lead in Atlanta. As Raylene continues to snoop into Ian’s affairs, things get more and more risky. Before you know it, her best defense is a military-trained drag queen and her show more best offense is one seriously ticked off blind vampire.

This book was a lot of fun. Raylene definitely has a fluid sense of morals with few hard sticking points. She takes pleasure in her work – removing the priceless and rare from the rich and pretentious. She’s used Seattle as the base for her operations for a few decades now; hence, the warehouse where she stores (or hoards) some of her collection as a financial safety net. There’s also two homeless kids, Pepper and Domino, who she lets live there. She doesn’t really like kids but for some reason keeps the heat and electricity on in one section of the building for them. Oh, and makes sure they have a cell phone to call her. And she checks in on them regularly. Perhaps she brings them food. Not that they’re pets or anything. As you can see, Raylene has this tough exterior and this gooey caramel soft center. I really liked all the snark and Ray’s enjoyment of her own sexuality and being a vampire. I also like that she’s prone to panic attacks and that her powers don’t make her invincible – just really hard to kill.

Ian is a bit of a quandary. It’s very unusual for a vampire to have any debilitating injury that becomes permanent. So Ian’s loss of sight is disturbing. If it can be done to one vampire, it can be done to another. He also uses a ghoul, Cal, which Raylene doesn’t like. However as she gets to know the two of them a bit more, she starts to reconsider her views on ghouls. Cal obviously still has a mind of his own and Ian treats Cal with respect and it’s obvious he needs some amount of help being blind. Still, there are plenty of unanswered questions surrounding Ian and he is indeed very reluctant to elaborate on what little he has already told her.

Then we toss in a military-grade highly driven mad scientist and a large number or highly-trained military ‘acquisition experts’ that want Raylene and perhaps even want Ian back and everyone has to scatter to the four winds. Raylene ends up in Atlanta chasing down a lead. This is where my second favorite character, Adrian (aka Sister Rose), comes into the picture. Sister Rose is a drag queen and great at her nightly performances. Adrian is ex-military and has some specialty training. He initially becomes Raylene’s unwilling ally. Adrian was great with all the glitz and fringe and yet muscle and sensible behavior. I like that we never find out whether he’s straight, gay, or bi, or celibate. Raylene is too polite to ask.

There’s plenty of action and interesting characters in this urban fantasy. The ending was solid. We lose a little and gain a little and have a ton of questions for Book 2. Ian definitely has some some things to follow up on. I’m hoping Adrian will continue to be a part of the series. While Raylene and crew took out several of the questionable military bad guys, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of them.

Narration: Natalie Ross did an awesome job with this book. All the characters are distinct and her male characters are great. She does this remarkable thing with Adrian’s two personas (Adrian versus Sister Rose). There’s also various accents that she does well. It’s just a very, very good performance. show less

Having only read Priest's Boneshaker series in the past, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I'm glad I took a chance on it. The premise is basically a supernatural mystery story, and as I enjoy both mysteries and the supernatural, this works for me. The narrator is engaging and interestingly self-aware, and the other characters we meet were also quite intriguing. The mystery itself was compelling and held my attention. The heist scenes were fun, the action was easy to follow, and the people you want to see get shown up, do.

The one minor quibble I had with the book is that it didn't quite feel like it knew where the end should be. There's a second book coming out soon, and the place that I thought this book would end and show more things that would be addressed in the second book felt a bit tacked on to the end of this one after what I thought was a more natural denouement. while just enough was left dangling that I didn't feel that, by resolving those things, there was a complete resolution of the story. Regardless, it's still intriguing, and well-written, and I'm quite excited to read more. show less

I really enjoyed this book. When I finished it, I immediately did a search to see if there was another in the series, or at least with the same characters. It is uncommon that I enjoy a book enough that I will seek out others by the same author rather than continue through my current reading list...so that might be 'nuff said.

Naw... I'll add more. The main character is strong and independent and non-whiny (nice change for female leads in urban fantasy) and while there are men in the story, she is not dependent on them being around to save her. There are some decent supporting characters - none of which are stereotypical. In fact, it is almost like Priest thought about what *would* be stereotypical in this genre, and twisted them to show more something else completely.

The ending was not as resolved as I would have liked it to be, but it was not a cliff-hanger, and, of course, it is book one (of two at the moment)... so I suppose there has to be something to resolve to warrant book 2. And I will go out now and get it! show less