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OSI #1
Night Child
FIRST IN A NEW SERIES.
Enter the night world of the OSI... OCCULT SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR
Tess Corday, Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, is used to seeing dead vampires. But there's nothing ordinary about this case. Not the lab results on the cause of death. Not the teenage girl living at the address found in the vamp's pocket, who may well be in thrall to a demon. And certainly not Lucian Agrado, the necromancer who is liaison to the vampire community. Agrado is supposed to be part of the solution, but Tess suspects he might be part of the problem.
Soon she finds herself in the middle of a paranormal conspiracy that will change her life forever... and possibly end it.
Enter the night world of the OSI... OCCULT SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR
Tess Corday, Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, is used to seeing dead vampires. But there's nothing ordinary about this case. Not the lab results on the cause of death. Not the teenage girl living at the address found in the vamp's pocket, who may well be in thrall to a demon. And certainly not Lucian Agrado, the necromancer who is liaison to the vampire community. Agrado is supposed to be part of the solution, but Tess suspects he might be part of the problem.
Soon she finds herself in the middle of a paranormal conspiracy that will change her life forever... and possibly end it.
292 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 27, 2008
20 people are currently reading
1816 people want to read
About the author
Jes Battis
22 books174 followersJes Battis (they/them) is the author of THE WINTER KNIGHT (April 2023), the OCCULT SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR series, and the PARALLEL PARKS series. Jes writes in the areas of urban fantasy, horror, and mystery/thriller. They also teach literature and creative writing in the Canadian prairies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
July 3, 2008
Well, it's not very often I feel like an intellectual midget but this book managed to do just that. I'm actually disappointed cause the premise really grabbed my attention - I thought it would be something like a cross between CSI and Moonlight. Instead, I got lost in the "geekspeak".
Tess is a mage. She investigates paranormal crimes with her partner, a telepath. They become caught up in a confusing case involving vampires, demons, and necromancers. Tess also has flashbacks to the death of a childhood friend who died in a fire. Since one of Tess' skills is spark, I think this was supposed to be significant, but I never really got it...other than guilt that a 12 yr old kid couldn't save another 12 yr old kid.
Here are some of the reasons I got lost: arachnoid, Calabi-Yau space, string theory, SIM, spectrograph, beautiful single helix, ekphrasis, thrombocytes, leukocytes, erythrocytes, papillae, Jim Stark, macrophages, hemolysis, autolysis, penumbra, and ouroboros. Some of these words are also used while describing an aborted love scene that occurs after two characters exchange blows. I don't mind scientific terms, but just not quite so many of them! They were impossible to ignore and kept breaking my concentration on the story. Oh well, if you're a CSI, science major, doctor, etc. you will likely not find this as much an issue. Unfortunately, I don't think your average reader can claim intimate knowledge of most of the science speak in this book.
The rest of the story was interesting and complex. The setting in Canada was gritty and well-drawn. My suggestion to the author/editor would be to lose or 'dumb down' much of the science-speak and I'd possibly be willing to try this author again.
Tess is a mage. She investigates paranormal crimes with her partner, a telepath. They become caught up in a confusing case involving vampires, demons, and necromancers. Tess also has flashbacks to the death of a childhood friend who died in a fire. Since one of Tess' skills is spark, I think this was supposed to be significant, but I never really got it...other than guilt that a 12 yr old kid couldn't save another 12 yr old kid.
Here are some of the reasons I got lost: arachnoid, Calabi-Yau space, string theory, SIM, spectrograph, beautiful single helix, ekphrasis, thrombocytes, leukocytes, erythrocytes, papillae, Jim Stark, macrophages, hemolysis, autolysis, penumbra, and ouroboros. Some of these words are also used while describing an aborted love scene that occurs after two characters exchange blows. I don't mind scientific terms, but just not quite so many of them! They were impossible to ignore and kept breaking my concentration on the story. Oh well, if you're a CSI, science major, doctor, etc. you will likely not find this as much an issue. Unfortunately, I don't think your average reader can claim intimate knowledge of most of the science speak in this book.
The rest of the story was interesting and complex. The setting in Canada was gritty and well-drawn. My suggestion to the author/editor would be to lose or 'dumb down' much of the science-speak and I'd possibly be willing to try this author again.
October 27, 2009
This was by no means a perfect book. I can't even say it was an altogether satisfying read. It had its charms and its downfalls, yet overall there was still something that made me read the next in the series.
The characters were good. I found Tess likeable, witty and very much aware of her own strengths and weaknesses. She doesn't consider herself a badass heroine out to save the world. She's just a girl with a job, doing her thing. But I think what made her an enjoyable character to read were her interactions with the other characters; the wonderfully warm, sarcastic Derrick, the snarky and resilient Mia and the capable Tash and Selena, among others.
But this book had many problems. The plot started off strong; a typical crime mystery echoing the likes of CSI and other similar TV shows. Battis clearly wanted to mix genres here, combining the recent obsession with forensic science with the recent obsession with urban fantasies. Unfortunately, it just didn't work. Well, not for me.
Battis apparently took a forensics course to write this novel, and it shows. This book read like an explosion of pure geeky glee. Battis wanted his readers to know that he knew this stuff, which was all well and good when describing a crime scene, but everything else? Not so much. Tess often began to sound and feel far too detached and clinical in her view of things. I'm sure even the biggest forensic nerd wouldn't consider every aspect of their lives with the same cold, scientific regard.
There were a lot of info dumps that weighed down the book. I love learning new things when I read a novel, but this was far too much for even me to take in. I like to be educated gradually when reading in this genre, not lectured at every given opportunity.
One of the biggest problems for this book was the way the plot played out. For a crime novel, there was very little suspense or tension. The author often tried to delay all those big reveals and twists and turns that are part-and-parcel of books such as this, but he delayed it too long and often crushed the big WOW! moments beneath lengthy descriptions of processes and procedures and other forensic gibber. Every consultant, technician, scientist and co-worker were implausibly explaining every little forensic step they'd taken to get them to that point of the big reveal, always declaring it interesting, fascinating, intriguing! I'm sure forensic scientists do find a lot of these things interesting, but I doubt after working there for a number of years every single one of them would feel the need to explain their every process to a colleague they've worked with during all that time.
The surprise "twist" wasn't really all that surprising. In fact it was all very cliche. And by the end of it, I didn't think that Tess had learned anything new or grown as a character. It was all very... clean and cut, ABC, hence my lack of satisfaction after reaching the end.
I understand what Battis wanted to do here, and it was very interesting to see how science could be used to explain magic. I just found the whole thing heavy-handed and too clunky for an urban fantasy novel. I like a little more action and adventure when it comes to this genre and I didn't feel like I actually got it. It was all very one-note.
The characters were good. I found Tess likeable, witty and very much aware of her own strengths and weaknesses. She doesn't consider herself a badass heroine out to save the world. She's just a girl with a job, doing her thing. But I think what made her an enjoyable character to read were her interactions with the other characters; the wonderfully warm, sarcastic Derrick, the snarky and resilient Mia and the capable Tash and Selena, among others.
But this book had many problems. The plot started off strong; a typical crime mystery echoing the likes of CSI and other similar TV shows. Battis clearly wanted to mix genres here, combining the recent obsession with forensic science with the recent obsession with urban fantasies. Unfortunately, it just didn't work. Well, not for me.
Battis apparently took a forensics course to write this novel, and it shows. This book read like an explosion of pure geeky glee. Battis wanted his readers to know that he knew this stuff, which was all well and good when describing a crime scene, but everything else? Not so much. Tess often began to sound and feel far too detached and clinical in her view of things. I'm sure even the biggest forensic nerd wouldn't consider every aspect of their lives with the same cold, scientific regard.
There were a lot of info dumps that weighed down the book. I love learning new things when I read a novel, but this was far too much for even me to take in. I like to be educated gradually when reading in this genre, not lectured at every given opportunity.
One of the biggest problems for this book was the way the plot played out. For a crime novel, there was very little suspense or tension. The author often tried to delay all those big reveals and twists and turns that are part-and-parcel of books such as this, but he delayed it too long and often crushed the big WOW! moments beneath lengthy descriptions of processes and procedures and other forensic gibber. Every consultant, technician, scientist and co-worker were implausibly explaining every little forensic step they'd taken to get them to that point of the big reveal, always declaring it interesting, fascinating, intriguing! I'm sure forensic scientists do find a lot of these things interesting, but I doubt after working there for a number of years every single one of them would feel the need to explain their every process to a colleague they've worked with during all that time.
The surprise "twist" wasn't really all that surprising. In fact it was all very cliche. And by the end of it, I didn't think that Tess had learned anything new or grown as a character. It was all very... clean and cut, ABC, hence my lack of satisfaction after reaching the end.
I understand what Battis wanted to do here, and it was very interesting to see how science could be used to explain magic. I just found the whole thing heavy-handed and too clunky for an urban fantasy novel. I like a little more action and adventure when it comes to this genre and I didn't feel like I actually got it. It was all very one-note.
Read
October 31, 2021So glad I spotted this in Vancouver and scooped it up. Crave-worthy!
August 26, 2012
I thought this was a good book - combining familiar ideas of CSI with the complexities of a magical universe. I really like it when authors think out their science in a book and combine what we know with their science-fiction spin on things. The characters were thought out and interesting. I also really liked the stream of consciousness sections - the author was very creative and I loved the dream sequences.
The fact that the author is gay really shows through in his writing though - there are more references to gay culture than you might normally see and the love scene between the female protagonist and her male love interest focused exclusively on the male's body and responses, so that it could have very easily been between two men. I don't mind this, but if the author is going to write about heterosexual sex, he may wish to stretch himself a bit and add in more of a female presence. (Maybe refer to a breast or a vagina here or there? Tess seems almost sexless - no description of her female traits at all.) And the gay culture references I don't mind either, it's just that there's so many of them that they seem out of place being described by a 24-year old straight girl.
At any rate, I was very engaged in the story and plan on seeking out more of the series if I can. :-)
The fact that the author is gay really shows through in his writing though - there are more references to gay culture than you might normally see and the love scene between the female protagonist and her male love interest focused exclusively on the male's body and responses, so that it could have very easily been between two men. I don't mind this, but if the author is going to write about heterosexual sex, he may wish to stretch himself a bit and add in more of a female presence. (Maybe refer to a breast or a vagina here or there? Tess seems almost sexless - no description of her female traits at all.) And the gay culture references I don't mind either, it's just that there's so many of them that they seem out of place being described by a 24-year old straight girl.
At any rate, I was very engaged in the story and plan on seeking out more of the series if I can. :-)
May 24, 2012
This UF has its charms and its downfalls and, weirdly enough, they are the same.
-I loved the procedural and at the same time hated it when it went over the top.
-I loved the mix of science and magic, but was confused by it.
-The relationship among characters was its driving point, but some of them didn't have sense. Lucian and Tess were a WTF? As in "I don't understand what's going on and how".
The world-building is intriguing and nicely paced. I didn't get any infodump sensation (there were plenty of dumps, but not in this department. :D)
The heroine, Tess, left me confused. Probably because she's more confused than I am. But also as she's written off at times as TSTL.
I'm not sure if some of the writing was so poetic I couldn't get it, or I can't get it because it's too weird. :)
Rainbow friends will love to know there's a gay main character and you know what? He is absolutely normal, gay is just what his sexual preference are, not what he is.
I would still recommend to try this series (or a sample): it's so unusual it deserves attention.
-I loved the procedural and at the same time hated it when it went over the top.
-I loved the mix of science and magic, but was confused by it.
-The relationship among characters was its driving point, but some of them didn't have sense. Lucian and Tess were a WTF? As in "I don't understand what's going on and how".
The world-building is intriguing and nicely paced. I didn't get any infodump sensation (there were plenty of dumps, but not in this department. :D)
The heroine, Tess, left me confused. Probably because she's more confused than I am. But also as she's written off at times as TSTL.
I'm not sure if some of the writing was so poetic I couldn't get it, or I can't get it because it's too weird. :)
Rainbow friends will love to know there's a gay main character and you know what? He is absolutely normal, gay is just what his sexual preference are, not what he is.
I would still recommend to try this series (or a sample): it's so unusual it deserves attention.
August 26, 2009
Did not really enjoy this book. The author seemed to add all sorts of superfluous info - little anecdotes and editorial comments by Tess, the main character, that interrupted the flow of the story and/or its action. I found it annoying, to say the least. Tess had a habit of having flashbacks right in the middle of the current story plot. Flashbacks are fine as a plot device but my beef is that I wasn't aware they were flashbacks until I was a few sentences into it. Simply italicizing the flashback portions of the narration would have helped prevent confusion. Another thing that bothered me is that Tess is 24 years old, and according to the world building in this story, is no longer as strong as the younger teenaged OSI agents, yet she manages to kick ass on every creature who attacks her. I sure as hell did not notice any decreased abilities on her part. I won't be reading any more of these stories.
April 29, 2009
This was an okay book. There were some instances in which I wished the author would just shut up! He would drag some descriptions and metaphors along for paragraphs. It got really annoying/exhausting. Stick with one metaphor and go with it. Also, every time someone made a face or looked different, he didn't need to compare it to some obscure CSI medical term. We get it, move on. If another book came out in this series, I probably wouldn't read it, unless I was really bored and it was the only thing lying around.
December 22, 2019
Tess, an Occult Special Investigator, Level 1 is at a very clean scene with a dead vampire. Barely any clues to follow. On top of that, she's got to keep her nose down and go by the book on this one - she's way too old to still be a Level 1, so it's either a promotion or getting let go - and her boss seems to have it out for her. It doesn't help that Meg, the girl tangled up in all of this, reminds Tess too much of her past.
There were definitely some confusing plot points in this, a few times when I was a little unsure of the timeline, and a few character relationships that didn't quite make sense. There's a lot of backstory I still don't understand - and in some ways, felt like I was reading book two of the series where I should have already known certain things that I still don't. I'm hoping they get this cleared up in later books because there are several more in this series. Overall though, it was an enjoyable read. There are some great characters (Tess's best friend is a great character), a great magical world set up here. This book reminded me of a cross between the Harry Dresden novels and CSI, which was an enjoyable cross!
I'll go 8 of 10 overall and 4 of 5 for readability. There was a lot of CSI-esqe terminology, but it didn't seem to bog down the story line for me. I managed to read this in a few hours last night, and I've already started the second one! If you like CSI or crime novels and you are a fan of urban fantasy, I'd suggest you check this book out!
For more reviews, check out bedroopedbookworms.wordpress.com!
There were definitely some confusing plot points in this, a few times when I was a little unsure of the timeline, and a few character relationships that didn't quite make sense. There's a lot of backstory I still don't understand - and in some ways, felt like I was reading book two of the series where I should have already known certain things that I still don't. I'm hoping they get this cleared up in later books because there are several more in this series. Overall though, it was an enjoyable read. There are some great characters (Tess's best friend is a great character), a great magical world set up here. This book reminded me of a cross between the Harry Dresden novels and CSI, which was an enjoyable cross!
I'll go 8 of 10 overall and 4 of 5 for readability. There was a lot of CSI-esqe terminology, but it didn't seem to bog down the story line for me. I managed to read this in a few hours last night, and I've already started the second one! If you like CSI or crime novels and you are a fan of urban fantasy, I'd suggest you check this book out!
For more reviews, check out bedroopedbookworms.wordpress.com!
January 26, 2020
For me this is a case of a good author writing not a very good book. Intriguing set of characters who actually have glimpses of individuality behind the cliche, solid world building, witty dialogue, BUT. The buts outweigh all the strengths of the story. A lot of elements are too obviously introduced to avoid critisism on the diversity point. I'm all for the idea, but let's make it justifiable by the plot, and subtle, and literary. Emphatically mentioning the character's skin colour/hair /being gay etc. every time the said character appears on the page is excessive not to say ridiculous. Characterisation has no consistency at all. Our protagonist is 24, but mostly acts either 40 or 14, depending how inspiration strikes. And don't even get started on the climax. Random shooting, mutual mutilation, blood flowing is interrupted by good old lengthy villain monologues which still leave a lot of things unanswered and unresolved.
September 15, 2017
This book moved fast! Grabbed on and didn't let go. I liked Tess, the main character. She is definitely dealing with a lot on her plate. She is investigating a murder and trying to do a good job of it as there is a child involved. Tess wants to protect her, but gets removed from the case just as she's making headway. She knows she's been a bit of a screw-up, but she wants to do better.
I really didn't like her main boss. Demeaning Tess at every turn. I'd be hard-pressed to work for him. Her immediate supervisor and the folks Tess works with make up for it for the most part. She's obviously proven herself to them.
There's still quite a lot to learn about Tess and the people in her life. I look forward to finding more about them all.
Definite recommend.
I really didn't like her main boss. Demeaning Tess at every turn. I'd be hard-pressed to work for him. Her immediate supervisor and the folks Tess works with make up for it for the most part. She's obviously proven herself to them.
There's still quite a lot to learn about Tess and the people in her life. I look forward to finding more about them all.
Definite recommend.
May 11, 2018
I enjoyed how we jump into the world of Tess Corday, a special investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, tasked with investigating crimes involving the paranormal community. Corday's investigation of a dead vampire leads her to a teenaged girl whose guardian immediately becomes a suspect in the death. Of course Corday has a boss who hates her and a friend and co-worker who is willing to go to hell and back for her. The mystery is well handled, there are suspects galore and demons and vampires and other creatures abound. Corday does a more than adequate job as narrator of the tale, getting off plenty of great lines and asides to keep a smile on this reader's face. There are a couple of slow spots in the plot, but I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
January 24, 2019
This book has potential, but there were still major issues with it. The rate of revelation, for instance, felt off. There’s a major literary gap where the reader is assumed to know a lot more than we do about the world. There are large tracts of unnecessary exposition that add little. It’s like there are several stories going on: the one with Mia, Tess’s backstory with Derrick, her backstory with her birth circumstances, and the backstory with Eve, and on top of that we have the hot and heavy with the necromancer. All of them are interesting, but it winds up being a bit rushed and confusing. Still going to give book 2 a chance—hoping these issues are resolved.
July 31, 2017
This book was OK. I studied forensics in school and thought this might be a good book. The author spends a lot of time talking about different forensic methods, that it often feels more like a research paper than a story.
Another issue I had was that there were some things that seemed rather simple. Kind of like you could see it coming a mile away.
I liked the premise of the story and I think the series could have more potential. Though I'm not sure if I will pick up the next one in the series.
Another issue I had was that there were some things that seemed rather simple. Kind of like you could see it coming a mile away.
I liked the premise of the story and I think the series could have more potential. Though I'm not sure if I will pick up the next one in the series.
March 11, 2020
Good, worth reading book 2
This is an interesting series. I see a similarity to a lot of older authors works, but with just enough differences to make it an intriguing world this author has created.
This is an interesting series. I see a similarity to a lot of older authors works, but with just enough differences to make it an intriguing world this author has created.
March 21, 2021
It tried to be a policy procedural and urban fantasy and got the fantasy bit down with unsympathetic characters.
November 29, 2010
Night Child is kept going by the paranormal murder mystery aspect, and nothing else. In the mystery respect, it is interesting; enough clues are revealed to the reader that keeps you guessing and wanting to find out more. The different species are fairly standard at first glance - vampires, demons, mages - but the lore is actually rather unique. Where the book falls a little flat, however, is the characters and world-building.
That there's barely any sense of the actual world that Night Child is set in, other than the descriptions of the Vancouver downtown area. Perhaps Canadians/Americans would have less problem visualizing this? I'm not sure, but the text doesn't offer me enough to visualize the area Tess is functioning in. She hops back and forth between the office and her apartment, as well as the club where Lucian is, but none are particularly vivid.
That can be compensated for if the characters are well-developed, but unfortunately, we don't spend enough time with most of them to really care about them, let alone understand what makes them tick. Usually one can at least identify with the main character, but here I don't feel like I know Tess at all. She's described in her files (and by her boss, Marcus) as too old for her level and incapable of following rules - clocking out early, being late for work, not doing her job properly. The gaps between that and the Tess we're clearly presented with (work-obsessed and over-enthusiastic) is never explained. Tess doesn't seem to have friends outside of Derrick, and even that shows us little about what she's really like... except that she used to be a pothead. Tess is like a string of heroine stereotypes strung together slapdash - she's brave, has trouble with her boss because she's impulsive and doesn't mind bending a few rules, she's a bit of an underdog, and she has a messed-up past that haunts her. This is all well and good, but what makes Tess, Tess?
The second most developed character is Derrick, her best friend (who also happens to be gay), but there's not much else to say about him. He's a telepath, he trusts Tess completely, and... what? Also, Lucian Agrado, the necromancer, is sold as Tess' potential "love interest", but really, they actually met about... 3, brief times in the book. Tess has a few strangely real dreams about him, and there is one scene where they began to get hot and heavy, but really, there's nothing between them other than an instant, dangerous attraction. Like the others, we know very little about him. Perhaps the problem here is that there's a lot SAID about these people, but very little shown.
Other reviewers have also commented on how the text feels disjointed, and I agree. I don't have any trouble with the jargon, but I DID find Tess' dream sequences about Eve (and later Lucian) fairly jarring. Essentially, Tess is being haunted by her childhood friend's death in a fire when they were teens, and we get the impression that her powers might have caused it. I felt like I was constantly being reminded of Tess' strange powers, and that this event might be significant, but other than being a source of angst and "background" for Tess' character, I'm not sure what the whole point of it was. Similarly, I felt that the vivid dreams about Lucian might imply he has powers to invade her conscious - otherwise, how can she know so much about him when they've only met once? But not only did they turn out to be just dreams afterall, they were difficult to separate from actual meetings from Lucian. Tess' moods fluctuate so quickly between determined, depressed, angry and plain distracted that it's hard enough to follow as it is.
That said, the lore is quite fascinating, as I have mentioned. Mages, rather than being fully human, get their powers from being part-demon. The vampire-siring process and the idea of vampire genes being like a spreading virus has been done before, but the idea of necromancers also being only part-human, extremely powerful in their own right and acting as intermediaries between vampire community and human, is interesting. A good percentage of urban paranormal books featuring a female investigating mysterious events tend to use an amateur detective, while Tess here is part of an official occult investigation department. Those mystery elements are enough to interest me in checking out the second book in the series, and hopefully Battis will better develop the side characters and actually allow us to get to know Tess as a person rather than a string of stereotypes.
That there's barely any sense of the actual world that Night Child is set in, other than the descriptions of the Vancouver downtown area. Perhaps Canadians/Americans would have less problem visualizing this? I'm not sure, but the text doesn't offer me enough to visualize the area Tess is functioning in. She hops back and forth between the office and her apartment, as well as the club where Lucian is, but none are particularly vivid.
That can be compensated for if the characters are well-developed, but unfortunately, we don't spend enough time with most of them to really care about them, let alone understand what makes them tick. Usually one can at least identify with the main character, but here I don't feel like I know Tess at all. She's described in her files (and by her boss, Marcus) as too old for her level and incapable of following rules - clocking out early, being late for work, not doing her job properly. The gaps between that and the Tess we're clearly presented with (work-obsessed and over-enthusiastic) is never explained. Tess doesn't seem to have friends outside of Derrick, and even that shows us little about what she's really like... except that she used to be a pothead. Tess is like a string of heroine stereotypes strung together slapdash - she's brave, has trouble with her boss because she's impulsive and doesn't mind bending a few rules, she's a bit of an underdog, and she has a messed-up past that haunts her. This is all well and good, but what makes Tess, Tess?
The second most developed character is Derrick, her best friend (who also happens to be gay), but there's not much else to say about him. He's a telepath, he trusts Tess completely, and... what? Also, Lucian Agrado, the necromancer, is sold as Tess' potential "love interest", but really, they actually met about... 3, brief times in the book. Tess has a few strangely real dreams about him, and there is one scene where they began to get hot and heavy, but really, there's nothing between them other than an instant, dangerous attraction. Like the others, we know very little about him. Perhaps the problem here is that there's a lot SAID about these people, but very little shown.
Other reviewers have also commented on how the text feels disjointed, and I agree. I don't have any trouble with the jargon, but I DID find Tess' dream sequences about Eve (and later Lucian) fairly jarring. Essentially, Tess is being haunted by her childhood friend's death in a fire when they were teens, and we get the impression that her powers might have caused it. I felt like I was constantly being reminded of Tess' strange powers, and that this event might be significant, but other than being a source of angst and "background" for Tess' character, I'm not sure what the whole point of it was. Similarly, I felt that the vivid dreams about Lucian might imply he has powers to invade her conscious - otherwise, how can she know so much about him when they've only met once? But not only did they turn out to be just dreams afterall, they were difficult to separate from actual meetings from Lucian. Tess' moods fluctuate so quickly between determined, depressed, angry and plain distracted that it's hard enough to follow as it is.
That said, the lore is quite fascinating, as I have mentioned. Mages, rather than being fully human, get their powers from being part-demon. The vampire-siring process and the idea of vampire genes being like a spreading virus has been done before, but the idea of necromancers also being only part-human, extremely powerful in their own right and acting as intermediaries between vampire community and human, is interesting. A good percentage of urban paranormal books featuring a female investigating mysterious events tend to use an amateur detective, while Tess here is part of an official occult investigation department. Those mystery elements are enough to interest me in checking out the second book in the series, and hopefully Battis will better develop the side characters and actually allow us to get to know Tess as a person rather than a string of stereotypes.
August 8, 2009
Night Child
by Jes Battis
****
Night Child was a pretty interesting book. This was actually released in 2008, but I just read it on the spur of the moment last night and today. I happen to have the second book (Flash of Hex) and will probably start that one soon.
Night Child is set in a reality with Demons and Vampires. Although in this reality, vampires are a type of demons. In fact, necromancers, psychics and magic users are all half demons. I found this interesting.
This is Jes Battis' first novel, although not his first book. He has written two previous non-fiction books; Blood Relations and Investigating Farscape. He is a professor. Despite his professorship, I found the dialog between his characters believable. They did not speak like they were writing an essay. Refreshing. I also enjoyed the dialog between characters. Except....there was one point (and this is probably an editing issue) where Tess (main character) was speaking to someone about a murder. This person mentions the method of the murder, without being told how the victim was murdered. That, though, was the only thing that jumped out at me. The rest of the book was well written and a satisfying read. Satisfying enough that I want to read the second book. I've noticed this type of mistake on a NYT bestselling author, (repeatedly) so in comparison this isn't a big deal.
Jes Battis also has many descriptive passages about different areas of town. This at times pulled me a little out of the story, but was still entertaining. The plot was good, the ending a nice twist; in fact the ending reminded me of some of those old-time detective novels where the captured detective/or p.i. talks to the culprit about how the culprit masterminded the whole thing. Nostalgic.
Night Child also read like a episode of CSI. Throughout the book, when a method, or instrument was used for forensics, this method or instrument was expained. I read in another review that this was info-dumping, and in yet another that it was similar to how the CSI cast would explain things to each other. I didn't mind most of the "info-dumping" in this book, because it was different, regarding magical/supernatural instruments and procedures. I do not enjoy CSI episodes or Law and Order, because I feel like I'm in class, with the teachers expounding on whatever knowledge or morality they want to impart. Just my opinion. It's a little ironic that this bothers me in a show, but not in the book. Of course I didn't feel like Jes Battis or his characters were shoving their morality down my throat either, so that makes a difference.
Gist of the book: Tess and psychic friend/coworker become involved in the case of a murdered vampire, which leads them to a teenager (Mia) that they end up trying to protect, while dealing with Demon Assassins, a by the book boss, and a necromancer that Tess is repulsed by/attracted to.
My favorite characters were Derek the psychic friend/co-worker and Mia the teenager in danger. I love that Mia actually sounded like a teenager, and I loved the snarky dialogue between Derek and Tess, Derek and Mia and Mia and Tess. I also liked the fact that Tess wasn't a completely perfect employee, or someone with uber-powers yet, though she seems to keep some of her power under wraps.
This is a good read, and I'm looking forward to more from Jes Battis.
by Jes Battis
****
Night Child was a pretty interesting book. This was actually released in 2008, but I just read it on the spur of the moment last night and today. I happen to have the second book (Flash of Hex) and will probably start that one soon.
Night Child is set in a reality with Demons and Vampires. Although in this reality, vampires are a type of demons. In fact, necromancers, psychics and magic users are all half demons. I found this interesting.
This is Jes Battis' first novel, although not his first book. He has written two previous non-fiction books; Blood Relations and Investigating Farscape. He is a professor. Despite his professorship, I found the dialog between his characters believable. They did not speak like they were writing an essay. Refreshing. I also enjoyed the dialog between characters. Except....there was one point (and this is probably an editing issue) where Tess (main character) was speaking to someone about a murder. This person mentions the method of the murder, without being told how the victim was murdered. That, though, was the only thing that jumped out at me. The rest of the book was well written and a satisfying read. Satisfying enough that I want to read the second book. I've noticed this type of mistake on a NYT bestselling author, (repeatedly) so in comparison this isn't a big deal.
Jes Battis also has many descriptive passages about different areas of town. This at times pulled me a little out of the story, but was still entertaining. The plot was good, the ending a nice twist; in fact the ending reminded me of some of those old-time detective novels where the captured detective/or p.i. talks to the culprit about how the culprit masterminded the whole thing. Nostalgic.
Night Child also read like a episode of CSI. Throughout the book, when a method, or instrument was used for forensics, this method or instrument was expained. I read in another review that this was info-dumping, and in yet another that it was similar to how the CSI cast would explain things to each other. I didn't mind most of the "info-dumping" in this book, because it was different, regarding magical/supernatural instruments and procedures. I do not enjoy CSI episodes or Law and Order, because I feel like I'm in class, with the teachers expounding on whatever knowledge or morality they want to impart. Just my opinion. It's a little ironic that this bothers me in a show, but not in the book. Of course I didn't feel like Jes Battis or his characters were shoving their morality down my throat either, so that makes a difference.
Gist of the book: Tess and psychic friend/coworker become involved in the case of a murdered vampire, which leads them to a teenager (Mia) that they end up trying to protect, while dealing with Demon Assassins, a by the book boss, and a necromancer that Tess is repulsed by/attracted to.
My favorite characters were Derek the psychic friend/co-worker and Mia the teenager in danger. I love that Mia actually sounded like a teenager, and I loved the snarky dialogue between Derek and Tess, Derek and Mia and Mia and Tess. I also liked the fact that Tess wasn't a completely perfect employee, or someone with uber-powers yet, though she seems to keep some of her power under wraps.
This is a good read, and I'm looking forward to more from Jes Battis.
January 12, 2015
Night Child by Jes Battis
Book 1 of Tess Corday, Occult Special Investigator
This is not a spoiler free review.
There are two kinds of urban fantasies – the kind where a select few are involved in a secret underworld of paranormal and the kind where the world is some sort of alternate universe copy of our world where everyone knows about vampires, werewolves, fae and the like. This book is the second kind.
Tess Corday works for Occult Special Investigators – the paranormal equivalent of CSI. The writer jumps into this world in the opening chapter as Tess arrives at a crime scene where they are investigating a murdered vampire.
In the next chapter we get a bit of character develop as we are introduced to Tess’ nightmares. These nightmares are highlighted in nearly every chapter. So they must be important – right? Just kidding, they aren't. Total red herring.
The writer quickly introduces us to some of the basics of the world by cleverly having Tess observe a class of young mages. Then we meet Tess’ boss and discover she is a screw up. I suppose that is supposed to make her endearing and human but as soon as she rolls her eyes at her boss Marcus when he warns her to straighten up, she loses me a little bit. It is one sort of thing to have that kind of attitude when the hero/heroine is freelance or a private eye but this setting is entirely different.
We meet the following cast of characters plus a few more as part of the investigation:
Derrick – a telepath, gay BFF and roommate
Tasha - coworker
Mia – teen girl who is part of the case they are working on. At just thirteen, is she a supect? A pawn? Just an innocent child caught up in an unfortunate series of events?
Lucian – necromancer and forbidden love interest for Tess.
After specifically being told to follow protocol, when the teen shows up at Tess’ doorstep instead of taking her in to get a statement, she gets personally involved in the girl’s life. Soon she is fending off a demon attack. She is told explicitly not to conduct her own investigation and then she does of course.
Later, when the little girl’s life is in danger, instead of taking her into protective custody, Tess decides to keep the little girl with her. She gets into a great deal of trouble for the things she does. This all would make sense if she suspects what we find out by the end of the book, but she doesn't. She has no good explanation for her actions through most of the book. I suppose we are supposed to trust that she has some sort of psychic ability or just good instincts. It just doesn't feel that way throughout the book. Especially since the revelation that would vindicate her choices totally blindsides her in the end.
In the last chapter of the book, the plot is revealed, the bad guy unmasked. It was almost cliché. The book reminded me more of a mediocre thriller movie or procedural crime show than an urban fantasy. Maybe it was supposed to but I found the effect unsatisfying. It wasn't bad and compared to some things I've read, fairly well written, but overall it just didn't feel fresh or unique in a very over saturated field of urban fantasies.
Book 1 of Tess Corday, Occult Special Investigator
This is not a spoiler free review.
There are two kinds of urban fantasies – the kind where a select few are involved in a secret underworld of paranormal and the kind where the world is some sort of alternate universe copy of our world where everyone knows about vampires, werewolves, fae and the like. This book is the second kind.
Tess Corday works for Occult Special Investigators – the paranormal equivalent of CSI. The writer jumps into this world in the opening chapter as Tess arrives at a crime scene where they are investigating a murdered vampire.
In the next chapter we get a bit of character develop as we are introduced to Tess’ nightmares. These nightmares are highlighted in nearly every chapter. So they must be important – right? Just kidding, they aren't. Total red herring.
The writer quickly introduces us to some of the basics of the world by cleverly having Tess observe a class of young mages. Then we meet Tess’ boss and discover she is a screw up. I suppose that is supposed to make her endearing and human but as soon as she rolls her eyes at her boss Marcus when he warns her to straighten up, she loses me a little bit. It is one sort of thing to have that kind of attitude when the hero/heroine is freelance or a private eye but this setting is entirely different.
We meet the following cast of characters plus a few more as part of the investigation:
Derrick – a telepath, gay BFF and roommate
Tasha - coworker
Mia – teen girl who is part of the case they are working on. At just thirteen, is she a supect? A pawn? Just an innocent child caught up in an unfortunate series of events?
Lucian – necromancer and forbidden love interest for Tess.
After specifically being told to follow protocol, when the teen shows up at Tess’ doorstep instead of taking her in to get a statement, she gets personally involved in the girl’s life. Soon she is fending off a demon attack. She is told explicitly not to conduct her own investigation and then she does of course.
Later, when the little girl’s life is in danger, instead of taking her into protective custody, Tess decides to keep the little girl with her. She gets into a great deal of trouble for the things she does. This all would make sense if she suspects what we find out by the end of the book, but she doesn't. She has no good explanation for her actions through most of the book. I suppose we are supposed to trust that she has some sort of psychic ability or just good instincts. It just doesn't feel that way throughout the book. Especially since the revelation that would vindicate her choices totally blindsides her in the end.
In the last chapter of the book, the plot is revealed, the bad guy unmasked. It was almost cliché. The book reminded me more of a mediocre thriller movie or procedural crime show than an urban fantasy. Maybe it was supposed to but I found the effect unsatisfying. It wasn't bad and compared to some things I've read, fairly well written, but overall it just didn't feel fresh or unique in a very over saturated field of urban fantasies.
October 7, 2014
This was a book that I really loved the sound of and really wanted to like but there were just too many issues with it for me to enjoy it. For me it started off in a confused manner, unable to decide whether it was an urban fantasy novel with a CSI twist or a crime novel with a hint of paranormal. I bought it as urban fantasy but felt it ended up as a crime novel which I do not enjoy.
Next we have to talk about the techical jargon. Yes I get that the author is very clever and intelligent, and knows all these forensic and scientific words, but that does not mean that you must use every one of them in a single novel! Where the author is trying to show that they know their stuff, it just comes across as 'hey I'm smarter than you so I'll show that off to make you feel small and dumb'. Don't get me wrong, I doubt that was the author intention but it felt like that to me every time I had to stop and sigh over another incomprehensible sentence. There are only so many times I will reach for a dictionary before I get bored with it. When I read I want to be entertained, not spend all my time looking up words. There was a complete overdose of jargon in this book and it really put me off. I know a few people who are not into science who had the same reaction. It's impossible to get into a story if it keeps getting hijacked by confusing jargon.
Another down side of all the techical stuff is that it led to my old nemesis, the info dump. The whole first part of the book is totally bogged down in world building info dumps and descriptions. It just got too much when mixed with all the science stuff I had already struggled to digest. The developing plot was lost in this frenzy of information and there was no build up of tension or real excitement. If you stripped the sciene and info dumps away, perhaps a good story would have been uncovered but it was just impossible to tell!
Even the characters were ruined by these two flaws. Every character seemed to be spouting jargon at every opportunity like an uber intelligent Blue Peter presenter, describing everything they were doing in minute detail for children to copy at home. Only this was a lot more complex than scissors and stickyback plastic!
And can someone please come up with a new original name for their supernatural character instead of Lucian??? I've lost count of how many urban fantasy novels have Lucian or something very similar. It is annoying and frustrating you can't get authors being creative enough to use different names! There are plenty million to choose from after all.
Overall, pretty disappointed and won't be reading the rest of the series.
Next we have to talk about the techical jargon. Yes I get that the author is very clever and intelligent, and knows all these forensic and scientific words, but that does not mean that you must use every one of them in a single novel! Where the author is trying to show that they know their stuff, it just comes across as 'hey I'm smarter than you so I'll show that off to make you feel small and dumb'. Don't get me wrong, I doubt that was the author intention but it felt like that to me every time I had to stop and sigh over another incomprehensible sentence. There are only so many times I will reach for a dictionary before I get bored with it. When I read I want to be entertained, not spend all my time looking up words. There was a complete overdose of jargon in this book and it really put me off. I know a few people who are not into science who had the same reaction. It's impossible to get into a story if it keeps getting hijacked by confusing jargon.
Another down side of all the techical stuff is that it led to my old nemesis, the info dump. The whole first part of the book is totally bogged down in world building info dumps and descriptions. It just got too much when mixed with all the science stuff I had already struggled to digest. The developing plot was lost in this frenzy of information and there was no build up of tension or real excitement. If you stripped the sciene and info dumps away, perhaps a good story would have been uncovered but it was just impossible to tell!
Even the characters were ruined by these two flaws. Every character seemed to be spouting jargon at every opportunity like an uber intelligent Blue Peter presenter, describing everything they were doing in minute detail for children to copy at home. Only this was a lot more complex than scissors and stickyback plastic!
And can someone please come up with a new original name for their supernatural character instead of Lucian??? I've lost count of how many urban fantasy novels have Lucian or something very similar. It is annoying and frustrating you can't get authors being creative enough to use different names! There are plenty million to choose from after all.
Overall, pretty disappointed and won't be reading the rest of the series.
September 10, 2008
The mystical is also believable in Jes Battis's ace début novel.
An Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, Tess Corday arrives at a crime scene where a vampire is dead. A note and photo on the vamp lead Tess to Mia Polanski, a thirteen-year-old in danger but whom also possesses great power, and Lucian Agrado, a necromancer who's liaison to the vampire community. And the action heats up as the investigation deepens...
Vancouver is a welcome diversion from the seemingly endless stream of American cities in urban fantasy. Jes Battis gives a right good dose of Canadian flavour that makes the setting all the more enjoyable. (Even necromancers have to love the Canucks.) Tess may kick arse with her athame, but she also makes mistakes in life, which make her instantly relatable. Fellow investigator Derrick Spiegel may be gay, but he's not the cliché type who discusses men, shoes and fashion with the straight heroine - in other words, Derrick is refreshingly real. Children in fiction commonly are precocious, and in that circumstance Mia is no different. But unlike others, Mia doesn't grate on the nerves.
Then there's Lucian...he's rare, a character actually worth fancying. Many a time I've come across love interests whom readers are supposed to like, but I just don't get the hype. Lucian, however...yes, he's hot. But he also teaches Tess about the world at large, and herself. And he doesn't overdo that alpha male thing, either.
It's so nice to have an author willing to go the extra mile to make their world more realistic. Most writers will explain things simply as "magic", and leave it at that. But Mr Jes goes further to explain the magic, and investigative procedures, which makes the book worthier. Even demons' skulls aren't ordinary. And how necromancers came about is fascinating. Then there's the subtle, blink-and-you'll-miss-it social commentary: We monitored the police lines twenty-four hours a day for any calls that might relate to paranormal activity. Kind of like how the USA's Patriot Act monitors alleged terrorism - only less evil.
I actually did hug this after reading, and not just figuratively. I read a lot of books, both bestsellers and mid-lists, and Night Child stands above most of them. Definitely one of my favourite books of the year, and one of only a few in the urban fantasy genre. Get your hands on Night Child now, but you'll have to wait until June 2009 for a sequel.
An Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, Tess Corday arrives at a crime scene where a vampire is dead. A note and photo on the vamp lead Tess to Mia Polanski, a thirteen-year-old in danger but whom also possesses great power, and Lucian Agrado, a necromancer who's liaison to the vampire community. And the action heats up as the investigation deepens...
Vancouver is a welcome diversion from the seemingly endless stream of American cities in urban fantasy. Jes Battis gives a right good dose of Canadian flavour that makes the setting all the more enjoyable. (Even necromancers have to love the Canucks.) Tess may kick arse with her athame, but she also makes mistakes in life, which make her instantly relatable. Fellow investigator Derrick Spiegel may be gay, but he's not the cliché type who discusses men, shoes and fashion with the straight heroine - in other words, Derrick is refreshingly real. Children in fiction commonly are precocious, and in that circumstance Mia is no different. But unlike others, Mia doesn't grate on the nerves.
Then there's Lucian...he's rare, a character actually worth fancying. Many a time I've come across love interests whom readers are supposed to like, but I just don't get the hype. Lucian, however...yes, he's hot. But he also teaches Tess about the world at large, and herself. And he doesn't overdo that alpha male thing, either.
It's so nice to have an author willing to go the extra mile to make their world more realistic. Most writers will explain things simply as "magic", and leave it at that. But Mr Jes goes further to explain the magic, and investigative procedures, which makes the book worthier. Even demons' skulls aren't ordinary. And how necromancers came about is fascinating. Then there's the subtle, blink-and-you'll-miss-it social commentary: We monitored the police lines twenty-four hours a day for any calls that might relate to paranormal activity. Kind of like how the USA's Patriot Act monitors alleged terrorism - only less evil.
I actually did hug this after reading, and not just figuratively. I read a lot of books, both bestsellers and mid-lists, and Night Child stands above most of them. Definitely one of my favourite books of the year, and one of only a few in the urban fantasy genre. Get your hands on Night Child now, but you'll have to wait until June 2009 for a sequel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2013
I've been wavering lately on wither or not I like Urban Fantasy as a genre. I don't if it's because I've read so much of it, or if it's because some many seem to follow the same thread. Thankfully, Night Child is not your typical Urban Fantasy. In this world there are vampires, demons, necromancers, and people like Tess (mages?) with ESP. Night Child just doesn't have the same feel the majority of the urban fantasy books I've read lately.
Tess is assigned to an odd crime; a dead vampire found in an alley with just a picture and an address on him. No apparent cause of death, no evidence to suggest why he would be there or who killed him. On top of the mysterious crime, Tess is up for review. Hinted at is that if she fails, she might be killed.
Derrick is her telepathic, almost stereotypically gay, friend & partner. He acts as Tess's back-up and at points is a way to move the story along.
Mia is the main mystery of the novel. Why did the dead vampire have her address in his pocket when he died? Why is she watched over by a powerful demon who is posing as her aunt? What is she hiding? Through a long, twisty-turny path these are answered, mostly towards the end as Tess comes to the conclusion of the case. One unsolved question is why she looks so much like Tess's dead friend Eve, which is why Tess is in a VERY protective mode.
Lucian is a necromancer. He's the human/vampire liaison that Tess has to deal with. It sounds like his powers are the same normally attributed to them, just the process of how a person becomes(?) one is different (at least to me). I am interested in learning more about him & his background. The odd thing they don't explain is why he is afraid of Tess. Tess is afraid of him for his 'dark' magics, but he states he is afraid of her with no explanation. Hopefully that will come in future books.
Night Child uses more than a few scientific terms, at times it felt a tad overwhelming and I skimmed over a few parts to get back to the story. Since I figured out the reasoning behind everything taking place about 1/2 way through, I don't think I missed much. The events surrounding Tess and Eve have me confused, and I could have done with out the flash-backs, stating Mia looks like Eve would have been sufficient for me.
May 7, 2009
Tess Corday, Mage and Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, is woken up in the middle of the night to visit a crime scene. It's just a dead vampire, nothing unusual about that in her world, but after she takes a closer look she realizes that this isn't going to be an ordinary case of a dead vamp. An address in the vampire's pocket leads Tess and her partner to a teenage girl, Mia Polanski, who has demons after her, as well as the vampire community's attention, but why?
Then there is Lucian Agrado, a necromancer who is liaison to the vampire community. Agrado is supposed to help Tess, but she finds herself charmed by him, and starts to suspect that he may part of the problem rather than a means to a closing the case.
Her boss is breathing down her neck, and expects her to work by the book, but Tess finds that impossible when her own life is on the line.
When I first started Night Child I was bummed. The opening with the dead vampire just didn't have me on the edge of my seat wondering what had happened. I stuck with it though, and as I got deeper into the story it started to have the feel of an Anita Blake novel. Heck, Anita Blake is even brought up in the story. That got a cringe from me, and I almost put the book down then. But I'm not one to just not finish a book. Tess definitely jumps right into things then thinks about what she should have done later. This is pulled off without totally ruining the character. The best part of the story is her partner Derrick. He's funny, snappy, and doesn't take Tess' crap. He trusts her, which made me, as a reader want to trust her instincts as well. The story picked up in the middle and into the end, but it still felt unoriginal in a sense. It was almost like Battis was channeling Laurell K. Hamilton. I especially thought this once Lucian Agrado entered the plot.
The end has a nice unexpected twist, but Tess not thinking before she dives into things definitely puts her and everyone she cares for in danger, again. Overall, Night Child is an OK book. I liked Tess and Derrick, and am looking forward to see if things get better in the second book in the series, A Flash of Hex.
For all the fans of Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, this might be another series for you to look into!
Then there is Lucian Agrado, a necromancer who is liaison to the vampire community. Agrado is supposed to help Tess, but she finds herself charmed by him, and starts to suspect that he may part of the problem rather than a means to a closing the case.
Her boss is breathing down her neck, and expects her to work by the book, but Tess finds that impossible when her own life is on the line.
When I first started Night Child I was bummed. The opening with the dead vampire just didn't have me on the edge of my seat wondering what had happened. I stuck with it though, and as I got deeper into the story it started to have the feel of an Anita Blake novel. Heck, Anita Blake is even brought up in the story. That got a cringe from me, and I almost put the book down then. But I'm not one to just not finish a book. Tess definitely jumps right into things then thinks about what she should have done later. This is pulled off without totally ruining the character. The best part of the story is her partner Derrick. He's funny, snappy, and doesn't take Tess' crap. He trusts her, which made me, as a reader want to trust her instincts as well. The story picked up in the middle and into the end, but it still felt unoriginal in a sense. It was almost like Battis was channeling Laurell K. Hamilton. I especially thought this once Lucian Agrado entered the plot.
The end has a nice unexpected twist, but Tess not thinking before she dives into things definitely puts her and everyone she cares for in danger, again. Overall, Night Child is an OK book. I liked Tess and Derrick, and am looking forward to see if things get better in the second book in the series, A Flash of Hex.
For all the fans of Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, this might be another series for you to look into!
January 1, 2017
I am not a huge fan of vampire books, but I found this one, for the most part, very enjoyable. The characters are - sympathetic for the most part but flawed, the setting is interesting, the plot draws me in. I would have liked to give this three and a half stars, but a couple of things prevent that: character of Tess seems a little confused. She does not seem like someone who would covet -- perhaps not even know -- the names of designer clothes and shoes and handbags, but she does mention some (big, expensive?) brand of boots or shoes on more than one occasion; she is also the narrator and an admitted screw-up, so it's confusing when she goes into great medical and literary detail. Although I rather like the literary references, they seem out of character for her. Either we need more background about her schooling (maybe she was a pre-med student with a minor in literature? Maybe as a young recruit with the OSI, she had to have more training in those things?) Adding to that, the over-explanations of the magical forensics, and how magic works in general gets a little tiresome. It is hard to say whether Battis could have worked that information into the story over a longer time, in spurts, rather than in the longer paragraphs at the beginning of the novel. In one way I think it's good he gets it over with, in another it really slows the story down.
The term "vampire community" feels overused and kind of annoying, and for a queer-friendly book, when Tess claims that she is 100% straight and not even bi just made me bristle a bit. People should be who they are, but that statement just made me bristle. I can't decide if I like the idea of vampirism being a disease that affects the immune system or not.
However, that said, the ending is a delightfully unexpected twist. The romantic tension could probably be notched up a little bit, but it is also something I found myself rooting for - Tess and Lucian. Again, vampires and so forth are not my thing (witches are another matter), but I did enjoy the conflict with Mia and her aunt. I like that a young girl is so powerful, but do wish that Lucian wouldn't have been Man to the Rescue!
Overall, I could definitely recommend this one to people who like vampires and urban horror/fantasy.
The term "vampire community" feels overused and kind of annoying, and for a queer-friendly book, when Tess claims that she is 100% straight and not even bi just made me bristle a bit. People should be who they are, but that statement just made me bristle. I can't decide if I like the idea of vampirism being a disease that affects the immune system or not.
However, that said, the ending is a delightfully unexpected twist. The romantic tension could probably be notched up a little bit, but it is also something I found myself rooting for - Tess and Lucian. Again, vampires and so forth are not my thing (witches are another matter), but I did enjoy the conflict with Mia and her aunt. I like that a young girl is so powerful, but do wish that Lucian wouldn't have been Man to the Rescue!
Overall, I could definitely recommend this one to people who like vampires and urban horror/fantasy.
June 9, 2011
Tess is a forensic cop (kinda) in a world populated by demons, vampires (who are demons) and mages (who are part demons). Her most recent case is a dead vampire with no signs of trauma and the address of a 13 yr old girl in his pocket. And the girl, Mia, reminds Tess very much of her childhood friend who died traumatically in a fire, giving Tess plenty of fuel to protect Mia and make sure she doesn't end up like the dead vampire.
Close to the end of the book the bad guy says to Tess, "You couldn't do your job right if your life depended on it...You screwed up paperwork, botched evidence, showed up late, clocked out early, got hopelessly confused on your way to the bathroom, and you couldn't even work the photocopier." I don't remember Tess trying to use a photocopier, but sadly the rest is true. Tess is a extremely weak character. She blatantly ignores protocol (despite other people warning her constantly), irritatingly complains about being too old and not powerful enough (she's 24), leaves crime scenes when she's supposed to be in charge, takes an underage suspect to her house after she's been banned from contact with the girl and almost gets her killed. Everyone, including Tess, gets wrapped up in science tech talk, which would be fine for a forensic novel, but the voice is exactly the same every time, which makes characters sound like parrots of each other. And instead of sciencing up the magic Battis mucks up the science, saying that magic (or materia) is really just dark matter and mages can manipulate it..magically.
While there are good ideas here, like Derrick, and the demons, and the very concept of the night children, it's lodged like a great meal between some very awkward, and at times down right annoying teeth. As a reader one can see why Tess hasn't advanced anywhere in life, and I had to wonder if Battis wasn't just writing the wrong thing, trying to hammer a more classic fantasy or horror novel into an urban fantasy shape. In short, there are better urban fantasy and paranormal procedurals out there for public and private collections.
Contains: violence, language, sexual content
Close to the end of the book the bad guy says to Tess, "You couldn't do your job right if your life depended on it...You screwed up paperwork, botched evidence, showed up late, clocked out early, got hopelessly confused on your way to the bathroom, and you couldn't even work the photocopier." I don't remember Tess trying to use a photocopier, but sadly the rest is true. Tess is a extremely weak character. She blatantly ignores protocol (despite other people warning her constantly), irritatingly complains about being too old and not powerful enough (she's 24), leaves crime scenes when she's supposed to be in charge, takes an underage suspect to her house after she's been banned from contact with the girl and almost gets her killed. Everyone, including Tess, gets wrapped up in science tech talk, which would be fine for a forensic novel, but the voice is exactly the same every time, which makes characters sound like parrots of each other. And instead of sciencing up the magic Battis mucks up the science, saying that magic (or materia) is really just dark matter and mages can manipulate it..magically.
While there are good ideas here, like Derrick, and the demons, and the very concept of the night children, it's lodged like a great meal between some very awkward, and at times down right annoying teeth. As a reader one can see why Tess hasn't advanced anywhere in life, and I had to wonder if Battis wasn't just writing the wrong thing, trying to hammer a more classic fantasy or horror novel into an urban fantasy shape. In short, there are better urban fantasy and paranormal procedurals out there for public and private collections.
Contains: violence, language, sexual content
February 22, 2012
I wish I'd picked Night Child up sooner. There's an excellent independent fantasy bookshop near me, and I've read the back of this book several times, but somehow never picked it up. Thankfully, I saw it for 2.99 last weekend and grabbed it straight away.
Jes Battis kicks off the story with Tess looking at a body in the wee hours of the morning. There's apparently some tension between vampires & mages (like Tess & her team), which makes it a delicate situation to be doing a vampire postmortem. Tess has a review coming up, and her boss who seems to enjoy picking at her, is trying to get her to run this case exactly the way it's supposed to go. I like that she sticks to her convictions despite that. When Mia gets in touch with Tess and her partner Derrick, Tess sticks with what she thinks is right, even though it risks her losing her job. This is a constant through the book - Tess is of an age where she should normally be higher up in the structure of the OSIs, but she enjoys the job she's got, so she's stayed there. It was good to see a female lead who isn't the most magically powerful, or the biggest in the playground in other ways, but can still be described as 'strong'. I think there is potential there for us to learn more about her power in later books and for her to become more than she thinks she is - it reminds be a bit of the early Rachel Morgan books by Kim Harrison.
I did find the early chapters a little slow going, but after a break of a couple of days, I really got in to it, and I hope to read the next one soon. I don't want to say too much about the plot, because there are lots of twists and turns, but I'm interested to see where things go from here - a couple of incidents from Tess's past clearly affect her in this book, and I want to see if the events of Night Child change things.
I really enjoyed this first book by Jes Battis, and I certainly plan on picking up book 2 in the OSI series, A Flash Of Hex, soon. I'd recommend it to fans of Kim Harrison and Tanya Huff. I give Night Child 7 out of 10. [originally posted by me on The Book Bundle - if you liked this, please consider following the blog at http://thebookbundle.blogspot.com ]
Jes Battis kicks off the story with Tess looking at a body in the wee hours of the morning. There's apparently some tension between vampires & mages (like Tess & her team), which makes it a delicate situation to be doing a vampire postmortem. Tess has a review coming up, and her boss who seems to enjoy picking at her, is trying to get her to run this case exactly the way it's supposed to go. I like that she sticks to her convictions despite that. When Mia gets in touch with Tess and her partner Derrick, Tess sticks with what she thinks is right, even though it risks her losing her job. This is a constant through the book - Tess is of an age where she should normally be higher up in the structure of the OSIs, but she enjoys the job she's got, so she's stayed there. It was good to see a female lead who isn't the most magically powerful, or the biggest in the playground in other ways, but can still be described as 'strong'. I think there is potential there for us to learn more about her power in later books and for her to become more than she thinks she is - it reminds be a bit of the early Rachel Morgan books by Kim Harrison.
I did find the early chapters a little slow going, but after a break of a couple of days, I really got in to it, and I hope to read the next one soon. I don't want to say too much about the plot, because there are lots of twists and turns, but I'm interested to see where things go from here - a couple of incidents from Tess's past clearly affect her in this book, and I want to see if the events of Night Child change things.
I really enjoyed this first book by Jes Battis, and I certainly plan on picking up book 2 in the OSI series, A Flash Of Hex, soon. I'd recommend it to fans of Kim Harrison and Tanya Huff. I give Night Child 7 out of 10. [originally posted by me on The Book Bundle - if you liked this, please consider following the blog at http://thebookbundle.blogspot.com ]
October 12, 2015
*This review was originally posted on my review blog Falling Off The Shelf 2.0*
Tess Corday doesn't have your run of the mill job. She's an Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab. Every day she sees things that someone like you or me would say is impossible, but to her it's just another day on the job. She's used to seeing dead vampires, but this particular case has her feeling like it's special, especially when all the pieces start fitting together.
You first meet Tess and she seems like a strong character, although she does have her own flaws. She's constantly battling with her past, and it sometimes interferes with her every day life. She doesn't like to get close to people because of her past, and as you read this book you see her fighting to come to terms with her past so she can move on and be a better person for it.
This book kind of started out slow for me, not that it wasn't full of interesting facts and action, because it really was. I just personally didn't really start getting into this one until about half-way through, when the story started to unfold and I just had to find out what was going to happen to Tess and the other characters in this book. I read it rather fast though, only taking two short nights to finish it after my children went to bed. After finishing it I felt much better, and more enthused to set out and find the second book in the series so that I could read that one as well.
I was sad to find out that the author Jes Battis doesn't have an author website, just a few pages on assorted sites but nothing to call his own. I was curious about him and wanted to see what else he was working on but can't seem to find any information on his upcoming works or if there will be any. I guess in the meantime I'll have to read the few books that are remaining in this series.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read the others in the series. Don't be put off by me feeling like it went slow for me in the beginning, because it may not be the case for you, as it really was an interesting start it just didn't click for me until later into the book.
Tess Corday doesn't have your run of the mill job. She's an Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab. Every day she sees things that someone like you or me would say is impossible, but to her it's just another day on the job. She's used to seeing dead vampires, but this particular case has her feeling like it's special, especially when all the pieces start fitting together.
You first meet Tess and she seems like a strong character, although she does have her own flaws. She's constantly battling with her past, and it sometimes interferes with her every day life. She doesn't like to get close to people because of her past, and as you read this book you see her fighting to come to terms with her past so she can move on and be a better person for it.
This book kind of started out slow for me, not that it wasn't full of interesting facts and action, because it really was. I just personally didn't really start getting into this one until about half-way through, when the story started to unfold and I just had to find out what was going to happen to Tess and the other characters in this book. I read it rather fast though, only taking two short nights to finish it after my children went to bed. After finishing it I felt much better, and more enthused to set out and find the second book in the series so that I could read that one as well.
I was sad to find out that the author Jes Battis doesn't have an author website, just a few pages on assorted sites but nothing to call his own. I was curious about him and wanted to see what else he was working on but can't seem to find any information on his upcoming works or if there will be any. I guess in the meantime I'll have to read the few books that are remaining in this series.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read the others in the series. Don't be put off by me feeling like it went slow for me in the beginning, because it may not be the case for you, as it really was an interesting start it just didn't click for me until later into the book.
April 30, 2014
I found this book to be a bit uneven. Some of the science went over my head but, as I never studied science beyond the required basic classes, I don't know if it actually made sense or if it was all mumbo jumbo. I didn't have trouble following the story, though, so it wasn't a problem for me. The writing wavered a bit, going from typical urban fantasy-like language to wonderfully, flowy, sciencey-like language; I rather liked those bits and found them to be a bit poetic.
Tess surprised me a bit. She has her flaws and knows about them but she also works with what she has. I also liked that she has Derrick, best friend and work partner. I don't know if Tess would have worked out if she'd been a lone wolf character. There were a few TSTL moments for her but I like that the consequences of her actions seemed to be commensurate with her stupidity (kind of). Though the whole Lucian thing bugged me. One of the things that I absolutely loathe is when male characters who are supposed to be love interests ! I found that scene particularly annoying.
Lucien - not sure what I think of him. I know his function is the love interest but I don't see how this can be pulled off if their respective organisations are currently in a (somewhat uneasy) truce. Plus, see spoiler above.
Derrick - I wanted more of him. I hope, though I may not be reading on, that his character is more fully explored and/or developed in subsequent books. He could be a great character.
Mia - I wonder...
Oh, and what was up with her nightmares? I don't think I fully understood the role those played in the story.
Overall, not bad for a first book. I may or may not read the next one. Not sure yet. My rating is really more of a 2.5 but I'm rounding up because I quite liked those poetic-science-introspective passages.
Tess surprised me a bit. She has her flaws and knows about them but she also works with what she has. I also liked that she has Derrick, best friend and work partner. I don't know if Tess would have worked out if she'd been a lone wolf character. There were a few TSTL moments for her but I like that the consequences of her actions seemed to be commensurate with her stupidity (kind of). Though the whole Lucian thing bugged me. One of the things that I absolutely loathe is when male characters who are supposed to be love interests ! I found that scene particularly annoying.
Lucien - not sure what I think of him. I know his function is the love interest but I don't see how this can be pulled off if their respective organisations are currently in a (somewhat uneasy) truce. Plus, see spoiler above.
Derrick - I wanted more of him. I hope, though I may not be reading on, that his character is more fully explored and/or developed in subsequent books. He could be a great character.
Mia - I wonder...
Oh, and what was up with her nightmares? I don't think I fully understood the role those played in the story.
Overall, not bad for a first book. I may or may not read the next one. Not sure yet. My rating is really more of a 2.5 but I'm rounding up because I quite liked those poetic-science-introspective passages.
Read
June 6, 2011Tess is a forensic cop (kinda) in a world populated by demons, vampires, and mages. Her most recent case is a dead vampire with no signs of trauma and the address of a thirteen year old girl in his pocket. The girl, Mia, reminds Tess very much of a childhood friend who died traumatically in a fire, giving Tess plenty of fuel to protect Mia and make sure she doesn't end up like the dead vampire.
Close to the end of the book the bad guy says to Tess, "You couldn't do your job right if your life depended on it...You screwed up paperwork, botched evidence, showed up late, clocked out early, got hopelessly confused on your way to the bathroom, and you couldn't even work the photocopier." I don't remember Tess trying to use a photocopier, but sadly the rest is true. Tess is a extremely weak character. She blatantly ignores protocol (despite constant warnings), irritatingly complains about being too old and not powerful enough (she's 24), leaves crime scenes when she's supposed to be in charge, takes an underage suspect to her house after she's been banned from contact with the girl, and almost gets her killed. Everyone, including Tess, gets wrapped up in science tech talk, which would be fine for a forensic novel, but the voice is exactly the same every time, which makes characters sound like parrots of each other. And instead of “sciencing up” the magic, Battis mucks up the science, saying that magic (or materia) is really just dark matter and mages can manipulate it..magically.
While there are good ideas here, like the demons, they aren’t enough to save the book. As a reader, one can see why Tess hasn't advanced anywhere in life, and I had to wonder if Battis wasn't just writing the wrong thing, trying to hammer a more classic fantasy or horror novel into an urban fantasy shape. In short, there are better urban fantasy and paranormal procedurals out there for public and private collections.
Contains: violence, language, sexual content
Review by Michele Lee
Close to the end of the book the bad guy says to Tess, "You couldn't do your job right if your life depended on it...You screwed up paperwork, botched evidence, showed up late, clocked out early, got hopelessly confused on your way to the bathroom, and you couldn't even work the photocopier." I don't remember Tess trying to use a photocopier, but sadly the rest is true. Tess is a extremely weak character. She blatantly ignores protocol (despite constant warnings), irritatingly complains about being too old and not powerful enough (she's 24), leaves crime scenes when she's supposed to be in charge, takes an underage suspect to her house after she's been banned from contact with the girl, and almost gets her killed. Everyone, including Tess, gets wrapped up in science tech talk, which would be fine for a forensic novel, but the voice is exactly the same every time, which makes characters sound like parrots of each other. And instead of “sciencing up” the magic, Battis mucks up the science, saying that magic (or materia) is really just dark matter and mages can manipulate it..magically.
While there are good ideas here, like the demons, they aren’t enough to save the book. As a reader, one can see why Tess hasn't advanced anywhere in life, and I had to wonder if Battis wasn't just writing the wrong thing, trying to hammer a more classic fantasy or horror novel into an urban fantasy shape. In short, there are better urban fantasy and paranormal procedurals out there for public and private collections.
Contains: violence, language, sexual content
Review by Michele Lee
February 7, 2017
I picked this book up because it was an urban fantasy set in Canada, something I don't see too often. This novel was a mixed bag for me, running right down the middle of being enjoyable but also tedious.
Battis is a fairly good writer. He captures a lot of feeling in his story and creates some interesting characters. He also writes gay characters extremely well, which given his schooling, is understandable and a breath of fresh air. Out of everything he introduces in this novel, the Necromancers are easily the most interesting out of the bunch. His vampires are plain and unoriginal, his OSI agents equally so, and his demons are cut straight from every other urban fantasy I have seen. Yet the Necromancers are unique, mysterious, and powerful. They put other necromancers from other urban fantasies to shame. (I'm looking at you Anita Blake) When we finally get to see them in action, it's exciting and entertaining. It is too bad Battis couldn't do the same with the rest of his urban fantasy world.
Another element that bugged me was the deus ex machina ending. Like all endings like this, this felt like a complete cop out, as if Battis wrote himself into a corner and didn't know how to get himself out of it. Instead of the protagonist figuring something out, and thus proving she is a competent COI agent, a strong, independent woman, she has to rely on something mythical and all powerful to get herself out of the situation. It made for a very disappointing ending.
Yet this novel wasn't all bad. There were some nice moments, a genuine mystery, and it all does come together nicely. However, among all the other urban fantasies out there, it's average. I will probably get the next one in the series and see if it improves, but other than that, I wouldn't really recommend this novel.
Battis is a fairly good writer. He captures a lot of feeling in his story and creates some interesting characters. He also writes gay characters extremely well, which given his schooling, is understandable and a breath of fresh air. Out of everything he introduces in this novel, the Necromancers are easily the most interesting out of the bunch. His vampires are plain and unoriginal, his OSI agents equally so, and his demons are cut straight from every other urban fantasy I have seen. Yet the Necromancers are unique, mysterious, and powerful. They put other necromancers from other urban fantasies to shame. (I'm looking at you Anita Blake) When we finally get to see them in action, it's exciting and entertaining. It is too bad Battis couldn't do the same with the rest of his urban fantasy world.
Another element that bugged me was the deus ex machina ending. Like all endings like this, this felt like a complete cop out, as if Battis wrote himself into a corner and didn't know how to get himself out of it. Instead of the protagonist figuring something out, and thus proving she is a competent COI agent, a strong, independent woman, she has to rely on something mythical and all powerful to get herself out of the situation. It made for a very disappointing ending.
Yet this novel wasn't all bad. There were some nice moments, a genuine mystery, and it all does come together nicely. However, among all the other urban fantasies out there, it's average. I will probably get the next one in the series and see if it improves, but other than that, I wouldn't really recommend this novel.
July 26, 2009
Excellent first novel from Jes Battis. It is hard to pigeon hole this novel as belonging to a specific genre. I found my copy in the fantasy section of my local library. However, it definitely has strong romantic elements, loads of suspense, more plot twists than many mysteries, and is set as a modern day urban fantasy in that hotbed of demonic activity, Vancouver. With all the technical forensic details that Battis provides, it is also a little bit scifi, and a thoroughly satisfying read.
Tess Corday is an OSI-1, an investigator for the Occult Specials Investigations unit of a clandestine governmental agency called CORE that polices otherworldly species. Tess is assigned to investigate the murder of a vampire discovered in an alley which leads to a suburban family, an aunt with demon blood and her human niece. The niece, Mia Polanski, is at the center of a conspiracy involving vamps, necromancers, mages, etc. Unraveling why Mia is important, who the players are, and protecting the innocent 13 year-old teenager, is a thrill ride with non-stop action, good guys, bad guys, and many shades of grey. I enjoyed the banter between Tess and Derrick Siegel, the telepath assigned to assist Tess in the investigation. These comedic interludes provided just the right levity to offset some of the darker moments. I also can wait to see what develops between Tess and Lucian Agrado, the dark necromancer to whom she is attracted.
The next book in this series, , A Flash of Hex, is out and available in bookstores. I am definitely going to read the sequel. I am giving this one 4.5 stars.
Tess Corday is an OSI-1, an investigator for the Occult Specials Investigations unit of a clandestine governmental agency called CORE that polices otherworldly species. Tess is assigned to investigate the murder of a vampire discovered in an alley which leads to a suburban family, an aunt with demon blood and her human niece. The niece, Mia Polanski, is at the center of a conspiracy involving vamps, necromancers, mages, etc. Unraveling why Mia is important, who the players are, and protecting the innocent 13 year-old teenager, is a thrill ride with non-stop action, good guys, bad guys, and many shades of grey. I enjoyed the banter between Tess and Derrick Siegel, the telepath assigned to assist Tess in the investigation. These comedic interludes provided just the right levity to offset some of the darker moments. I also can wait to see what develops between Tess and Lucian Agrado, the dark necromancer to whom she is attracted.
The next book in this series, , A Flash of Hex, is out and available in bookstores. I am definitely going to read the sequel. I am giving this one 4.5 stars.
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