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Missing, Persumed Undead
Missing, Presumed Undead is Elmore Leonard meets Dashiel Hammett meets Terry Pratchett with China Mieville peering through the window (they got along fine until Terry spilt his tea all over Elmore's Italian sports jacket . . .). It has an intriguing mystery-driven plot, dipped in funny syrup and set in a classical fantasy-style world with the mood and magic driven "technology" of a Casablanca-style 30's detective story. It isn't so much hard boiled as char grilled, with a side salad.
- GenresFantasy
387 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
38 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Davies
16 books91 followersJeremy Davies is made of ink, but don’t dip a feather in him. It tickles. He once painted a fingernail black and no one really noticed. He was disappointed.
He’s also an editor, a religious atheist, a liker of strong coffees, a Shakespeare-lover, a political anarchist and someone who rarely has a pen when he needs one. He has been a PhD candidate, a personal trainer, a life model, a bouncer, an infantry soldier and someone who rarely had a pen when he needed one.
He has had words published in a variety of places, in a variety of publications, in a variety of forms, in a variety of moments: Canada, Wet Ink, SMS and twelve minutes past three in the afternoon being some of these.
His first novel Missing Presumed Undead will be re-published by Satalyte Publishing in February 2014, with more to be written.
He’s also an editor, a religious atheist, a liker of strong coffees, a Shakespeare-lover, a political anarchist and someone who rarely has a pen when he needs one. He has been a PhD candidate, a personal trainer, a life model, a bouncer, an infantry soldier and someone who rarely had a pen when he needed one.
He has had words published in a variety of places, in a variety of publications, in a variety of forms, in a variety of moments: Canada, Wet Ink, SMS and twelve minutes past three in the afternoon being some of these.
His first novel Missing Presumed Undead will be re-published by Satalyte Publishing in February 2014, with more to be written.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 23, 2014
I love reading fantasy and I love crime noir, so once I saw the cover of Missing, Presumed Undead I had to read it. I mean, seriously, who wouldn't pick up and read a book with a minotaur detective, complete with fedora, on the cover. It is told from the point of view of the trusty side-kick Rhys, who just happens to be an enchanted knife in the possession of Frank, our minotaur detective. I loved the way this novel took the usual grungy city setting of crime noir and gave it a substantial fantasy twist, complete with wyvern cabs and magicars and where The Body Politic Registry, various guilds, Guilstapo, narques and the criminal underworld all compete for power. The story is complex and interesting. My only complaint was that at times the wise cracking, hard bitten narration from Rhys, tends to overpower and distract from the rest of the story. However this is very well written, clever, witty and quirky. It's well worth the read.
August 6, 2011
A superbly funny and very quirky "detective" novel. A strange mixture of 30s classic gumshoe and fantasy that just seems to work. You might think this unlikely when you learn that the lead character is a minotaur and his sidekick is a letter opener! Trust me on this.
Only available as an eBook download. You can get it from Fictionwise or from the publishers, Double Dragon Publishing.
Only available as an eBook download. You can get it from Fictionwise or from the publishers, Double Dragon Publishing.
November 10, 2014
This story follows a minotaur detective named Frank and his trusty side kick. And here is why I got hooked – the story is from the sidekick’s POV. And his helper? None other than an enchanted blade named Rhys, who, if it wasn’t obvious, is also a self-aware blade. It’s such a fresh, different POV that I was immediately intrigued.
It wasn’t just the POV. The story, which follows the disappearance of a young lady’s body (presumably through someone with necromancer skills), gives us a delicious mix-up of noir-style mystery with action-packed situations and an urban fantasy setting, this book beautifully ties all three into an engaging story.
Snarky Rhys the blade can’t help but add his digs in, proverbial and physical, along the way. We snake through Necromancers and attempted suicides, and up through GAOL and through Hightown, which is suffering all sorts of ills thanks to a murderer on the loose.
I don’t want to give too many details away, as it’s how all the bits tie together that make this story really good. In fact, the only quibble I have is that there were a few times where I wish the noir voice had been let up for the sake of simplicity/clarity. I love reading noir, but there were a few times where the character had to go out of his way to explain something that in theory, he shouldn’t have had to, or I had to reread a few times to make sure I understood exactly what was going on.
These were really minor moments in an otherwise stellar novel. I’d happily read more in this world/series. If you like unique voices, or want a fresh take on noir/urban fantasy, then definitely take this book out for a spin.
It wasn’t just the POV. The story, which follows the disappearance of a young lady’s body (presumably through someone with necromancer skills), gives us a delicious mix-up of noir-style mystery with action-packed situations and an urban fantasy setting, this book beautifully ties all three into an engaging story.
Snarky Rhys the blade can’t help but add his digs in, proverbial and physical, along the way. We snake through Necromancers and attempted suicides, and up through GAOL and through Hightown, which is suffering all sorts of ills thanks to a murderer on the loose.
I don’t want to give too many details away, as it’s how all the bits tie together that make this story really good. In fact, the only quibble I have is that there were a few times where I wish the noir voice had been let up for the sake of simplicity/clarity. I love reading noir, but there were a few times where the character had to go out of his way to explain something that in theory, he shouldn’t have had to, or I had to reread a few times to make sure I understood exactly what was going on.
These were really minor moments in an otherwise stellar novel. I’d happily read more in this world/series. If you like unique voices, or want a fresh take on noir/urban fantasy, then definitely take this book out for a spin.
May 3, 2015
Missing Presumed Undead is a quirky, funny, definitely different novel, by author Jeremy Davies.
Set in a city full of corrupt officials and bad arses , the main character, the private detective Frank Mynos, a minotaur Bull/ is on the case to solve a murder and mysterious disappearance of a corpse.
We follow Franks progress and along the way bump into many different, interesting and shady characters.
Although a little confusing at the beginning, once accustomed to the language and style of this writer, I found this book fast moving and very entertaining and I was enthralled and wanted to keep reading, chapter by chapter to discover more.
At times this book made me laugh out loud, the play with words and subtle jokes I found very clever.
There was great diversity in characters. I feel this book would make a very entertaining play, as I would love to see these characters come to life.
This book transported me into a different world, time and reality.
It never failed to surprise and I was disappointed when I finished the book as I would love to have read more about Frank Mynos and his adventures. I think I will be reading this again as there are some very funny quotes in this book.
Anxiously awaiting the sequel.
Set in a city full of corrupt officials and bad arses , the main character, the private detective Frank Mynos, a minotaur Bull/ is on the case to solve a murder and mysterious disappearance of a corpse.
We follow Franks progress and along the way bump into many different, interesting and shady characters.
Although a little confusing at the beginning, once accustomed to the language and style of this writer, I found this book fast moving and very entertaining and I was enthralled and wanted to keep reading, chapter by chapter to discover more.
At times this book made me laugh out loud, the play with words and subtle jokes I found very clever.
There was great diversity in characters. I feel this book would make a very entertaining play, as I would love to see these characters come to life.
This book transported me into a different world, time and reality.
It never failed to surprise and I was disappointed when I finished the book as I would love to have read more about Frank Mynos and his adventures. I think I will be reading this again as there are some very funny quotes in this book.
Anxiously awaiting the sequel.
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January 3, 2015Read for Aurealis, since withdrawn.
Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This entry is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
To be safe, I won't be recording my thoughts (if I choose to) here until after the AA are over.
To be safe, I won't be recording my thoughts (if I choose to) here until after the AA are over.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews