A drizzly grey day brings the promise of Autumn, and with Halloween approaching, I’m thinking ghosts and ghouls and fantastical monsters on the reading list.
Fledgling by Octavia Butler
“Shori is a mystery. Found alone in the woods, she appears to be a little black girl with traumatic amnesia and near-fatal wounds. But Shori is a fifty-three-year-old vampire with a ravenous hunger for blood, the lost child of an ancient species of near-immortals who live in dark symbiosis with humanity.”
And so begins this vampire thriller, as Shori attempts to discover the reason for her amnesia. Who slaughtered her entire family and left her for dead?
Vampire society in the book is complex and richly described; a unique take on this popular genre that reads like a complex family saga that I found compelling. Unlike other vampire fiction, the vampires in this novel form symbiotic relationships with selected humans and create extended families from those relationships. Vampires are called ‘Inas’ and their human counterparts, ‘symbionts’. Inas feed on human blood but they don’t kill for it. Instead, the bite forms the basis of the symbiotic relationship: the Ina’s venom benefits the human symbiont by extending their lives and curing their illnesses. The act of biting creates a bond between Ina and symbiont, comparable to emotional attachment in romantic relationships. Each Ina requires several symbionts, and symbionts are free to have relationships with other humans, therefore polygamous family units are formed.
The plot was intriguing, well-paced and character driven from Shori’s perspective. Any sex and violence is not overly graphic, but there was discomfort knowing that while Shori is a fifty-three-year-old vampire, she has the outward appearance of a girl. In her search for truth and justice, Shori must survive, which means taking symbionts and heading a polygamous family unit. It is an exploration of identity politics on many levels, inclusive of race and gender, and exposes thought-provoking power imbalances analogous to contemporary issues.
The Wolfman by Nicholas Pekearo
“Marlowe Higgins has had a hard life. Since being dishonourably discharged after a tour in Vietnam, he’s been in and out of prison, moving from town to town, going wherever the wind takes him. He can’t stay in one place too long – every full moon he kills someone.”
Marlowe Higgins is a werewolf. And so begins this morally grey tale. Set in the small town of Evelyn, Marlowe struggles with his affliction, keeping his true identity secret from everyone, including his police detective friend, Daniel Pearce, whom he harvests information from. Like a search for redemption, he uses his unfortunate curse for good, only killing really bad people. But when a serial killer shows up, events take a wrong turn.
This was one of those random treasures discovered in my local library: a dark tale of fantasy and crime entwined. The writing is engaging, introducing this complex protagonist using past and present scenes that add depth and interest. At times the plot is purposefully predictable, but this is also an interesting take on the classic werewolf story told with an original voice. Marlowe Higgins’ Jekyll and Hyde character is tragic and brutal, but his discovered purpose and mission to fulfil, makes him an anti-hero that is easy to root for.
The author’s real-life story was a tragic ending. Working as a volunteer New York cop, he was killed in the line of duty. The Wolfman was his debut novel, meant to be the start of a series that I would have read. As it is, this is a great stand-alone book that I would recommend.
What are you reading?
