Customer Reviews

Dead To Me

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The premise of this book is certainly intriguing. How can you have a meaningful relationship if anytime you touch a person there is the potential to see something intimate about their past. Poor Simon has gone from petty criminal to newbie investigator, but that still hasn't helped his love life. And during this novel, it only seems to get more complicated.

I enjoyed this book and finished it pretty quickly. The characters are memorable and entertaining.

A couple of things prevent a five star review for me, one of which is that the book seemed to lack a certain cohesion. The events just seemed strung together rather than leading up to any particular confrontation. Also, the big bad didn't seem developed enough to me. We get righteous indignation from the hero about his deeds, but until the end it's much more tell than show and to me mostly came off as prejudice on the hero's part rather than actual villainy.

As a side note that is probably a character choice, but still bothered me, was the fact that the main character comes off as ridiculously self righteous at times. On the plus side, he realizes it and he's young so maybe he'll grow out of it.

Still, good for a first novel.

The concept of a Bureau 13 or other government "secret agency" that combats occult happenings isn't new. Having it be an underfunded NYC agency instead of a federal BPRD or high-tech MiB-style operation is (at least to me).

There's the smartass rookie protagonist - a hotheaded psychometrist - and his older wisecracking but slightly-stick-in-the-mud mentor. There's the "is he good or bad" dotted-line superior, and the slightly goofy direct superior who's a little tougher than he appears. And there's the spirits, spooks, zombies, and cultists, along with the bigger-than-it-appears evil scheme. All the elements of a fun time.

And it is, mostly after chapter five.

This book very definitely gets better the further you get into the plot. Mr. Strout seems to try for a Whedonesque flair (deliberately invoking _Angel_ at one point), and doesn't quite hit it. Simon Canderous (said rookie protagonist) isn't a flat character - but elements of his personality pop up unexpectedly. This may explain the first four chapters, which try to go into Simon's motivations and set the stage for his motivations. They do - but a bit mechanically. I don't really *care* much about Simon at first. It comes into play later, and by *that* point I care... but I felt really disconnected at first.

But let me emphasize that by the end, I do care about Simon, Connor, and the rest of the crew at the DEA. This book entertained me, and I am looking forward to Mr. Strout's second book about Simon.

Let's put it this way: This book kept me amused and sane as I took breaks from reading primary sociological texts. If that's not a recommendation for a popcorn-feel-good time, I don't know what is.

Simon Canderous has the gift of psychometry - when he touches an object he can view its history. But this isn't necessarily a gift when it comes to information he doesn't want to know, especially when it comes to the women he dates. Recently recruited to the DEA (District of Extraordinary Affairs), Simon uses his gift to help others. His latest case involves a woman who doesn't know she's dead. As Simon begins to uncover the reasons behind her death, he soon finds himself in escalating, dangerous situations.

Dead To Me has all the fun and mystery of the Dresden Files with great secondary characters as well. Paranormal creatures and danger, infused with comedic relief, made this debut stand out from among the rest. Simon is a wonderful character that I look forward to seeing more of and how he develops. The women in his life are just as complex, and only add to Simon's difficult life. From bookstacks that attack to cultists who are into inhaling ghosts for a high, this exciting urban fantasy has tremendous potential. With plenty of suspense and humor, I highly recommend this debut to any fantasy fan.

I wanted to like this book, it is just the sort of thing that I really enjoy. But, the characters felt unsympathetic or boring, and just didn't appeal to me.
Simon, the main character, acts like teenager- hormones over brains. He charges into every situation without any though. And he was supposed to be an experience thief, having spent years involved in the underworld. I particularly hated the situation where he was told he and his girlfriend were being marked for death. He carefully hid her at a hotel, doubled back, and made sure no one trailed him to her. And then went back about his business without a worry. He went home, stood in his window, then went to work, etc. Brainless.
The "Perky" Cultist could have been great (like Gilley from Dork Towers), but she really was just annoying.
Really, it felt like the author had a lot of `ideas', but didn't spend enough time working out the implications or making the characters `real' enough (at least for me).
This looked like the beginning of a series. I hope that the next one is better. But, for me, I think I will pass.

I loved this book. It's completely quirky and funny and suspenseful... I mean, how could you not love a debonair divination-having, ghost-seducing, cultist-abusing detective? It's like Law and Order, but with hot ghosts and rampaging bookcases. I glanced over some of the other reviews... One calls this book a rip off of Men in Black, which is crazy. I found Dead to Me totally fresh and inspired. I can't wait for the sequel!

Dead to Me by Anton Strout... his first entry into the fabtastic world of urban fantasy.

It's a fun read full of quick wit and pithy quips. I couldn't put it down, though I didn't thoroughly get into the book til the third chapter. I love the characters, especially Simon whose sarcasm and dry humor keep me chuckling and the story rolling. My favorite was the climax which mixes both action, humor and the unexpected.

Anton has taken the Ghostbusters, Men in Black and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, tossed them in a blender, added a few fish and created a great book. He has some new twists on old ideas, new things and it has the best use of Lifesavers and fish ever in a book.

I expect to see great things coming from Anton in the future!!

Dead to Me is a light urban fantasy about Simon Canderous, psychometric newbie in New York City's secret Department of Extraordinary Affairs. Simon meets (and develops a bit of a crush on) a beautiful ghost, which leads him into a mystery involving cultists, a wooden fish, a killer bookcase, zombies, and all sorts of fun.

In case you can't tell, this is a book that doesn't take itself too seriously. Turning to a random page gives this line: "All undead are subject to a $10.00 cleaning fee after using the Reference Room." If you follow Strout's blog, you know he's an entertaining person, and that comes through in the book. Simon's a likeable fellow, a former petty thief trying to make good while wading through the (somewhat exaggerated ... but only somewhat) bureaucracy of government agencies. If there's a problem with this one, it's that the humor keeps me from taking the stakes as seriously as I might have. Balancing humor and conflict is hard. In this case, I think the humor keeps the tension from rising as high as it might have otherwise.

I think one of the most powerful aspects of the book was the way Strout examined the effects of Simon's power on his personal life. Psychometry means Simon can touch an object and see into the minds of those who have owned or used that object ... which tends to play havoc with relationships, among other things. The use of his power leaves him with a blood sugar crash, so we go through a lot of Life Savers in this book. (Side note -- the night I started reading the book, I had just come back from karate where my own blood sugar dipped low (stupid diabetes), and was replenished by half a roll of Life Savers. So I had a lot of sympathy for poor Simon.)

All in all, it's a fun book and a good first novel. I'm always up for more fun SF/F, and I'll be curious to see what happens to Simon in book number two.

Reformed thief Simon Canderous has always used his unique talent, psychometric, the ability to instantly get the history of anything with a single touch, as a career. Now employed by the Department of Extraordinary Affairs, every day presents unusual challenges to say the least. Where else can you deal with a ghost who does not know she's dead, a homicidal bookcase, wooden fish, and the forces of darkness? Simon's life is filled with excitement, never more so than now when there is a nefarious plot going on that could make all ghosts worse than dead. Yet, amidst it all, he longs for one thing denied him by his blessed curse; a real relationship, and not with an evil stalker preferably.

**** Mr. Strout's debut is one to make urban fantasy fans cheer. Simon is the same sort of hero that has won our hearts in the form of Harry Dresden. Sardonic wit is combined with fantastic scenarios and edgy tension to make this book fly by. ****

Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.

I really enjoyed this book. Urban magic, tormented souls, good vs.evil. It's got what I like and personally...I've often suspected that zombies would love hot dogs.

Dead To Me is the first book in a series about Simon Canderous, a twenty-four year old psychometrist, living in New York City and working for the secret Department of Extraordinary Affairs. What's a psychometrist you ask? Well, psychometry is the ability to touch an object that someone owns and find out things about them, such as memories or a certain time in their lives when they owned the object. Poor Simon hates having this ability because anything he touches with his bare hands, will allow him to know a person's deepest and darkest secrets. It makes dating quite an uncomfortable thing for him.
Simon used to work as a petty thief and is now on the side of good even though his underpaying job can hardly pay the bills. Plus, he comes in contact with all types of creatures. This includes ghosts who will turn part of your hair white if you tangle with them, thus being welcomed into the "White Stripes" group. Simon calls them the Hair Club For Men. His older partner, Connor, is part of this elite group of hair men because of his latest ghostly investigation. Simon and Connor take up a case after Simon drops his coffee through a ghost named Irene. And since they can't just have her floating around scaring people, they decide to find out who killed her. From there, Simon falls into all types of scrapes from being chased by killer bookshelves and evil cultists. He has to make sure he keeps his job and not touch anything that could possibly drain him to the point of passing out.
Since I am so use to reading about the female protagonist's point of view, it was nice for a change to read about the male's POV. Dead To Me is very quirky and Simon is such a funny and loveable guy. I wanted to give Simon a big hug because he is such a fish out of water, barely making ends meet while trying to stay alive as the things that go bump in the night try to do him in. This is a straight up Urban Fantasy with many pop culture references (Simon has a leather duster that reminds him of the one worn by Angel in the old TV series Angel) and I found myself chuckling a few times.
There is some subtle moments of a possible romance to come and since Anton has been contracted for three more books in this series, I would love to see what else he has in store for Simon.
Anton Strout is definitely a writer to keep your eye on and I really enjoyed the paranormal world of New York City and the character of Simon.

Katiebabs