Customer Reviews

Dead Man Rising (Dante Valentine, Book 2)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't know if it's the titles or the author's own implausable name, but every time I pick up a Lilith Saintcrow novel, I expect silliness; a bubblegum world of demons, and devils, and witches (oh my!).

Instead, what I get is dark, urban fantasy at its best!

'Dead Man Rising' is a gritty dark tale, full of meat (and gristle) that leaves you waiting eagerly for the next installment of Dante Valentine. I don't offer a plot synapses in my reviews beause there's normally an excellent one on the page already. Let me just say that this book very satisfactorily answers questions that left you curious and just a little heartbroken in the previous title, 'Working for the Devil'.

There's only one thing I find myself wishing for in these books (aside from simply more!). The main character, Dante Valentine (another improbable name, but I've gotten to like it), is so brilliantly drawn, so vivid, that some of the support characters pale in comparison. She is so vibrant that I sometimes lose sight of very important characters like Gabe and Eddie, leaving me to question - who was this again? However, as more sequels are written in this series, I'm sure these characters will develop and eventually breathe as much as Valentine's character.

All in all, a very good read. You won't be disappointed.

Oh - before I go! Although Saintcrow does a masterful job of weaving the backstory into this, I think that particular backstory is just too big and too vital. I do suggest you read 'Working for the Devil' before tackling this. Though you'll enjoy this without doing so, you'll find it much more satisfying with the previous book under your belt.

~ Dena

A relative newcomer to the Dark Fantasy genre, Lilith Saintcrow pens a tale that will seem superficially familiar to the aficionado. Protagonist Dante (Danny) Valentine is a necromance, a half-demon and a bounty hunter. Beginning where "Working for the Devil" the previous (and first) novel in the series left off, we find Danny immersing herself in her work collecting bounties nonstop as a means to forget about the death of her lover. Japhrimel a full demon, is the reason that Danny now finds herself to be semi-immortal, inhumanly beautiful and nearly invulnerable.

Danny receives a call from close friend and fellow necromance, Gabe, who asks for her help in investigating a series of killings. The victims are seemingly unrelated, with two being psions and one a normal, until Danny using her talents calls back one of the murdered spirits, and is told "Remember Rigger Hall. Remember. REMEMBER!" Aided by former lover, Jace, the shaman who taught her almost everything she knows about bounty hunting, Danny begins an investigation that will tear her apart by forcing her to confront her tortured childhood at Rigger Hall.

When she starts receiving letters and phone calls from The Devil asking where Japhrimel is, since he can't seem to locate him in hell, Danny begins to wonder if she is losing it. She knows Japhrimel is dead she witnessed Lucifer kill him with her very own eyes. Now the voices in her head tell her she could have brought him back if only she knew how.

It's a story that melds a little bit of cyberpunk, with a dash of paranormal romance, and then brings that together with just enough thriller/horror elements to satisfy the reader. This reviewer would suggest reading "Working for the Devil" first for the full effect. Fortunately a glossary is provided, as the author not only uses Egyptian phrases, but also makes up many of her own names for common things - such as werecain instead of werewolf or lycanthrope and nichtvren for vampire.

This series should be immediately and immensely popular with fans of Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison and Charlaine Harris. A powerful urban fantasy, with a strong female lead wielding immense power, but who has the sensitivity to question her own humanity.

Dead Man Rising, a sequel to Working for the Devil, is extremely entertaining. This book picks up where Working for the Devil left off. Her demon lover, Japh, is dead and she is mourning his loss. We get more insight into Danny's past in this second book. We learn more about her childhood experiences at Rigger Hall that gives you a feel for why Dante Valentine is the way she is. She is tough, smart and at times a little vulnerable. This was a side of her you didn't see too much of in the first novel. This book also had a very good mystery murder plot. Psions are being killed and her friend Gabe calls her in to help in the investigation. I acutally enjoyed this book more than the first book, but both are excellent reading and highly recommended.

Lilith Saintcrow's increasingly sinister world of the Hegemony is what draws me to this series. Unlike certain other authors writing similar books, Saintcrow has actually put some thought into the legal, cultural, and social implications of having psychics and magic-users in the world.

In the first book, it wasn't entirely clear as to whether 'the Hegemony' was on Earth or a colony world. That question has been answered with the second book. Picking up after "Working for the Devil", "Dead Man" follows Dante as she struggles with the fall-out of those events. Normally, a drop-dead gorgeous, half-demon bounty-hunting heroine would make me roll my eyes and mutter about Mary Sue. Saintcrow avoids that trap by making Dante *struggle* with her new 'status'.

We're shown the very real social stigma of being a psion, of even having augmentation and gene-splicing, which seems as relatively common as plastic surgery in our reality. In addition, Dante doesn't *understand* what she is now. How has she changed? Will her relationship with her god be affected? Can she have a wholly human lover? How will her relationships with other psions change? What *is* she, and why is the Devil still contacting her? Why, if demonkind is so fascinating to the Magi, is there so little accurate information?

There are some problems with the book, mainly pacing. Sub-plots are either introduced too early--and so we read on and on, wondering when we're going to get back to it--or never returned to. Some characters are introduced with noteworthy build-up, then vanish.

What grates is Saintcrow's use of repition and occassional absurd emphasis.
Right at the beginning, we're given a descritpion of Dante's boots, touching the floor as she walks. Well, where *else* would they be? Dante's given no indication being able to fly or walk walls like a spider. It was silly, borderline purple-prose. Certain reactions are repeated with identical wording--the dry barking sob--and descriptions repeated *so* often, I grew annoyed (the black molecule-drip nail polish. What *is* molecule-drip polish, how is it different from regular nail polish and *why* must it be repeated over a dozen times?).

This also occured with a few major plot points. I can understand repetion in flashbacks, in nagging thoughts, but to repeat dialogue, and give the same accounts twice in the same book, seems sloppy. An editor should have caught this.

Saintcrow seems to have a very elaborate world designed here, with the psion schools, the different types of magic-users, and the clash between 'normals' and 'psions'. Some of the vagueness of this book may be answered in the third, as things from the first were answered here.

I really hope she tones down the repition, though. It reduces the 're-readability' of the book.

She is THE Dante "Danny" Valentine, world-class Necromance who retired at the top of her game after a hush-hush bounty hunt that nobody can dig up any information on except for the Nuevo Rio Mob War. (Previous book "Working For the Devil".) She was genetically altered by a Fallen demon, Japhrimel "Japh". Danny still has the mark upon her left shoulder, where Lucifer made Japh her familiar. No one would have ever believed it had they been informed that there was one thing that terrified Dante almost to the brink of death - Rigger Hall.

Until the age of thirteen, Dante had her caseworker, Lewis. When he died, Dante's life became a living nightmare. She was a collared girl pushed into the Hegemony Psi program. An orphan sent into Rigger Hall. Headmaster Mirovitch ruled Rigger Hall with an iron fist. No one knew he was a Feeder. He was well-camouflaged. The school was his private playground filled with disposable psions.

To keep her sanity, Danny has blocked out everything about that time. But now psychics all over are being brutally murdered. The school is the only link. Dante must face her past or there may not BE a future.

Things get even worse when Lucifer calls her. He is looking for Dante's lover - the one he has already killed. As strange as that sounds, Danny has no time or urge to contemplate the Devil's lies. She has no idea which fiend or friend to trust. Her time is running out, in more ways than one.

***** Almost as excellent as the first. Readers who pay close attention will (sometimes) see some clues as to what will happen in Dante's near future. Since Dante is secondarily gifted with precognition, I thought these flashes to be a brilliant addition to the story. BRAVA! Author Lilith Saintcrow fleshes out her main characters even more in this novel. Danny was made even more believable to me when I learned that she actually has some flaws. New characters are introduced as well. Danny makes some powerful new friends that may come in handy during the next episode. On that note, according to the teaser chapter at the end of this story, the next Dante Valentine novel will be released in July 2007 and titled "The Devil's Right Hand". Highly recommended reading! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I have read a few of Ms. Saintcrows other titles. However, decent to read, they are NOT part of my all time favorite books, EXCEPT for the Dante Valentine Series, it is fast-paced, well written, and humourus. I am not too big into mushy love stories, but can stomach the love story in this series. All in all both Working for the Devil and Dead Man Rising are excellent books, and worth taking the time to read.

After the emotional slap-in-the-face of Working For The Devil I should have been prepared for Dead Man Rising. I wasn't. However, I cannot deny that I enjoyed the heck out of every page. Ms Saintcrow's first person narrative leans toward overly melodramatic macabre at times, but since Dante is a bit of a self-centered, self-absorbed, drama queen, it works. If you liked Anita Hamilton's earlier works, you're sure to enjoy Saintcrow's Dante Valentine series.

I found this second novel in the series to be a disappointment. For me, Danny just does way too much whining and complaining about the same things over and over in this novel. There's not really much room in here for the development of an interesting plot, most of the pages are dedicated to her personal diatribes about: Jace and Japhrimel and the boarding school. There are a few new characters but they are pretty much relegated to very minor contributions. Overall, I didn't find this novel to be very eventful. The first one was really eventful and not solely focused on Danny's whining. I'll probably check out the third one eventually but overall the second novel was a disappointment.

While I am not particularly interested in the romance genre, I've been reading a lot of detective/fantasy crossovers (e.g. Jim Butcher, Laurell Hamilton, Simon Green). They vary in their level of grittiness and the amount that fantasy is recognized by the world at large. While Saintcrow is not without her flaws, one great feature of this series has been character development. Dante Valentine, the protagonist, has undergone huge changes from the first novel and is now superhuman. Saintcrow ups the ante and gives her stronger challenges. The conclusion points to an even stronger challenge in the future. I applaud this willingness to have a character truly evolve rather than devolve (e.g. Hamilton's Anita Blake or Meredith Gentry). I am curious to see if there is a price Dante will have to pay for power.

I'm not telling! It may mean more than one thing for those who think they know. Actually, it could be seen to mean as many as 4 things if you stretch a bit. Dead Man Rising follows Working for the Devil in the Dante Valentine series and is not a stand alone book. It's been a year since Dante found herself Working for the Devil, working with her ex, sleeping and working with a demon and loosing her Love. She really isn't taking it well. Her body has been changed; integrated with demon physiology in a way she doesn't understand and the lingering affects of Japhrimel's death affect her mindset. Jace (the ex) has followed her back home and is trying to keep her in one piece as she runs from bounty to bounty with reckless abandon.

Shadows from Dante's past start to emerge and push her closer to the edge of reason and sanity. Psychics of all types, from the same school she attended, are being murdered in very nasty ways. The book gives the reader a good look at the nasty stuff that took place at that school, Rigger Hall, and that was hinted to in the previous book. Dead Man Rising is a good, but quick read. It has a happier ending than the first book, but is still dark. I enjoyed the deeper look at Dante's character.