Deadtown (A Deadtown Novel) [Mass Market Paperback]

Nancy Holzner (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 29, 2009 | Series: A Deadtown Novel

Read Nancy Holzner's posts on the Penguin Blog.

View our feature on Nancy Holzner’s Deadtown.

First in a brand new urban fantasy series that's "fresh and funny, with a great new take on zombies" (Karen Chance) and "full of dangerous magic and populated with characters so realistic, they almost jump off the page" (Ilona Andrews).

If you were undead, you'd be home by now...

They call it Deadtown: the city's quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its borders-but Victory Vaughn, Boston's only professional demon slayer, isn't exactly human.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Holzner's fast-paced urban fantasy debut, shape-shifter Victory Vaughn fights demons in an alternate present-day Boston, where a few thousand people have been mysteriously zombified and are now confined to the neighborhood of Deadtown along with vampires, werewolves, and other Paranormal Americans. Vicky's sometime boyfriend, Kane, a werewolf, lawyer, and PA rights advocate, gets some competition from human detective Daniel; teen zombie sidekick Tina occasionally wreaks unintentional havoc; and Vicky's sister, Gwen, an inactive shape-shifter and suburban wife and mother, argues with Vicky over their life choices and attitudes toward shape-shifting in the most fully realized and emotionally compelling parts of the book. By comparison, the reveal of the big villain comes off as both predictable and a little cardboardy. This fun and facile tale would be a great beach read if it weren't coming out in the middle of the winter. (Jan.)
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Review

Welcome to Holzner's fascinating world, where a plague has turned much of the Boston population into zombies. Part demon-busting tale, part political thriller, Holzner's take on urban fantasy is exciting and fresh. --RT Book Reviews

Beginning with its first page, this exciting, gripping novel sustains its high-octane suspense throughout the narrative, keeping the reader guessing until the end . . . [A] superb addition to the urban fantasy genre. --Bitten By Books

[P]ure excitement is packed in to the 326 pages that is "Deadtown". . . a fast read with exciting, witty characters, a great plot and with plenty of action. Holzner has created a heroine worthy of fans. A Top Pick. --Night Owl Reviews

Deadtown is one of the strongest starts to a new UF series I have had the pleasure of reading in a long while. --The Book Smugglers

Deadtown holds up quite well against the best in the genre. It's really an exceptional start of a new series. --Fantasy Literature

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ace; Ace Mass Market Edition edition (December 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441018130
• ISBN-13: 978-0441018130
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 4.1 x 6.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy Holzner grew up in western Massachusetts with her nose stuck in a book. This meant that she tended to walk into things, wore glasses before she was out of elementary school, and forced her parents to institute a "no reading at the dinner table" rule. It was probably inevitable that she majored in English in college and then, because there were still a lot of books she wanted to read, continued her studies long enough to earn a masters degree and a PhD.

She began her career as a medievalist, then jumped off the tenure track to try some other things. Besides teaching English and philosophy, shes worked as a technical writer, freelance editor and instructional designer, college admissions counselor, and corporate trainer.

Nancy lives in upstate New York with her husband Steve, where they both work from home without getting on each others nerves. She enjoys visiting local wineries and listening obsessively to opera. There are still a lot of books she wants to read.

Visit her web site at www.nancyholzner.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 55 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good story, fun plot, a few issues January 15, 2010

By Terri Harris

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

First the pros:
- I really enjoyed our heroine, Vicky. She was powerful, funny, smart and kicked all kinds of tail. Not quite as awesome as my current favorite, Kate Daniels, but I would say that she's not too far off.
- The plot was interesting, moved quickly and concluded well. The menace was believable, the dramatic elements were clever and I just liked it. I thought the premise was an interesting twist on the old favorite. And that is getting much harder to do lately.
- World-building. We didn't get to see as much of the world as I would have liked, since the focus was mainly on the action, but what we saw was interesting and original.

All this counts for a lot, but with the urban fantasy market as crowded as it is, it takes that extra something for a book to go from good to great in my view. And the one, massive con was something I couldn't move past: the cast.

I did not like any of the supporting cast. They were, almost without exception, untrustworthy, evil or plain old jerks and they made the book a lot less believable. The one I took the most exception to, and will use as the example to illustrate my point, is Tina.

Tina the zombie sidekick is actually a potentially interesting and original new character. Unfortunately Tina completely lacked charm. Every time she appeared on the page I wanted someone, anyone, to slap the heck out of her. Not for being a smartass, but for consistently pulling crap that could get our heroine killed. She's a danger to pretty much everyone around her, literally from the first chapter. The heroine can probably empathize, since she was something like that as a teenager, but Vicky's actions as a teenager actually DID cause a tragedy.... Every time Tina appeared and did something stupid that could get the heroine killed I wondered why the heroine would ever agree to train her, knowing that the attitude could get someone killed. It didn't make any sense. I cant imagine her associating with, much less training, someone who doesn't listen, will STEAL from her, and is a danger to her AND her clients. She has experienced the consequences of such a lack of control and unwillingness to listen in her past and out to know better. It ripped me right out of the story, as I spent the time thinking WTF!

Tina was the character that aggravated me the most, but far from the only one. The client and politicians were a cliche, the lawyer boyfriend plain unlikable, and the human love interest was boring. If we must have a romance (and I know it's pretty much a given in this genre- I don't mind it when it's done well), I hope the author will introduce a viable third candidate in the next book. The closest I came to really liking any character other than the lead was in flashbacks to Vicky's dead relatives.

I will certainly check out the reviews of the second book in this series when it is published. I hope that further development will make the cast a bit more interesting and fun to read about. There are just too many good urban fantasy books out there right now to buy one that doesn't get me interested from the beginning. If the cast issues are addressed, I will absolutely buy the next book. Read more ›

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars There's a new place for urban fantasy---Deadtown December 29, 2009

By R. Kyle TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Victory Vaughn is a demi-human, active. This bureaucratese translates to a shapeshifter, who also fights demons, or a Ceriddorian, who is literally a Welsh descendent of Ceridwen. All this classification became necessary after the Plague hit Boston three years ago and turned many of the residents into zombies who now inhabit a space called "Deadtown." Of course, the demi-humans: vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters like Vicky are also now under regulation and struggling for rights.

Vicky's just doing her job exorcising a drude (dream demon) from a client when she feels some serious evil. The next day she learns after she left the client was murdered, boiled from the inside out. It's her worst fear, someone's let loose a Hellion on Boston---in particular, a Hellion, the type of demon who started the zombie plague in the first place--and this particular Hellion and she have a score to settle since Difethwer the Destroyer killed her father and left a demon mark on Victory that she's fought a lifetime to keep in control.

This demon infestation could not come at a worse time. One of the primary issues in the upcoming election for Massachusetts's governor is demi-human rights and the human candidate, Seth Baldwin, is going to be all over the hellion's appearance--if the demon doesn't destroy the city.

And, that's not all Victory's got to deal with. Tina, a young zombie, has appointed herself Victory's apprentice and is causing her more grief than good. The case has brought Costello, a handsome human detective, into her life who is in competition with her current lover, werewolf lawyer and activist, Kane. Add to all of that, Gwen, her demi-human inactive sister is ashamed of her heritage which causes family issues....

"Deadtown" is the sophomore novel created by English PhD, Nancy Holzner. All those years of voracious reading definitely paid off for this author. She's created an engaging character and a fantasy world which blends many common urban fantasy elements in a different manner.
For the most part, the novel is a an interesting and diverting read. Holzner puts a lot of balls into the air, but manages to keep the threads running clearly enough that an attentive reader can pick them up easily enough. I noticed a couple of slips, including describing Victory by having her see herself in a mirror. This is not a major no-no, but one most novelists do try to avoid.

Rebecca Kyle, December 2009 Read more ›

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars great worldbuilding, meh characters *spoilers* December 30, 2009

By Kairos

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The premise of the book is really very good. The world building in particular I think is great. Unique, and I really enjoyed the details she put into the various demons/paranormals. And I was pretty desperate to find out what happened.

However, most of the characters left me with either no impression, or a semi-negative one.
The leading male characters are simply just not that interesting. More interested in the news than the girl he hasn't seen in 2 weeks?

Vicky's powers are interesting, I love the restrictions on it, the detail that is involved in writing about the changes, and how she experiences them. But most of her interactions seemed to be arguments which made all parties look bad.

Her werewolf lawyer protests against protecting a rival from being burned alive. Bad.
But then she goes about riding in his limo when he is in no danger (demons are only active at night), and giving all sorts of information to his boss who wants to toss all paranormals out of the state, or kill them, or something. Just as bad.

And at the end of the day, this is a girl who thinks her lawyer semi-boy hired thugs to kidnap her? And this is *only* possibility she can think of, not the scientists who have 60,000+ to spend on studying her, or the sorcerer who wants to kill her, or even the squad who tried to drag her off in handcuffs in the beginning.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Deadtown - Nancy Holzner January 5, 2010

By A. Schreiner TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Victory Vaughn is the only professional demon exterminator in Boston. When people have demon issues, she is the one they call. Vicky herself is Cerridorion, someone who is able to shift into any animal three times a month - with a catch - if she bears children, she will no longer carry the ability to shift. Her sister, Gwen, gave up her abilities and the two come to blows during the book deciding what is the better route to take.

Vicky is not alone in her supernatural abilities though. She is kept in company by werewolves and vampires, just to name a few. The supernaturals started coming out of the closet after a mutated virus hit Boston out of nowhere. Every human in the entire city died in a matter of seconds. The only ones not affected - vamps, wolves and Vicky. Suddenly, the humans needed the supernaturals to help the devastated city, and the nickname "Deadtown" was created. As if that wasn't enough to deal with, three days later, zombies began to rise.

Even though the supernaturals become known to the public, they still don't have equal rights. The movement is led by the good looking werewolf, Alexander Kane, who, as Vicky says is her "companion." They are not super serious but they hang out on occasion, and by hanging out I mean they do dinner and the fun stuff afterwards.

Vicky has a personal demon of her own, one that killed her father and one that she carries part of around with her. The demon, called The Destroyer, is not satisfied and after killing one of Vicky's clients shortly after leaving his house, she knows he is back. With the help of Daniel Costello, a Boston police officer, she is determined to keep the city safe while battling her own demon - and feelings for a very cute blue-eyed police officer....

Deadtown sets up the kind of urban fantasy world I like - the supernaturals are out to the public, and now we get to see how they are accepted. I love to read about the political struggles and the behind the scenes fights that ensue. The supernaturals are by no means close to getting equal rights much to the dismay of Kane who is very invested in their cause. He has his agenda and for most of the book he uses Vicky to further that agenda. The reader never gets to see his romantic side or why Vicky would be attracted to him, except for his good looks - he is 31 with silver hair, quite a fox! I don't think she wants anything necessarily serious or more than what she has, but I can't even see why she wants that.

Besides the political upheaval, Vicky is battling an extremely dangerous Hellion, one that cooked her father from the inside out when she was younger. The Hellion is being controlled by a sorcerer, and Vicky must figure out who is in charge before the Hellion can assemble an army to invade Boston. Daniel is investigating the murder of her client, who Vicky is sure The Destroyer killed. Daniel has that smile and good nature that gives Vicky the butterflies in her stomach. The book stands great as it is, but I think it could have been even better with more romantic tension between these two.

My favorite aspect of the book is Vicky. There are many instances of men trying to bully her around, even Kane, and she does not give in. She stands up for what she believes in and never falls under peer pressure, and I find that quite admirable in this heroine. Losing her father to The Destroyer, has greatly affected her life, and she lives everyday trying to honor her father in some way. As she says:

Nothing would make me give him up. Nothing. Not even Kane, so devoted to his cause that he'd sacrifice anything for it. I wondered if that included me.

She is smart, she has patience (which is a must since she has a zomibe intern) and she is determined to live her life her way.

This is Nancy Holzner's debut in urban fantasy and it is a strong, welcome addition to the genre. Deadtown is a very solid start to what I hope are many adventures to come with Vicky. Read more ›