Customer Reviews

Don't Kill The Messenger (A Messenger Novel)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ever wonder how all those kick-ass heroines in popular Urban Fantasy got their start? How they actually BECAME kick-ass? You don't usually see the mighty heroine's more humble beginnings - by the time they're heroines, they're usually already there. Well, Melina Markowitz may just be the answer to those idle wonderings. An unexpected drowning and resuscitation at the age of three marked Melina as a member of the arcane and called her into service as a Messenger...sort of like the supernatural's answer to FedEx. She scurries to and fro with messages and items that need to get from Point A to Point B when the exchangees are better off NOT meeting face to face. With her calling come the nifty perks of better-than-human speed, strength, senses, and endurance...but no paycheck, so she's stuck working not just ONE side job but two. She's an admissions clerk at the local ER by night and a part time martial arts instructor by day. She knows several different disciplines of the arts, but that didn't come with the calling - that came with hard work, a lot of practice, and the guidance of best friend/mentor/former Messenger herself Mae, who owns the dojo that Melina works/trains at.

Melina's leading her slightly-more-than-average life with as little effort as possible, when one day a routine drop turns ugly, and she's beset by ninjas, gets her butt firmly kicked, and stumbles onto an insidious evil that's taking over the streets of her town. Try as she might, she just can't seem to push the responsibility of dealing with this evil off onto anyone else - and she tries REALLY hard to do just that - so she's stuck dealing with it herself. But what the heck is SHE going to do about it? She's just a Messenger, after all!

With a potential love interest (who'd be perfect if he wasn't a cop), a McDreamy-esque ER doctor who makes her drool (who'd be perfect if he wasn't a vampire), and a surly but protective bartender (who's yummy even though he's a werewolf), Melina is going to find out just how kick-ass heroines get their start as she struggles to find out what's going on while keeping everyone she cares about safe... But there is very little 'safe' in the world of 'Danes (mundanes/humans) OR 'Canes (arcanes/supernaturals) - and straddling that fence between the two like Melina does is the most dangerous place of all.

Great premise in Don't Kill the Messenger, and definitely a quick, sometimes humorous, but definitely deadly new Urban Fantasy premiere. I liked it quite a lot, and when she wasn't annoying me, I enjoyed spending time in Melina's head. There's much to appreciate here, with Rendahl adding a fresh voice and new eyes to this original UF novel. Points to her for offering a well-worn genre some new blood with some bite of it's own. The plot kept my interest, was paced quickly and smoothly, and was dangerous enough to be truly threatening. There were, however, some problems for me that kept it from being a truly GREAT read.

Don't Kill the Messenger is told in first person from Melina's perspective, and I had some problems with the narrative. Melina doesn't explain much about the world she's living in - the narrative is more about her thoughts on every little thing...even the most mundane, like how much she loves her car...and that causes two problems: the world never really becomes totally clear or real for me and the rambling internal monologue gets old (I was VERY tired of hearing about her car FAR before the end) and seems silly in the face of true crisis at times. I can deal with the rambling because that's where the humor really shines, and there were many moments that made me chuckle, but I definitely felt the hit on the lack of world building. I also felt there was a disconnect between how Melina describes herself (as "able to kill with her pinkie" at one point) and the fact that she gets her butt kicked or gets manhandled over and over...even by a single human ('Dane). More than once she praises her enhanced senses and strength, and every time, they fail her in one form or another. That's a problem for me, story-wise.

A couple of plot problems niggled me, too. I started wondering why, if not delivering a message or package caused cosmic and increasing bad luck for Melina, there were no ill effects of having one stolen from her by those butt-kicking ninjas, and no reason given for why there weren't any (a simple nod to the difference between being stolen and being ignored would've sufficed, but it should've at least been addressed). Or how someone could make EXACT duplicates of something they've never seen before (details withheld to prevent spoilers). There were also a plethora of cultural and pop culture references and I didn't always get them.

Mae calling Melina to task for being irresponsible and telling Melina she needs to take a stand was very abrupt, but the issue was compounded by Melina's downright petulant and childish reaction to it. Nothing about that really worked for me, and while I can understand the necessity of the wake up call, I wish it had felt more organic to the story and that Melina's reaction to it didn't make her seem like a five year old. I was very glad, though, that Melina's ambivalence and blinders-on lack of concern with the world around her as a whole was addressed. At one point she blithely mentions that she figures something she delivered at one time or another contributed to someone's death...and I was a little horrified that she could be so...detached about that. SOME coping mechanism or thought should've been interjected here, because we've surely read every other thought that passed through Melina's head. To not do so in this case made her seem extremely self involved to the detriment of her character.

Those were all annoyances that lessened my enjoyment of Melina as a character and the book as a whole, but there's one big thing that just ticked me off and frustrated me to no end, because it's one of my top three major pet peeves in books. Stupidity. Rampant, idiotic stupidity. Melina suffered a severe case of the stupids as the conflict of the book reached it's climax. Everything she did, most of what she thought, and just about in every way possible, she was stupid. There were a few smatterings of a ditzy lack of intelligence through the first part of the book (the surveillance camera incident, for example), but towards the end, when relatively mild Messenger girl tries to turn into the Messengernator, the climax (for me - and in my opinion) fell apart. Several B-grade horror movie cliched no-no's were tossed in, and both Melina's internal monologue and the character's dialogue went really really wrong. It was an unfortunate turn that didn't quite recover by the end, but the impact was lessened by some good stuff, too - the way Melina's circle of friends started to come together, the interplay between Alex, Ted, and even Paul, and some other things that were positive enough to not forgive...but at least smooth out my overall impression of the book in total. I would've happily offered up four stars prior to the Melina intelligence meltdown, though, so it DID have an impact.

I would still recommend Don't Kill The Messenger for those who truly enjoy urban fantasy and really jones on fresh story telling, but I would caution those who are sticklers for world building and like their kick-ass heroines smart at all times. Melina's not there - yet - but I definitely think she's moving in that direction. I plan to follow this series and look forward to book two, hoping for more character growth and a bit more world definition. Still, the fresh story, decent secondary characters, and a pleasant amount of action were very nice.

Melina's brush with death as a child wins her magical powers and a new glamorous job - oh wait - yes to the magic but no to the glamour. Melina is now a delivery girl, carrying messages between members of the hidden Arcane population of Sacremento, a job with no perks and no pay and no say - when Melina gets a delivery request, she has to see it through or else suffer karmic curses 'til she gets the job done.

Melina's just struggling along trying to make ends meet with two other normal everyday jobs to pay her bills, when an innocuous seeming delivery ends up landing Melina in the middle of a bloody magical conspiracy. Melina's used to being alone and looking out for just herself, but when someone has to 'step up' to keep the magical spillover from taking mundane lives when the movers and shakers of the Arcane world say, 'not my problem', Melina will discover that even a 'grunt' can make a difference and that she doesn't 'have' to be alone anymore.

There was a great deal I liked about Don't Kill the Messenger, but what sets Rendahl's new series starter apart in the increasingly crowded urban fantasy field is the fact that the heroine's life is so mundane, all while she's surrounded by vampires, werewolves, imps, witches and hot cops. I also thought that it was refreshing that Melina doesn't end up having to hide her nature and her world from her love interest. Of course, being the heroine, she gets two possible love interests, the affore mentioned bodacious 'White Knight' of a police officer and an icily cool vampire doctor - one who takes a doctor's requisite cold hands to a whole new frigid level, but who has a pretty amazing philosophy for dealing with his immortal existence.

I liked Melina alot - which is so important with a first person heroine - and the fact that she has to finally leave the whining about her fate behind and actually grow up, added to her appeal. I also liked the way that this loner, ends up collecting a 'crew' by the end of the book and look forward to seeing how the events in the book, change her relationships and her role - from mentored to mentor, as the series continues with Dead On Delivery in 2011.

I've read hundreds, possibly thousands of sci/fi-fantasy books since my first Andre Norton book in 1965. It can be a little bit difficult to impress me. Of course I like all the best sellers like Kim Harrison and Charlaine Harris, Kelly Armstrong.. speaking of which I thought about their first books on the best seller list about the same thing I'm saying here. This is SERIOUSLY GOOD. There is enough characters, whimsy, plot, everything. I like darker books too, some that are a bit gritty for the average person. But this is more on the light level. Which is great too. We need about ten or so sequels. Other reviewers have touched more in detail on whats in the book so I dont see any need to go there. I'm just going to say that upon reading this book I'm feeling the same sense of interest and hunger that I have for the finest of books in the past. There are more of course, I have about 40 favorite authors, but I'm just mentioning the better known ones. What is it that makes one with similar elements so much better? I'm not sure, but when I read one, I know it. So If you are wondering if this book should hit your shelf or kindle or you should try something else, I suggest you go for this one. Besides the more of you that buy this one the more likely I'll get those sequels...

I struggled with how many stars to give this book. Three stars indicate that a book is average. This book however readable, is not really fit in the average category. The plot is weak, and the characters are flat and at times annoying.

The pace of this book was very slow. The author interrupts the action with a lot of inner dialogue. This convention would have been fine if it had actually added to the action, but instead it broke it apart. A good example of this was a statement that usually demands an answer; "Look at what the cat dragged in." A page and a half later, the protagonist responded out of the blue, by that time I had completely forgotten what was said prior. And to make matters worse, the interruptions were the protagonist constantly whining about her life or lack thereof, making her less than endearing.

The books problem was solved through forced coincidences: a grandma that just happened to know the guy that lead our hero to the first clue, an Aunt that just happened to be a real estate agent that lead our hero to the heart of the problem. And once the problem was discovered, the reader will not only get the plot but the solution as well, long before the protagonist does, making the hero appear really stupid.

We see the protagonist alone so much that the secondary character are not well developed. They would drop in a every so often, mostly to tell her to "leave it alone" (referring to the problem.) Their lack of help made them unlikeable and their lack of presence made them unmemorable. When they did finally come to the rescue, one really had to wonder why. Once they were all assembled, they worked too well as a team as if they had been doing it all alone. I didn't buy it.

So, while this book was indeed readable, the plot and characterization where a train wreck. I can see however, now that all the character's are assembled much like the Buffy the Vampire's gang, that future books may not be as unimpressive. But will I actually buy another?

Plot Summary: "Don't Kill the Messenger" takes a look at the supernatural world through the eyes of its resident gopher, Melina Markowitz. She's an unwilling member of the `arcane,' which includes vampires, werewolves, and witches, and all the while poor Melina longs to be a normal `mundane.' When Melina is attacked by a pack of ninjas while doing a simple vampire-to-vampire delivery, she tries to recover the stolen package and stumbles into a gang war. She's just the messenger, she tells herself, but when innocent people start getting hurt, Melina decides to behead the snake in charge.

I applaud Eileen Rendahl for bringing a fresh, new idea to the table. Melina is little better than an indentured servant in this supernatural world, and she's forced to act as a bizarre mailman between hostile parties. For her troubles she receives no pay, but the job has its perks. She is faster, stronger, and more impervious than the average human, and best of all she hardly needs any sleep, which is good because she has to work two normal jobs to pay the rent. I thought it was a unique twist to follow a heroine who is at the bottom of the supernatural hierarchy, and one who doesn't particularly want to be there either.

I'm truly surprised that Penguin is marketing this book as a paranormal romance when everything about it screams "Urban Fantasy!" to me. While it certainly has a nice little romance, it's not the focus of the story at all. Paranormal romances also tend to have more than one sex scene, and devote a lot more time to the steamy details. That said, I think "Don't Kill the Messenger" is a prime candidate to appeal to a cross-over crowd of both UF and PNR fans.

According to an interview I read on Bitten By Books, Ms. Rendahl is working on a sequel called "Dead on Delivery." Look for it February 2011.

When Melina Markowitz was three years old she died. However, that was not the end of her life as she returned as a Messenger who made deliveries between the paranormal. She tries to stay away from her clients as her motto is to just pass on whatever.

However, in Sacramento her don't get involved mantra is devastated when her package given to her by a vampiric physician is stolen from her. Trying to retrieve it to finish her delivery, Melina heads to the Taoist temple where she was to hand over the envelope. There her don't get involved policy is bloodied when seemingly out of control Chinese vampires kill rival gangbangers while not caring if innocent civilians die. Police Officer Ted Goodnight struggles with the deadly chaos and how Melina somehow is constantly caught in the center.

This is an amusing urban fantasy in which the sardonic cynic wonders why her and to her chagrin her support cast responds with why not. Fans will enjoy this fun tale as the cop is attracted to the messenger who likes him, but fears any mortal involvement as breaking cover. Don't Kill the Messenger is a fun lighthearted formic even with blood flowing freely on the California streets.

Harriet Klausner

With an innovative premise that makes certain people more aware of/susceptible to the arcane world, we meet Melina who has been conscripted as a Messenger - a worker in the paranormal deliveries world. When a delivery is thwarted by ninja, Melina is drawn farther into paranormal controversy than she ever expected. Although there are several hunky males in the action, I would hesitate to classify this book as romance - I would categorize it as urban fantasy with a strong female protagonist. I am looking forward to future books in this series!

Considering that this is the author's first book, I wish I had better things to say about it. Unfortunately, I found a number of things which I think could have easily been corrected or improved prior to publication. First and foremost, this author has swiped a term for a group of Vampires from Patricia Briggs -- the term is "Seethe," and as far as I know, this term previously been used only by Patricia Briggs. One of the dangers in urban fantasy genres is that as more works are published, aspiring authors read these books and may not even realize they have poached another writer's original language describing their world. I read a great deal in this genre, and I think part of the problem is a tremendous pressure to rapidly churn out books while this genre is hot, hot, hot.

Aside from the term poaching, another issue I have is the lack of originality in character names, plot, and resolution. The main romantic interest is a cop named "Ted Goodnight," and in typical unrealistic fashion, he makes a play for the main character on their first meeting -- when he is questioning her about a crime. As every urban fantasy novel now seems to require, there are 2 potential love interests in Melina's life and by the end, she seems to have made her choice. There are many references made as to Melina's level of martial arts skills, training, and her supernatural ability to do without sleep, recover from injuries, etc. But from the beginning, Melina is bested in hand to hand fights with seemingly minimal effort on her part either offensively or defensively. Her vaunted ability to do without sleep is seemingly forgotten in later chapters as with each interaction with the bad guys, she becomes exhausted and needs rest. There are many contradictions of this type throughout the novel, not just with Melina, but with other characters as well. I found the book to be formulaic, with characters that simply did not ring true; the cop who has no problem with flirting and making passes while on the job, a mentor with many years of experience who suddenly turns on Melina for what seems to be no good reason, and more. While the premise behind Melina's abilities is strong -- the author needs to spend some time pulling the rest of her story together. Especially coming up with original names for characters, creatures, groups of supernaturals, etc. A good urban fantasy novel has more to it than a kick-butt female heroine, with 2 men lusting after her, a mentor she'll need to avenge, and an apprentice of her own. Disappointing debut with great cover artwork.

Melina Markowitz is a messenger. She didn't plan on being a messenger and she isn't always happy to make her "deliveries". Neverthless, she does her job when she is forced to. Who she is a messenger to, is more interesting than the fact that she is a messenger. She delivers packages, notes and other important items to members of the "arcane" which includes vampires, werewolves and other "creatures".

Melina screws up one of her deliveries. It's not really her fault but the consequences are hers to bare regardless. She is attacked by a group of Ninjas (yes Ninjas) and never delivers a vampire to vampire delivery. Because she failed at her delivery, she tries to recover the item. This is where the story becomes even more unique and interesting.

Melina uncovers more than she should when investigating where her missing delivery went. In fact, she stumbles into a vicious gang war. Not your ordinary gang war but a war involving Chinese vampires and the master that controls them(it totally works in this story as weird as it sounds).

Melina makes serious mistakes along the way but she also learns about herself and her abilities. There is a love relationship but it only adds to the story. I loved how unique the entire story was. It's hard to be unique even though you are writing about vampires and werewolves. It seems that some of the authors are unwilling to take risks and they stick with the same stereotypical blood sucking, devilishly handsome vampire mold. The author goes way beyond the stereotypes in this book. This is why I loved it so much.

I really enjoyed this book. Interesting background and characters, heroine is not too whiny about her place in the universe, she's tough but not cold. Good amount of romance without that being the whole reason for the book, sexual tension, but not in your face constantly. Sex scene was excellent, fresh even. You really don't know what is going to happen in the next book, but you really want to. Very good paranormal read.