Customer Reviews

Kitty Goes to War (Kitty Norville, Book 8)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Carrie Vaughn's "Kitty" series started off a bit slowly but she's definitely hit her stride with her last few novels in the series. "Kitty Goes to War" is an enjoyable, fast-paced Urban Fantasy read with interesting characters and unusual situations. Particularly interesting was Vaughn's exploration of the impact war has on werewolves. Her situations are plausible and the conclusions that she draws make sense.

It doesn't hurt that Kitty is a likable protagonist - something that is not always a "given" in an UF series. She's got integrity and is concerned about being a good leader to her pack. She is also committed to helping her fellow supernaturals when possible. This desire to get involved is one of the reasons that she's getting into a majority of the scrapes she does, and this novel is no different, but it's also one of the reasons that the reader cheers her on and stays engaged.

One thing that I wish Vaughn had handled better was the Cormac sub-plot. A lot of questions were raised (perhaps too many? Kitty seemed a overreacting to Cormac's actions a bit here) and then the answer was just suddenly given to the reader in a tidy little package. And the answer was...strange. I think that if something so unusual had happened to Cormac, it needed to have a bit more groundwork laid so that his situation didn't seem so sudden and from-thin-air.

I also found the action a bit less than I had expected. But I think that is mostly because I found Vaughn's last novel, "Kitty's House of Horrors" to be so electrifying. After such a truly horrifying novel, "Kitty Goes to War" seemed a bit more tame.

That said, there was still plenty of action and you really found yourself rooting for Kitty and the crew to come out on top. It was a good read and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, interesting UF novel.

I am a HUGE fan of the `Kitty Norville' series. This is one Urban Fantasy in which the heroine has a very discernable character transformation - going from meek werewolf and runt of her pack, to Alpha of her very own werewolf family. Over the course of eight books it has been fascinating and uplifting to read Kitty as she comes into herself. For me, that's been the most fulfilling aspect of the books - Kitty's emotional journey. Especially her finding love with Ben, and entering into a complicated truce with his bounty-hunter cousin, Cormac.

But in this, the eighth Kitty book it feels like Vaughn has sacrificed emotional characterization for an action-packed plot.
In `Kitty Goes to War' there are two major conflicts that Kitty is dealing with. One is a lawsuit brought against her by the owner of a chain-store called `Speedy Mart', whom Kitty has accused on her show of being involved in cultish rituals.
The second is a werewolf-related favour she gets called in for by Dr. Schumacher. Turns out a unit of Green Beret US soldiers who were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan were turned lycanthrope by their commanding officer. This soldier thought to start-up his own, unofficial and unsanctioned, werewolf unit. All was fine until said commanding officer got blown up, leaving his pack Alpha-less and in a power vacuum. Dominance fights ensued and now only three remaining members need Kitty's help if they have any chance to rehabilitation into civilian life.

Let me just say, the werewolf soldier plot is fantastic! It makes for really intense drama and a lot of werewolf `what if's' and questions are answered and explored in-depth. Such as - would werewolf soldiers be a breakthrough for the army? How much would pack hierarchy affect their combat training?
I was less in love with the `Speedy Mart' storyline. My disgruntlement was mostly because it was an underdeveloped and second-fiddle storyline to the werewolf soldier's - but also because it felt like `Speedy Mart' took the place of emotional and relationship development in `Kitty Goes to War'.

At the end of `Kitty's House of Horrors' Cormac was released from prison and came home. This was such a huge event - because Cormac and Kitty almost had a romantic entanglement, until Cormac's prejudice and Ben's affections put that on hold. Then Cormac got thrown into jail and it seemed like behind the plexiglas, Cormac had made some profound realizations about his feelings towards Kitty. Then he comes home - home to Ben and Kitty in wedded alpha mate bliss - and lots of fans were wondering how this little love triangle would play out.
But in this eighth book that tension is barely even mentioned. Twice Ben and Cormac make allusions to a possible past romance between Kitty and Cormac... but for the rest of the book it feels as though everyone (Carrie Vaughn, essentially) are walking on eggshells around this triangle.

I don't know if Ms. Vaughn has something big planned regarding this trio, but I went into `Kitty Goes to War' with my fingers crossed for some confrontations and realizations and I got neither.

We don't even get to read much affection (i.e.: smut) between Kitty and Ben. It took me a while to warm up to Ben, I thought he was just a minor secondary character and Cormac would be Kitty's HEA... so when she mated Ben, I was thrown for a loop. But in subsequent books Vaughn really illustrated their affection and dependence on one another, and I really came to like Ben. But in recent books there hasn't been the same warmth between him and Kitty, and I am again wondering if Ben is Kitty's true HEA?

So ultimately this book was a disappointment for me. I may have been less upset by the lack of emotional progress for the characters if I'd had a big pay-out in the seventh book, `Kitty's House of Horrors'. But in that seventh instalment Kitty was by herself in the wilderness, with no Ben and no pack for comfort. So it feels like we've been given 2 books now in which Kitty's relationships and emotional development have been put on hold.
At the end of `Kitty Goes to War', Kitty does ask a rather profound question of Ben, which may have repercussions for future books... but it is literally on the last page and a case of too little too late.

One thing that's always bugged me about urban fantasy is the authors rarely think out how the military would use vampires and werewolves.

Well, Carrie Vaughn is not one of those authors: "Kitty Goes To War" tackles just that subject, throwing the radio werewolf up against some lycanthropic soldiers that are spinning out of control. It's also Vaughn's eighth werewolf book, but she keeps things fresh with brisk, clever writing and suspenseful subplots.

Kitty is summoned by the Army to help them deal with an unusual problem: a secret squad of werewolf Green Berets has gone wild because their alpha/commander has been killed. Now Kitty not only has to help recapture them (including the murderous new alpha), but help them learn to deal with the real world as werewolves. Easier said than done.

Also, Kitty is being sued by Speedy Mart's president because of a caller accusing him of magic weather terrorism -- and she soon realizes that the accusations may be true. But she has bigger problems to deal with when one of the werewolf soldiers goes AWOL to free his crazed alpha -- even as Denver is hammered by an ancient magic that might wreck the whole city.

"Kitty Goes To War" isn't a very accurate title, since Kitty isn't actually involved in a war at present -- she's just dealing with some of the nasty aftermath of war. But it's still a rollicking good read -- lots of blood, fur, madness and armed mayhem, as well as a magical conspiracy involving a chain of 7-11-esque convenience stores. The biggest downside: Cormac's subplot is wrapped up rather hastily and oddly -- you're left thinking, "Huh? What? Huh?"

Vaughn does a good job juggling the various subplots and filling them with the right amount of action, romance and fantasy. But she also handles the supernatural world with tongue planted in cheek -- Kitty describes Colorado Springs as a "Love­craftian behe­moth of ur­ban sprawl" and remarks that "every vam­pire I'd ev­er met loved blithe­ly throw­ing out these por­ten­tous procla­ma­tions of supe­ri­ority and doom."

Kitty is also dealing with some personal problems here, such as flashbacks to the traumas of the last book and her determination to thwart an obsessive scientist who wants werewolf test subjects (although said scientist sort of fades out late in the book). Additionally, Cormac is back -- and he's, er, not quite the man he used to be.

"Kitty Goes To War" isn't really about Kitty going to war, but it's a solid and enjoyable urban fantasy that tackles a subject few authors are smart enough to think of -- werewolf soldiers.

I really enjoyed this 8th book in the Kitty (the werewolf) series. Sometimes what starts as a pretty good set of books of urban fantasy can get repetitive and stale after a few books; Vaughn's series seems to me to get better and better. And, like all good fantasy, the rules of the Kitty book universe continue to grow in consistency and complexity.

This is a story about returning vets from Afghanistan -- members of an elite special forces team who happen, also, to be werewolves. We've all heard of post traumatic stress, and in a very real sense, beyond the fantasy, this book tackles some of the issues. I was really touched by a number of the characters and what they had to endure.

The characters continue to develop, also, as Cormac (the bounty hunter) continues to find his way after prison release.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes urban fantasy. But please read the first 7 books first! This is soooo much fun!

The Kitty Norville series is defiantly a series you want to start at from the beginning, I dont think you would be lost if you started out of order but you would miss so much back story that I dont think you would get all the series has to offer. I love that we get to see Kitty in her own territory again, the addition of the military storyline brought out the Alpha in Kitty and really made you think about what it would be like if the military used werewolves as soldiers. You will get action, suspense, emotion and secrets revealed when you pick up KITTY GOES TO WAR. Not much more I can say without giving away spoilers but if you have enjoyed the Kitty series in the past you wont be disappointing when you pick up book 8.

Carrie Vaughn's 8th installment in her Kitty Norville werewolf series reads like a pint of Ben and Jerry's goes down. You want to read it all in one sitting; it's that good! Super character development, an interesting take on a topic that could be taken out of the current events, and enough violence, supernatural action, and sex to keep everyone happy.

Kitty, as usual, is hard to put down. Her friend from the National Institute of Health Dr. Schumacher asks for her help with a serious problem - it seems the US Army has created a werewolf commando team that has been successful in Afghanistan, but their alpha unexpectedly died, and now the werewolves have gone rogue. Worse yet, they have escaped near Denver. If Kitty is to protect her pack, she will have to help the army capture them and rehabilitate them. Meantime, she also has to contend with a libel lawsuit from the CEO of a supermarket chain that she had featured on her show for suspicious paranormal activity on the premises of its stores. Vaughn continues to produce rocking good stories for this great series. Although the suspense in this one is ratcheted down a notch compared to previous books, the character development is still solid. Here's hoping she keeps on going strong.

"Kitty Goes to War" is book 8 in Carrie Vaughn's smart and entertaining Kitty Norville series. A few months have passed since the events in "Kitty's House of Horrors (Kitty Norville, Book 7)." Kitty still has nightmares about what happened there, but she is easing back into her life. And Cormac is back in play, forging a new life for himself as a parolee.

In Kitty's latest radio show, she opens the phone lines for her callers to talk about the "Speedy Mart" convenience stores and odd happenings that are going on there. (I have to admit, the premise made me smile as one of Kitty's early books featured what she thought was a wacked out caller ranting about Speedy Marts being built on ley lines.) Just a few days later, she is sued by the chain's owner for libel. It's not all that strange until the man shows up in person, offering to drop the suit if Kitty issues an on-air apology. The whole thing smells wrong to Kitty, so she asks Cormac to do some research on the man and on strange phenomenon at the convenience stores.

In the meantime, Kitty gets a call from the feds, asking for her help to deal with three werewolf soldiers who have lost touch with their humanity. Kitty makes it her mission to help the men. But it doesn't look like all of them can be saved.

The military angle is an interesting one. But I have to admit, much of my attention was on Cormac. He came back from prison "different." And I can't say I was very excited once I heard the reason why. I hope that gets resolved away at some point.

In reading this, I took some time to figure out why I can't let go of the idea of something between Cormac and Kitty. It's because in every book, the author reminds us of the spark between them. She reminds us of what almost was. The path not taken. I wonder if I could just accept Ben if we didn't get those reminders about Cormac in every book. And the reminder that he wants Kitty too. It's maddening, especially as we get closer and closer to the end of the series. Because I feel jerked around by it.

Despite my Cormac rant, I enjoyed the book. As always, I love Kitty and can't wait to see what happens next. 4 stars.

Very good, with surprising events! I love Carrie Vaughns books, and this one did not disappoint.

In this eighth series book featuring Kitty Norville, werewolf and radio talk show host, Kitty is asked by the military to help round up some soldiers who were also werewolves--members of an elite group specifically turned werewolf by their commanding officer in an attempt to develop a 'super soldier.' Recently returned from Afghanistan, now only three of the unit remain, the rest having been killed off by the dominant male, and they are headed for Denver right into Kitty and Ben's territory. Kitty hopes they can be helps, and with the help of her pack, will assess them to see if they can be rehabilitated back into society or if they are too far 'gone wolf' and would pose a danger to the public.

She also is dealing with a lawsuit from the owner of a national chain of convenience stores that she is investigating, since a lot of hinky things seem to happen at those stores. Kitty's callers on The Midnight Hour keep calling with examples of weird goings-on at Speedy Marts all over the country and she (with help from Cormac, now out of prison) hopes to nail down just what Harold Franklin is up to.

I enjoy this paranormal series very much--the stories have substance and aren't just thinly veiled romance/erotica in disguise but are more paranormal mystery. Kitty and Ben are married and obviously do have a sexual relationship and that's talked about both in human and werewolf terms, but it is not the focus of the stories. The writing style is smooth and easily read and the characters very engaging, too. One of my favorite paranormal series!