255 of 269 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Werewolves, vampires, and talk radio - which is scariest?, December 1, 2005
This review is from: Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
I usually review vampire novels, but the werewolf genre seems to be growing - not quite up to the size of the vampire genre yet, but getting there. This book has vampires as well as werewolves, although the main protagonist is a werewolf. So I can give it a run through BunRab's Standard Vampire Classification, applying the standards to both vamps and weres:
The book's genre is definitely fantasy, but it's also a murder mystery. (Front cover blurb is from Charlaine Harris, who writes mainly in the mystery genre and only recently started in on vampire fantasy.) Both the werewolves and the vampires have the standard supernatural characteristics expected of them - extraordinary strength, susceptible to silver bullets, etc. - and not too much outside of those usual characteristics. The vampires don't turn into bats, no one gets to be completely invisible (although vampires can certainly disappear rapidly). The characters have a purpose in life besides being evil creatures of the night - they hold jobs, have civilian lives, have non-supernatural friends - they aren't just fantasy characters. Although there is a noticeable amount of sexual content in the book, the vampire characters are not there solely as metaphors for sexual activity, as is the case with some of the older breed of vampire books. The author, and the characters, have a sense of humor - the book isn't always dead serious. (All of these features - cross-over genres, what metaphors are used, whether the supernatural characters are also people, whether the book is serious or farce or in between, are all ways to compare various fantasies to see whether they fit into your favorite style. Some people prefer the dark and brooding evil creature of the night or the tortured soul; others prefer the touch of humor that Tanya Huff or Charlaine Harris brings; still others prefer the heavy sexual content of Laurel Hamilton's books. BunRab's Standard Vampire Classification is my attempt to give you points of comparison to see if this is a match for other vampire books that you have already read and enjoyed.)
Kitty is a nice character. Brave, smart - maybe a little bit too nice and philosophical and able to instantly deliver wise advice on the radio, but then, this is a fantasy - our characters don't have to be completely realistic. Certainly, a werewolf who discusses the love lives of the supernatural is less of a blowhard, and probably a lot more fun to listen to, that the talk radio hosts that really are out there.
Some of the touches I enjoyed:
*the sign-off for Kitty's show is a recording of her own wolf howl;
*"Wide World of News" tabloid's repeated Bat Boy stories;
*The cops we meet are mostly good guys and mostly competent, not played for the worst stereotypes;
*The hints of more species to come - at the end, after homo sapiens sanguinis and homo sapiens lupus, there's a mention of homo sapiens pinnipedia (those of you who have a little scientific Latin & Greek, as I do, will guess what that is instantly, as I did; the rest of you need to refresh yourself on high school biology.)
*The preview of the next book, which includes a caller to the talk show who thinks he's a were-alpaca.
The book's not perfect - there are a few small plot holes and unresolved bits, and there's some of the careless copy-editing that is rife in mass-market books these days (your for you're, etc.) but not much - it's bearable.
Family reading alert: as mentioned above, there *is* explicit sexual content. There's also some blood and gore. Not too much in the way of four-letter words. Overall, I'd call it about a PG-15, unless the idea of any sexual content at all really bothers you.
Summary: a decently-plotted and resolved murder mystery, fairly well-thought-out supernatural characters, some nice touches of humor. I will definitely be purchasing the next in the series!
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41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Move Over, Wolfman Jack!, November 8, 2005
This review is from: Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
Kitty has the late ship at a small radio station. She likes the late hours because she is a werewolf. One night she accidentally makes some comments on her show and it turns into a talk fest with the music forgotten. The subject was the paranormal, specifically Bat Boy, in the tabloids. The talk hits its stride and the station wants to keep the format and even move to limited syndication. What could be wrong with that?
Well, the local werewolf and vampire populations do not like the attention. They are afraid people will realize they are real. But as submissive as Kitty is in her werewolf pack, her human side is more assertive and she tries to keep the show going. Soon people find out she speaks from experience and trouble really begins to build. Assassins, the police, vampires, werewolves, jealousy and hatred all combine to make things difficult for the late night show host. Find out how she deals with it.
A very nice first book in a series (number two is excerpted at the end). The world is interesting but I think full humans handle the news of the supernatural a little too blandly. But still it is a very enjoyable book and hard to put down. Check it out.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slow Start but Better Finish, August 10, 2006
This review is from: Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
This book, all about the adventures of late-night radio DJ Kitty who happens to be a werewolf, starts off very slowly. At the beginning, I didn't much care for this character who seemed entirely too inclined to allow other people to bully her and fight her battles. I recommend sticking with the book though, as the last 2/3 of the book proves to be much better than the rocky start. Kitty grows up a lot in this book and I am hopeful that a sequel will be even better. I love the portrayal of the werewolf pack and the interpersonal dynamics as Kitty struggles her way through the tough changes in her life. The vampire Family dynamics were also extremely interesting and I hope that they are explored more in depth in the next book. The appearance of a recurring villain was also quite refreshing, giving the main character a challenge while not allowing her to become too powerful too quickly. I think readers who stick it out to the end will be glad they did!
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