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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh how I have missed Felix...!, March 9, 2010
Like most of you (book lovers) my stack of `books I need to read' list is as long as Kim Kardashian `guys I've slept with' list. So because of this, I haven't read Mario Acevedo's work in a couple years. After reading this book I felt so stupid! Not normal everyday "I locked my keys in the car stupid"; but rather an "a Blonde got an AM radio for Christmas and it took her ten months to figure out she could use it at night" stupid! During one of my numerous temper tantrum throwing/whining 'I can't find anything to read' phases, I should have picked up one of Mario's books and had my problem solved.
I became a fan while reading 'Nymphos of Rocky Flats' because Felix is my kind of vampire. He enjoys (immensely) the carnal pleasures, is an unapologetic smart-ass, and enjoys the carnal pleasures WHILE being an apologetic smart-ass! He's not some pretty metro sexual, sparkle-in-the-daytime, scamper up trees shirtless vamp. Naw, Felix is a character that stands out in a crowd of characters. If you want a foo-foo vampire, please take your Edward vs. Jacob, half soy half chai latte drinking cadaver someplace else. This here book is for grown folks.
Felix is tangled up in another vampirific mess, and while I've missed a couple books, I was immediately drawn back into a hypnotic reading trance that only Felix could cast. I mean come on... the first page you have a clan alpha werewolf talking to a vampire while holding up the decapitated head of a werewolf! And true to form, Felix gets off a smart-ass remark by paragraph two. He's been 'recruited' to help this clan werewolf figure out his place as ruler of the clans and to help prevent a war between warring werewolf factions. Problem is he shouldn't be. Vampires don't meddle in the affairs of werewolves and vice versa. But the numerous powers that be aren't satisfied with minor things say like; tradition and ancient unbroken clan rules. Quest for power trumps all right?
So, Felix is thrust talons first into some of the seediest and backstabbing manusha this side of Washington D.C. And, oh yes, there is blood! Blood, pain, hot rancid meat, delicious salty b-positive filling the stomach, and some rather sexy (yet disturbing) wolf on vampire sex. Having all this take place in Charleston, SC is an added bonus. Growing up there and having family from there I was down there all too often, but I got a tiny kick out of knowing exactly where Felix was. It was just as I remember it; minus the dryad's, six foot hairy beasts, and I'm certain I don't remember a gangster vampire. But maybe that's just me.
I usually also avoid books that deal with the supernatural element. Vamps and Weres are OK, but that other sorcery mumbo jumbo to me is like Mike Tyson and a dictionary; it just doesn't mix. But I'm ok when Mario does it. It's not too much, it's not over the top, it's in there but it doesn't dominate the story. What does dominate is Felix's antics, the supernatural action, the blood filled scenes, and Mario's demented yet enviable talent. I shall not make the mistake again of having Mario's books getting lost in the lost library of Frost.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Time Felix Takes On The Werewolf Nation, April 19, 2010
Mario Acevedo hit the ground running with his first Felix Gomez novel "The Nymphos of Rocky Flats" and has just gotten better and better with each subsequent installment of this fine satirical supernatural-noir series. Acevedo has created a plausible world of modern vampires that rivals that of Charlie Huston (see "My Dead Body"). Both series portray the vampire world as coexisting in our modern world but in highly secretive fashion. While the texture and mood of their modern day vampire worlds are clearly different in the renderings of Huston and Acevedo, the vampire/human relationships and interactions and the philosophy, "laws", and governing structure governing their worlds are fun to unravel. For example, Felix is a vampire PI and an enforcer and clean-up man for the Araneum whose main objective is to protect the "Great Secret"-- to prevent any revelation that vampires or zombies or anything other than normal human beings exist on the planet.
In "Werewolf Smackdown", Felix travels to Charleston, South Carolina ostensibly to investigate the murder of a werewolf clan leader. But he is quickly caught in the crossfire between two rival werewolf factions scrambling to assume the vacated throne of Alpha Werewolf of the Lowcountry clans. Both sides want his help or want him dead. Felix is hampered by Araneum law that forbids Vampires to mix in the affairs of werewolves yet he is pressured by the need to protect the "Great Secret" (that supernatural beings coexist with unknowing humans). Complicating things are the reappearance of his old love, Wendy Teagarden, a dryad (wood nymph) who is acting as a spy for the Araneum, and Julius Paxton, a deadly vampire foe from his past who has some mysterious role to play with the impending werewolf civil war. New characters are introduced, among them King Gullah, local head vampire/ganster, and Angela Cyclone, a seductive werewolf princess and the werewolf mythos is examined in detail with interesting studies on pack mentality and governing structures.
How can Felix stop the looming civil war that may expose the "Great Secret" to all humanity? Who can he trust among the competing werewolf clans? Why has Julius Paxton reemerged and why is he seeking to kill Felix and what is his role in the werewolf crisis? How can Felix intervene when the governing council he works for has forbidden him to meddle in the affairs of werewolves. Acevedo answers these questions and ties up all the loose ends in a fast paced nail biting thriller that never bores or lets the reader down...believe me, "Werewolf Smackdown is an "E" ticket ride, the best of the 5 Felix Gomez novels so far.
In addition to the great suspense and seemingly nonstop action of the Felix Gomez novels, I enjoy reading the details of the rules and procedures for vampires living among the humans in Felix's life. For example, his joy at eating hot Mexican food or drinking beer laced with whole blood, or the various outcomes of his "fanging" a human along with how he controls the enzymes that have various functions in the process. Vampires can exist in sunlight as long as they wear sunblock and make-up, vampires enjoy making love and having sex, and vampires are not affected by religious symbols (crosses, holy water, etc). Acevedo creates interesting fully fleshed characters and his plots are often unique to this genre. I heartily recommend this rollicking fun series to fans of vampire literature or of supernatural noir.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
serio-comedic urban fantasy noir, March 12, 2010
Denver private investigator Felix Gomez is a Latino vampire who works for the Araneum a vampire group that polices its own. He is an enforcer who goes after rogue vampires who break their laws; especially the ones who threaten to expose the Great Secret that supernatural species exist.
In Charleston, clan alpha Eric Bourbon wants to hire Felix to kill his rival Randolph Colburn for control of the Lowcountry Territory. Bourbon explains his predecessor died in a plane crash ordered by Colburn. Before he can act, Felix is abducted by Colburn who tells his side of the story. Regardless, Felix knows a civil war is coming that will impact all supernatural species even the neutrals.
Felix meets to prevent the hostilities from igniting because if they do then the humans will know that they exist. Vampires try to kill Felix who believes his enemy Julius Paxton has surfaced to take advantage of the pending disaster. Julius wants to reveal the Great Secret in order to work with mortals to form a great society even though humans will be below on the food chain.. As Paxton's minions attack Felix and cause other problems, Paxton remains in hiding causing incidents that will lead to a werewolf civil war and Felix's death. The sleuth has to risk his life in order to stop a nasty war from occurring.
The latest Felix Gomez's serio-comedic urban fantasy noir (see Jailbait Zombie, X-Rated Bloodsuckers, The Nymphos Of Rocky Flats and The Undead Kama Sutra) is as zany as his previous Noir thrillers, but is the best yet. Readers obtain a profound in depth look at werewolf society especially the alpha leadership. Ironically, Felix obtains more allies amongst the were and more enemies amidst his own kind as the tongue in cheek hero risks his undead life for his convictions.
Harriet Klausner
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