Dead Men's Boots by Mike Carey
Series: Felix Castor
Publisher: Grand Central, 2009
Genre: Horror
Sub-genre: Paranormal, Urban fantasy
The full, spoiler-free review is up at
genrereviews.
This is the third book in the Felix Castor series, but I didn't know that when I picked it up to read. In fact, I didn't realize it was part of a series until after I'd finished the book and was looking it up online so I could share cover art. So, uh, suffice it to say Dead Men's Boots is pretty well self contained, and while in retrospect I can see the series clues, everything worked so neatly together I never felt like I was missing something.
The mystery comes together piece by piece, most of which Fix has to actively search out. This isn't a bunch of evidence that falls conveniently into his lap; he has to work for it and put all the pieces together himself. A couple of time I thought "well, that's convenient" and found out a few chapters later what I thought was a coincidence was not so much after all. That being said, Fix must have 48-hour days with everything he manages to accomplish between sunup and sundown, and this world seems to be one in which people only need a couple hours' sleep to function. (Actually, I'm kind of envious.)
Worldbuilding is always an important facet in paranormal fiction, and Carey has not skimped out on that. His "hierarchy" of the dead is original and fascinating, filled with ghosts and zombies and poltergeists and the occasional loup-garou (which is what happens when a human ghost takes over an animal body). The supporting supernaturals are a bit part of what made Dead Men's Boots so much fun for me, I think. With characters like Nicky the intelligent and paranoid zombie, terrified of the inevitable decay his dead body will undergo, and Juliet the succubus demon and her utter inability to understand humanity, it might be worth a read just to check out what Fix's buddies are up to.
I know a lot of people are getting oversaturated by all the many many options available in urban fantasy, but rest assured this is not a book about a Buffy wannabe with a bad attitude dealing with the evil but sexy vampires and werewolves. For one, in case it wasn't clear enough before, Felix is a dude, which is rare enough in this sort of thing. Add the fact he's an exorcist and deals strictly with ghosts and zombies (and the occasional demon), a London setting, and a noir tone not unlike the Harry Dresden series, and you've got the sort of thing that will end up on a lot of must-read lists.
Publisher: Grand Central, 2009
Genre: Horror
Sub-genre: Paranormal, Urban fantasy
The full, spoiler-free review is up at
genrereviews.This is the third book in the Felix Castor series, but I didn't know that when I picked it up to read. In fact, I didn't realize it was part of a series until after I'd finished the book and was looking it up online so I could share cover art. So, uh, suffice it to say Dead Men's Boots is pretty well self contained, and while in retrospect I can see the series clues, everything worked so neatly together I never felt like I was missing something.
The mystery comes together piece by piece, most of which Fix has to actively search out. This isn't a bunch of evidence that falls conveniently into his lap; he has to work for it and put all the pieces together himself. A couple of time I thought "well, that's convenient" and found out a few chapters later what I thought was a coincidence was not so much after all. That being said, Fix must have 48-hour days with everything he manages to accomplish between sunup and sundown, and this world seems to be one in which people only need a couple hours' sleep to function. (Actually, I'm kind of envious.)
Worldbuilding is always an important facet in paranormal fiction, and Carey has not skimped out on that. His "hierarchy" of the dead is original and fascinating, filled with ghosts and zombies and poltergeists and the occasional loup-garou (which is what happens when a human ghost takes over an animal body). The supporting supernaturals are a bit part of what made Dead Men's Boots so much fun for me, I think. With characters like Nicky the intelligent and paranoid zombie, terrified of the inevitable decay his dead body will undergo, and Juliet the succubus demon and her utter inability to understand humanity, it might be worth a read just to check out what Fix's buddies are up to.
I know a lot of people are getting oversaturated by all the many many options available in urban fantasy, but rest assured this is not a book about a Buffy wannabe with a bad attitude dealing with the evil but sexy vampires and werewolves. For one, in case it wasn't clear enough before, Felix is a dude, which is rare enough in this sort of thing. Add the fact he's an exorcist and deals strictly with ghosts and zombies (and the occasional demon), a London setting, and a noir tone not unlike the Harry Dresden series, and you've got the sort of thing that will end up on a lot of must-read lists.