Strong characters and a fun setting, with a story that doesn’t go where you think it might.
Feature image credit: Pan Macmillan Australia
Fans of Olivie Blake’s first book The Atlas Six may be interested to know that Masters of Death is not a sequel to that book. In fact it was one of several novels she self-published prior to The Atlas Six becoming a sensation on Booktok and getting a publishing deal. Sales of that book were strong enough for her publisher, Tor, to look at some of her other works, the first of which is Masters Of Death.
Masters of Death is a modern paranormal adventure novel with a romantic twist. The characters are many and varied, and Blake pleasingly stays away from clichès. The book introduces us first to the heroine, Viola, a real estate agent with a secret: she is a vampire who can speak to the dead or, more specifically, ghosts. This comes in handy as she uses her skills to sort out the issues of all the restless spirits in New York City who come attached to the houses she is trying to sell. In a way she “flips” the houses – not by renovating them, but by persuading the spirit to move on, or at least calm down a bit. Viola herself is not your average vampire, however. She was attacked by a local vampire (or aswang) while on an archaeological dig in the Philippines. This gives her an insatiable lust for blood but also the ability to turn into a cat. After returning to New York to pursue a career in real estate (as you do), Viola meets up with a horde of miscellaneous paranormal creatures at a support group. The stage is set then for … well, things sort of take a detour. All too soon, Viola and Co find themselves playing second fiddle in the story to an Old Norse deity who is using the ghost in one of Viola’s houses to manipulate Death’s godson into persuading Death himself to play a game with the gods.
The strength of Masters of Death is its dialogue. Whenever the characters are talking to each other, there is wit and exposition. The weakness of the book is that it really wants to keep its secrets. While this might sound good in theory, the time it takes to figure out what’s going on, who all of the newcomers really are, and what the game actually is, leaves the reader high and dry, stranded in a story which can’t get going while the reader is treated to several mystifying scenes. These are explained in the end … but only at the end, and they’ve got to get there first.
The dialogue goes some way to fixing this, and the characters are all memorable and well-drawn. The book has a masterful sense of place, with the dialogue showing just how a bunch of paranormal beings undercover in the society of New York could be expected to behave. There is a large cast which inevitably leads to some characters who may have otherwise become fan favourites (Viola’s friend Isis the demon springs to mind) feeling underused as the story reaches its conclusion.
Overall, Masters of Death is a fun read, although it may not be what the reader expects going in. Recommended.
Reviewed by DC White
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Pan Macmillan Australia
Released: August 2023
RRP: $34.99
More News
