Black Magic Woman by Justin Gustainis

[snugglekitty]

This was a library loan through trouble4hire. It was very well reviewed by Jim Butcher, who I like a lot, so that was promising. The main character, Quincey Morris, is a descendant of... bet you didn't see this coming... Quincey Morris! That seemed less promising, but it was not overplayed in the book. So, we have a supernatural troubleshooter from Texas. The back cover contends that he has a partner who is a white witch, but she is actually just a consultant that he works with occaisionally and doesn't appear until some ways into the book.



I feel that this is a very worthy contribution to the Sexy Women With Tattoos genre. (Inspired by Laurell K. Hamilton's bestselling series, this genre mixes the supernatural with action and sex, nearly always featuring female main characters and definitely including women kicking butt. The genre name comes from the covers that these books usually have.) I liked the quick pace, the different kinds of magic, and the fact that even though there were several viewpoint characters, they didn't really "join forces" for the ass-kicking at the end - it seemed more realistic that all parties pursued their own lines of investigation. The book seemed a little confused religiously - crosses were described as effective in warding off vampires and other supernatural evil, but the witch in the book is a Goddess-worshipper - this ambiguity was never resolved with a "whatever you believe in works" handwave or anything else. I liked the characters, I liked that the female lead was not a nubile woman who dresses in sexy outfits all the time, and I liked the lack of romantic tension between the characters. They work together and have clear boundaries. It was a refreshing change.

Okay, and now a note on series titles. Sometimes I think that authors don't realize that they are painting themselves into corners. Not with the first book title, but with the second. They name it to go with the first book but they're not thinking ahead to the tenth. The sequel to Black Magic Woman is to be titled Evil Ways. How many more Santana song titles can there be that would be appropriate to this series? I'm pretty sure Leave Your Lights On and Ay-Yo won't cut it. Gypsy Queen for a third book, and then... what?
*looks at wikipedia* Ohhhkay. Maybe that's not as restrictive as I thought. That man has a LOT of albums. But seriously, I had the song "Black Magic Woman" in my head the whole time I was reading the book.
Personally, I would have named a second book after another appropriate song, but one that was not done by Santana. "Spooky" would have been a good possibility. Or "She Talks to Angels." Right? But who knows. Maybe Gustainis is a big Santana fan. Maybe it's the editor's fault.



I will be sticking around for more from Mr. Gustainis. Four stars. If you like the dark fantasy genre, or the Dresden Files series in particular, you'll be pleasantly surprised by its quality. If you generally go with romantic interpretations of the genre, you might find it an interesting change. It's not too creepy to be enjoyed by the easily spooked.

Comments

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the review -- that sounds interesting.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. :) Knowing our similar tastes in fiction, I think you'd enjoy it.