A Barricade in Hell, by Jaime Lee Moyer

[mrissa]

Review copy provided by Tor. Additionally, Jaime is a personal friend, and we share an agent.

As I read A Barricade in Hell, I kept thinking, “Why can’t I have a TV series like this?” Jaime does the research into her visual cues meticulously, from the flowers to the furriers to the Chinatown streets. They’re touchstones, jumping-off points for the narrative, grounding the fantastical in the historical. And the two main characters fit together so well: Delia’s work with ghosts and poltergeists meshes so well with her husband Gabe’s police work, each complementing and balancing the other, that I keep thinking, “This is such a good place for a scene break in a book…and it would also be a good place for a scene break in a TV show…if I could have a TV show in which a married couple had work strengths that complimented each other like this!” But honestly, it’s not that common in the written side of things either.

And 1917 in the US is such a volatile setting, such a fascinating time, with “modern” technologies just introduced but not ubiquitous (cars, telephones–present but not to be relied upon), and also of course with the US poised on entry into the First World War. A Barricade in Hell uses that and all its attendant tensions without being directly about the politicians in Washington, and without forgetting that even a country that’s been isolationist can’t be isolated. I was so pleased with this, so very pleased. Highly recommended. It doesn’t come out for awhile, which makes now your perfect time to catch up on Delia’s Shadow if you haven’t already.

Originally published at Novel Gazing Redux

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Does it get away from serial killers?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I would not describe the current set of investigated murders as serial killings per se, but it is a set of murders with the same instigation, so if someone is bothered by all serial killing in fiction, this may not be the best choice for that person.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'll wait for the next. So many books, so little time, and serial killers are a deal breaker for me.

[thanate.livejournal.com]

Hm.

I enjoyed the first one, except for the bit where the level of suspense & violent bloodiness was a bit much; I find that I'm a little less blase about this kind of thing after my last year of Major Life Changes. Perhaps this would be one to wait on for a bit until I get over that?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

It does continue to feature ghosts and police work. So possibly waiting until things have settled a bit on that would be for the best, yes.

[thanate.livejournal.com]

So ghosts & police work aren't inherently the problem; it's just a weirdly fine line between "oh, yeah, people got murdered in this book" and a little too much gore and foreshadowed violence against people who matter. (I started cringing slightly very few chapters in on Delia's Shadow waiting for one of the girls to get kidnapped. Also the first crime scene, Delia's dreams, and the bit with Gabe's father were a bit too lovingly detailed.) Too close to the UF/horror aesthetic, I guess.

Admittedly, it is also probably too fine and individual a line for someone outside my head to be able to predict what's going to be a bit much. Oh well. I'm still glad there are more of these.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I don't know how your budgeting process works, so I will point out as a general case:

People who are interested in buying a book but cannot read it right away should at least consider buying it not too terribly long after it comes out, because that conveys to the publisher that there is interest in the book, and this may make a difference to the writer's career prospects.

Obviously, how many books people can buy, which ones they want to buy when, etc. are highly individual, and no one should feel pressured when things are not within their means, not their priority at the time, etc.