If there is any character trope / type so ubiquitous in the fantasy genre that it has become mainstream is it is the Vampire. That isn’t to say new things can’t (and shouldn’t) be attempted with the vampire, which brings me to Generation V, M.L. Brennan’s first novel as well as the first in the series tentatively dubbed Generation V. Our protagonist and first person narrator is Fortitude Scott, Fort for short. He is the youngest vampire in his family, only in his twenties, whereas his siblings are centuries old. This gives him a different perspective on people and vampires, or as his siblings suggest, he is too human. Not exactly related to this is the fact that Fort is a down-in-the-dumps, unmotivated ne’er do-well barely holding onto his job at a coffee-shop, in the midst of running through a string of horrible roommates as well as being in a bad romantic relationship.
We see a bit of his relationship to his brother Chivalry in the beginning of the novel, but when Fort is summoned to his mother’s estate, we get the greater picture of his vampire family and vampire society in general. Fort’s presence was requested because a Vampire from the Old World (Europe) was visiting the area and Madeline (his mother) wanted to make a big show of welcoming the Vampire into her territory. When the guest vampire, Lucas, has a very young (under-age) concubine named Maria in tow, Fort begins to lose his cool and requests the girl be let go. As his mother previously granted Lucas hospitality rights in her territory, there was little Fort could outwardly do. This is where the plot really kicks into higher gear.
Brennan, through Fort, has a rather snarky modern prose which is perfectly contrasted against the mannered and high-society aura surrounding his family: mother Madeline, brother Chivalry, and his sister Prudence. Through much of the novel, at least the first third and what felt like a significant part of the middle third, Fort is very much a doormat. He lets his roommates walk all over him, (the most current roommate owes him a few months worth of rent), his ‘girl-friend,’ (who slept with the aforementioned roommate) has different ideas of what their relationship should be, and his over-bearing boss doesn’t exactly have an open door policy. While being a bit of a pushover for his older, more powerful vampire brother can be understandable, added to the other characters who trampled over Fort, I was more frustrated with Fort’s lack of backbone and ability to assert himself against the people who are pushing him down. In my head, I kept thinking that he needed to stand up for himself.
Oddly in that light, it is when Fort received a physical beating at the hands of three men where things take a positive turn for him and his character arc. He is saved by Suzume, a kitsune his mother assigned as a bodyguard to Fort. In Brennan’s world, the kitsune are shape-shifting foxes who assume the form of women. Fort feels more empowered to take action against Lucas after he reads of Maria’s death and with the aid of Suzume, he doesn’t so much plan as fly head first towards Lucas.
I was wavering a bit in the middle of Generation V, mainly because Fort was continuing to be such a doormat of a character who seemingly possessed zero motivation / agency, bemoaned his situation, and only complained about it. By the time he grabs himself by his proverbial bootstraps and switches from an overly passive character to an active character with agency, I was won over. Brennan’s climax and final third of the novel kept me on a longer lunch-break than usual. That great finish, in addition to the fantastical milieu she’s introduced makes for a solid debut as well as a great intro into the series.
Recommended
© 2014 Rob H. Bedford
Roc, May 2013
Mass Market Paperback, 300 Pages / ISBN: 978-0-451-418-401
http://mlbrennan.com/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Roc
