New York City is a world unto itself, it has been visited by many a writer, and populated by many fictional characters both living and dead. In the uniquely engaging and powerful voice of Daniel José Older, the world of New York City’s dead inhabitants is a vivid and alive landscape full of potency. Half-Resurrection Blues is Daniel José Older’s debut and the first novel of his Bone Street Rumba series. Our hero and narrator is Carlos Delacruz, an “inbetweener” with no memory of the life he lived before crossing into the realm of the dead. This inbetweener status puts him somewhere in the Venn diagram of living, undead, and mostly dead. This is unique in the landscape of the New York Council of the dead and as such, he’s tasked jobs only he can perform…like killing another ghost.
When Carlos looks into his next job (i.e. the next kill), he discovers he’s not the only inbetweener and befriends the target, Trevor. Trevor, urges Carlos to look out for his sister, Sasha with his dying breath. When Carlos locates Sasha, he realizes he has much in common with her and the two begin a passionate romance. Of course, Carlos neglects to inform Sasha that he killed her brother. Carlos learns of a plot by a powerful sorcerer who wants to dissolve the barrier between the living and the dead. Part of this plot involves “ngks,” nasty impish creatures that can eliminate other spirits. Think a combination of Gremlin (from the film of the same name) and the dark Grim Reaper spirit from Peter Jackson’s cult favorite film The Frighteners. So, Older wraps into his mystery/noir-ish tale romance, intriguing characters, nasty creatures, a vivid world, and being “other” and finding connections. What a concoction.
I enjoyed this novel a great deal and thought Carlos a wonderful character. His voice is supremely engaging, charming, and fully drew me into his story. I especially like the derisive comments about the hipsters plaguing Brooklyn. Like many urban fantasies, this one is told in the first person, so aside from a clever chapter, we get everything from Carlos’s point of view. That inherit limitation in the genre itself didn’t allow for a deeper exploration of Sasha’s character. We also only saw Mama Esther, a ghostly mentor to Carlos, as a supporting character, but she made quite an impression. I’d love to see some shorter tales about Mama! As for Carlos, I wanted to know more about him, but Older smartly did not fully reveal all of the details of our protagonist’s past. He gave readers just enough to come back for more. Damn him for being such a crafty writer and storyteller.
I’ve met Daniel once or twice at Tor.com events in NYC and I may have chatted with him at New York Comic-Con. I’ve had the book since NYCC 2014, but kept putting off reading the book. I can’t exactly explain why, but I’m very happy I finally read through it. Daniel’s a powerful voice in the genre community, a bright, smart writer who brings a unique perspective to Science Fiction and Fantasy. After listening to a couple of podcasts with Daniel, I may just go the audio route for Midnight Taxi Tango, the next installment of his Bone Street Rumba series since he’s the narrator.
As a debut novel, Half-Resurrection Blues is triumph for Daniel José Older. A story filled with life and vigor (despite the ‘living’ status of many of the characters) and energy, and as the start of a series, it most certainly succeeded in that all important job of making me want to read more.
© 2016 Rob H. Bedford
Mass Market Paperback | ISBN 978-0-425-27598-0
January 2015 / 336 Pages
http://danieljoseolder.net/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Roc
Excerpt: http://www.tor.com/2014/12/17/half-resurrection-blues-excerpt-daniel-jose-older/
I read Half-Ressurection Blues a few months ago after hearing the author as a guest on writing excuses. It was a very enjoyable read and as the reviewer said, a very engaging character voice.
If you enjoyed this, I would also recommending checking out Drake by our own Peter McLean.