New Amsterdam

For those familiar with the Lord Darcy series by Randall Garrett, this book is something of a tribute to that earlier set of tales with "forensic sorcery" and alternative history where modernity didn't quite happen. Even the heroine's name is homage to Garrett. Other wonderful throw-ins, such as the appearance of scientist Tesla and his fanatical devotion to pigeons, just make this a wild, fun read.

What if the Americans lost the Revolutionary War? Think of the politics of a Victorian America, still ruled by the British crown. Then add necromancers, vampire courts and a feisty female dectective--a woman of a certain age. Well, actually, MY age! Crown Detective Abigail Irene is around the mid-century mark, and trust me, she is NOT on a quest to find herself, or discover her lost heritage. Thank goodness. Abigail Irene is a mature and self-confident woman whom men find very attractive. She attracts the the attention of an ancient vampire...don't roll your eyes! Wait--this vampire is much better written than most. There is a charming self-awareness about all the vampire stereotypes that makes the mysterious, "Spanish" vampire a lot more charming than most. And, more interesting. This book is presented as a series of interlocked short stories. The stories build in drama and tension.The relationships between the primary characters develops to a very moving crescendo, as they work togother to solve crimes in a very different "New Amsterdam". HIghly recommended!

I started New Amsterdam because I live in New York, and because I was hoping to see some of those Iroquois war mages who kept the British back. I thought that would be interesting. The war mages don't appear in the book, but it's very good nevertheless. The vampire is passing as a European nobleman, an upper class amateur detective, kind of like Poirot. The forensic sorceress is a possibly alcoholic hard-boiled civil servant, who doesn't like some amateur messing with her case, and possibly implying she's not good enough. The vampire, of course, is fannishly eager to get involved in another mystery, as they're one reason he keeps alive (or undead). It was neat to see the two kinds of detectives juxtaposed. But they end up friends & associates anyway by the end of the 2nd novella. The book is made up of novellas about the same people; they start out semi-linked, and get more and more linked as they go on. There is actually an original (and scary) monster in one of the novellas, which was neat. It took me about half the first novella to get into the book, but I ended up loving it, and wanting more about the characters. The character interactions are a strength, and the writing is very good. There's also a nice orange cat named El Capitan, and very cool ghost wolves.

Imagine Brad Pitt as a vampire version of Hercule Poirot and Angelina Jolie as Miss Marple. Toss in a fair amount of sex, magic, murder, revolution, the British Royal Family and transvestite rent boys. The result is Elizabeth Bear's collection of inter-related short stories called New Amsterdam.

Sebastian de Ulloa is a vampire. He's lived for somewhere over a thousand years. He's left Europe, weary of the games the "blood" play to relieve the boredom of eternity. And oh yeah--Sebastian is an independent consultant when it comes to catching murderers. And he's very good at it. Lady Abigail Irene Garrett is a forensic sorceress working for the Crown. She's utterly loyal to the King, and like all loyal principled people, is due for a shock when that loyalty is misused by the King's lieutenants. She lives in a world where magic is real and Britain never gave New Amsterdam back. Ever. Plus, there's dirigibles. *drools with love* Seriously, I loved this book. Each mystery is a novella in and of itself, which might be confusing to the average reader since the players are reintroduced each time. The midstream changes in point-of-view might also confuse an average reader, but they are handled very well and clearly. Bear handles the question of a very old vampire's psychology very well, by making Sebastian polyamorous by necessity and detached-as-possible by default. He's a necessary foil for the bluestocking Garrett, who manages to avoid social leprosy by being rich and very good at her job, not to mention uncaring about scandal. She's saved from Mary Sueness by having very definite vulnerabilities and a softer side. The mysteries are well-plotted and create plenty of urgency. They're also devilishly clever, and it's obvious Bear has done her homework on magickal theory and folklore (she even mentions the beast of Gevaudan,) as well as forensic anthropology. And the writing is very good, very smooth, and very well done. I wanted to go back to the book each time I was pulled away to attend to that little thing called "life." I can find very few cons in this review. There were a couple of homonyms the editor didn't catch (in particular, the ever-popular "hair-brained") and a few anachronisms, but if one has already accepted an alternate historical timeline verbal anachronisms present very little of a problem. All in all, a marvelous and highly-recommended read from a very talented author. And there's dirigibles! Which just about make any story better. Heh.