Magic Slays is book 5 in the Kate Daniels series. In this book, we continue to follow the story of Kate and Curran, Julie and Derek, and all of the rather large cast of characters that Ilona Andrews (a wife and husband writing team) are bringing to life. The story did not step forward directly towards Kate's ultimate confrontation, but rather diagonally through a doomsday device plot that brought Kate to learn more about her mother and her heritage from that side of her bloodline.

The book was full of the writing style that I enjoy from Andrews. It was funny, it was sad, it was full of action and wacky hijinks. Sometimes things looked like they were going to get weird enough to be translated into a "Tick" episode, with Kate as Tick and Andrea as Arthur... but not quite. As far as character development goes, the spotlight this time hit Derek, bright and briefly. In two separate - and short - scenes, we readers got to see how Derek is maturing into the fully competent, capable man he is destined to become. (As an aside, Grendel the attack poodle got to do his poodle-y thing, which always makes me laugh. There is also a wonderful scene where a character explains to Kate why he is better than Grendel - I think the quote was "I vomit better than a shaved poodle.")

Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, we did have to make a literary stop to pick up Kate's latest Power of the Month subscription. As Kate learns more about her powers, and gains more people about whom she cares, she is constantly being written into a situation that requires her to do something new and unexpected. Often the personal price is high, the performance is painful, and the social consequences are widespread.

I enjoyed this book as more of a romp than some of the previous in the series. In Magic Slays, there was a HUGE TRAGEDY, and I didn't care nearly as much about it as I cared in previous books about specific single characters getting hurt. Ah, lovely distancing techniques. So enjoy this one, and don't feel bad about laughing out loud once in a while.

...

As an aside, I find the ending of this book oddly resonant with City of Pearl. The plots have NOTHING IN COMMON, except for the choice to save someone's life at great personal cost to both the savior and the recipient of that saving. The difference is where the book cuts off the conversation of consequences.


-- New-to-me books read in 2011 (as opposed to re-reads) --

January
Little Dee vol 2
Little Dee vol 3
Unusual Suspects
Harvest Moon
The Black Stallion (yes, I know, I should have read it with Black Beauty)
Ravens in the Library: Magic in the Bard's Name, with a pre-finished commentary here
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Fang Bangers: An Erotic Anthology of Fangs, Claws, Sex and Love
Must Love Hellhounds
Truthseeker

February
Dark and Stormy Knights
Tortall and Other Lands
River Marked (2/28 - it arrived a day early)

March
Questionable Content, vol 1
How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf
Lifeblood
Magic Bites
Skinwalker, A Jane Yellowrock Novel
Running with the Pack
Magic Burns
Blood Cross

April
"Skyblaze" Adventures in the Liaden Universe #17
Kings of the North
Goblin Tales
Do Not Sniff the Bees, Two Lumps book 6
Magic Strikes
Magic Bleeds
Mercy Blade
The Initiate Brother

May
Angelology
City of Pearl
An Artificial Night
Late Eclipses

June
After Hours: Tales from Ur-Bar
Magic Slays

-- Books abandoned rather than completed in 2011 --

February
Sing the Four Quarters, by Tanya Huff

-- Books Still in Progress --
These are books that I haven't totally given up on, I've just... put them aside... for now. And gee, look at how many of them are non-fiction!
The Brand Within
Gamestorming
If You Don't Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails
Swords and Dark Magic
Battlestations
Wise Man's Fear