The Book Club of the Apocalypse.

According to my kindle, at time of writing, I’m 79% of the way through the novella. I want it to be longer. I feel like there are spaces in the universe I want to be more fully developed. The Holy Order. The feasting on pain, sorrow, anger, etc. How does it work? What do they experience? What happens when they don’t get it? I’m not sure if I haven’t picked up on details I should have or if I am just wanting more exposition, but I’m both really liking the story and characters, and wishing for more.

As I read, I can’t help but think of another Chicago monster mystery series…. Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files.

I’m a sucker for hard boiled novels, so that series is a favorite of mine. It’s a great twist, to take the classic detective formula and make him a wizard. I feel like Butcher does a really good job in adapting the hard boiled genre while including enough world building aspects to differentiate and bring readers into the world. He doesn’t talk at length about the White Council, but he includes enough exposition that their role and organization is clear enough. The way spells are made and cast is another example.

I think When Among Crows would have benefitted from a bit more of this sort of explanation. Then again, it might have shifted this book from novella to novel to include those points. And I can totally respect wanting this one to be streamlined, compact, and tight. After all it takes place over like 36 hours or so, so there’s not a lot of room for explanatory backstory. Still, I would have liked it. Maybe that’s the historian in me, always looking for a broader context. Maybe it’s just a sign I’m into the characters and their world and want to go deeper.

But if you’re enjoying this one, and its making you yearn for more mysteries packed with magic and monsters and plenty of action, give the Dresden Files a try… I’m about to start reading #3 in the series, Grave Peril. (I did the first two on audiobook… they have a fantastic reader, if you’re into that sort of thing.)

Oh, and I have one frustration with When Among Crows that I simply must voice: this book really made me yearn for Harold’s Chicken, and I can’t get it! Many a late night in college was spent polishing off a meal from Harold’s. Take me back!

– EM