Dead Man Rising
Lilith Saintcrow

Reviewed by Sarra Borne

 

A relative newcomer to the Dark Fantasy genre, Lilith Saintcrow pens a tale that will seem superficially familiar to the aficionado.  Protagonist Dante (Danny) Valentine is a necromance, a half-demon and a bounty hunter.  Beginning where “Working for the Devil” the previous (and first) novel in the series left off, we find Danny immersing herself in her work collecting bounties nonstop as a means to forget about the death of her lover.  Japhrimel a full demon, is the reason that Danny now finds herself to be semi-immortal, inhumanly beautiful and nearly invulnerable. 

Danny receives a call from close friend and fellow necromance, Gabe, who asks for her help in investigating a series of killings.  The victims are seemingly unrelated, with two being psions and one a normal, until Danny using her talents calls back one of the murdered spirits, and is told “Remember Rigger Hall.  Remember.  REMEMBER!”  Aided by former lover, Jace, the shaman who taught her almost everything she knows about bounty hunting, Danny begins an investigation that will tear her apart by forcing her to confront her tortured childhood at Rigger Hall.   

When she starts receiving letters and phone calls from The Devil asking where Japhrimel is, since he can’t seem to locate him in hell, Danny begins to wonder if she is losing it.  She knows Japhrimel is dead she witnessed Lucifer kill him with her very own eyes.  Now the voices in her head tell her she could have brought him back if only she knew how.  

It’s a story that melds a little bit of cyberpunk, with a dash of paranormal romance, and then brings that together with just enough thriller/horror elements to satisfy the reader.  This reviewer would suggest reading “Working for the Devil” first for the full effect.  Fortunately a glossary is provided, as the author not only uses Egyptian phrases, but also makes up many of her own names for common things – such as werecain instead of werewolf or lycanthrope and nichtvren for vampire.  

This series should be immediately and immensely popular with fans of Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison and Charlaine Harris.  A powerful urban fantasy, with a strong female lead wielding immense power, but who has the sensitivity to question her own humanity.

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