Moon Called

On the strength of Charles de Lint's reviews of these books in his "Books to Look for" column in FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION, I finally decided to read Patricia Briggs' MOON CALLED. This is the first in her series starring Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson, an auto mechanic and shape-shifter.

As per most urban fantasy novels, the action centers around werewolves, vampires, and other assorted magical creatures and their attempts to exist within the "real" world. There are the usual power struggles and ancient orders of mystical beings. But what Briggs brings to the table is a vivid writing style and a clean storyline. Her explanations are not too convoluted and her characters are interesting enough to want to follow. All in all, it is a fun book and a delight to read. I'll be getting more of these from my local library.

If I had any complaint, it would be more on the genre than this particular book. That complaint is the need for nubile, young, tattooed and scantily clad women to grace the covers. Not that I am against any of that mind you, but outside of a small mention of one tattoo, this image never plays a role in the book. And not that a cover needs to completely reflect the contents, but these soft-core images could help to put down an emerging genre as being what the covers do depict.