Kitty's Big Trouble

I don't know what it is about Carrie Vaughn. She is very prolific and I like all of her books, but it just takes me more time to read the stand-alones than the Kitty books. I don't mean they read any slower, but I just can't get as invested in them right away. I chomped at the bit for STEEL and AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE and have not gotten more than a couple of pages read. And I haven't even cracked DISCORD'S APPLE. But When KITTY'S BIG TROUBLE came out, I dropped everything to read it.

And for those who don't get the joke, Kitty helps an old acquaintance with a problem in Chinatown - kind of like an old Kurt Douglas action movie - get it?

In-jokes aside, the story is steeped in the Kitty mythology. We get a little more on the background of Roman, Anastasia, Rick and the Long Game. We also get some nice historical nods without all the hype of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, VAMPIRE SLAYER. It's part of the story, not the driver, and that is so refreshing in this era of horror-historical mashups.

The plot moves along crisply and the action is fun. As usual Ms. Vaughn entertains. Now I just need to get started on those other books.