Working for Devil

Working for Devil (2005) Lilith Saintcrow

Dante Valentine is a necromance–she is able to visit the realms of the dead and draw spirits back to the world where they can answer questions or communicate again with their loved ones. Although mages and other psis are out and somewhat accepted by the public, necromances still are feared by most of the public. However, they are still needed, and Danny is one of the strongest necromances around–strong enough that she’s hired by the devil to track down a rogue demon.

As a heroine, I have to say that Dante is pretty great. She kicks butt, however, that ability comes from hard work, which I always like. Sure, natural ability is good, but hard work is more important. She also has a rough past, but has managed to somehow become a functioning member of society. (Albeit one who isn’t really appreciated by most of society.)

As far as the other characters, I really liked the relationships between Dante and Jaf and the way it develops. However, I understood the relationship between Gabe and Danny, but I didn’t feel it in the same way. They’re best friends, but I don’t always feel like I believe it. The other thing that bothered me was the way that Dante never took any time to listen to what people were telling her–even if those things were important. She was consistent about it, but I found it maddening. I wanted to yell at her to take TWO SECONDS and just LISTEN to what people were trying to tell her.

Grr.

However, the storytelling more than made up for those small frustrations. The book moved along at a quick pace, dragging me along with it, even if I thought I would be better off going to bed or doing some other mundane task. I also liked how we piece together the world and Danny’s past. We don’t quite learn everything, but we pick up enough bits and pieces to learn what Danny’s childhood was like (bad) and what the world she lives in is like. (Further advanced than ours. Plus magic.) There was a lot of technology, but it wasn’t overwhelming enough to bug me (I don’t know why, but most science fiction grates on my nerves. Probably because technology annoys me enough in real life–I don’t want to deal with it in my escapism.)

There is also some sex, however, it’s not a lot, and it’s not overwhelming. It might not be appropriate for younger readers.

Another thing that was done well is that although the story arc was concluded, there were plenty of openings for new stories. I’m a big fan of well done series where each story arc is concluded within a single book, but the characters and the story continue from book to book. My favorite!

Dante Valentine is a good, strong heroine, the story is fast paced, and the writing is good. If you like supernatural fiction, then I highly recommend Working for the Devil.
Rating: 8/10

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