Review: Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

So, I finished




by Stacia Kane. This one definitely qualifies as Urban Fantasy, not PNR.

Brief Plot Summary:

Chess (Cesaria) is a Debunker for the Church of Truth. This series is a bit of a twist on the post-apocalyptic/dystopian book that is very popular right now, and focuses on ghosts, not zombies. Zombie fiction has become fairly ubiquitous, and I am not really a zombie fan, so it was nice to read dark fantasy that didn't involve zombies. The apocalypse occurred in the form of Haunting Week -- when all of the ghosts escaped the bounds that had been placed upon them, churches and religion had failed, and approximately 66% of the population died. This caused the rise of the Church of Truth, which is not based upon any of the major religions, but is, rather, based upon magic and its ability to contain the ghosts. Not surprisingly, the ghosts don't particularly want to be contained, and, of course, there are other groups that want to overthrow the power of the Church of Truth.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

I thought that Stacia Kane's worldbuilding was excellent. It was interesting, and internally consistent. This is a dark world, and, in keeping with that darkness, the main character, Chess is a dark heroine. She is a moderately promiscuous drug addict, not to put too fine a point on it, but in spite of those failings, Chess has integrity. More integrity than a lot of the characters who don't have her moral failings.

I also enjoyed the writing. The dialogue is a little weird, with the characters occasionally breaking into a form of pidgin pirate -- lots of Ayes, and a few thous. Sort of weird, but not out of keeping with the general theme of the book. The character names are also extremely descriptive. Most characters have only one name -- Bump, Chess's drug dealer, Brain, a homeless child, Lex, enforcer for Bump's primary rival, Slobag, and then, of course, Terrible. And Terrible is a great character. Huge, violent, not nearly as dumb as he initially appears, and obviously attracted to our girl Chess.

This is dark fantasy, and I loved it. So, a great beginning to March Magic & Mayhem. Heavy on the Magic and on the Mayhem.

4 stars