Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #282073 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

Unshapely Things
Set in an alternative history timeline following the convergence of human and Fey worlds, Unshapely Things follows the magically crippled druid Connor Grey as he investigates a series of murders. The victims were all fairy prostitutes and the Guild - kind of like the fey police - has more important things to do, so the investigation is handed over to human law enforcement and Connor is called in to help.

Maybe I've become too used to reading urban fantasy which starts out with a (figurative) explosion and then proceeds with the speed of a Hollywood car chase, with no let up `til the end. This has a much slower pace, with the story slowly unfolding before the reader as the case comes together for Connor. That doesn't mean it proceeds all the way through at this pace. Towards the end the clues add up to one giant mess for Connor and anyone else who wants to live through midsummer - and in the last twenty or thirty pages all hell breaks loose.

Even though it's written in first person I didn't really connect with Connor `til much later in the book. In the earlier parts it's the other characters that kept me reading. First Joe (the flit) - who has all the best lines (until Meryl comes along later). The scene between him, Tansy and Connor was my first clue that there were parts of this book I was going to love. Through the other characters - Joe, Briallen, Meryl, Murdock, Keeva and Gillen - we experience different aspects of Connor's personality. I think it's only after we've met these other characters that we begin to know Connor. This may be frustrating for some readers who prefer to get deep inside the protagonist's head from the first page.

There were a couple of things I got slightly confused over. I wasn't 100% sure on how the convergence worked - if there were still some fey trapped in Faerie, or if they'd all been brought through to this side when the worlds merged. Hopefully that will be cleared up in a future book.

To sum up, Unshapely Things is an urban fantasy with a strong PI influence that should appeal to fans of Jim Butcher (Harry Dresden series), Kat Richardson (Greywalker and Poltergeist) and Charlaine Harris (Grave series). Well worth checking out, especially if you need a break from the more frenetic pace of other urban fantasy that's out at the moment

not quiet another carbon copy urban fantasy
Someone's killing fae prostitutes in the Weird, a fringe neighborhood of Boston where the poor and the fae intersect.

Connor Grey, who used to live in much nicer environs, is seeing the effects in his new neighborhood--and he's been called in by his friend Murdock on the Boston Police Department to help with the investigation. Once upon a time, he'd have headed his own investigation on the part of the Guild, which serves as the Fae equivalent of a peace-keeping authority in this newly converged world. But after his injury at the hands of an eco-terrorist elf, his own druidic essence is blocked and the posh Guild office and status are gone. He's just a pensioner drawing disability and trying to get himself back together.

Now, Grey's getting his dose of excitement by helping the humans. He quickly discovers that the deaths are magically based and if someone doesn't stop them--the world could have another event similar to the Cataclysm, which brought Human and Fae worlds together back in 1900.

"Unshapely Things" is one of the best new novels I've read in a long time. Del Franco's world is well-realized, he's got both strong male and female characters, and he really knows how to keep the reader engaged and interested.

If you like Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files," Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan, and Anita Blake before the books turned to erotica, you're going to love "Unshapely Things."

Very good start, Mr. Del Franco, I hope to see many more books from you in the future!

Interesting Debut
Unshapely Things is a debut book. It shows a crime scene in modern America where the fairy world and the mortal world blend together in an alternative universe. The writer has the knack of bringing his world to life. The plot was interesting with a twist. It kept me entertained for 2 days and I was sorry it had ended. Highly recommended!