The Asylum Interviews: Bronx (The Asylum Tales #0.5) By Jocelynn Drake
Urban Fantasy
July 3, 2012
Harper Voyager
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “Most trolls only have one child.”
“Really? Why?”
“The mother tends to eat the spares.”
The Asylum Interviews is a prequel to Jocelynn Drake’s newest series, The Asylum Tales, which releases its first in the series, Angel’s Ink, in October. In this short novella, we get an introduction to the series main character, Gage, and the unique fantasy world in which he lives. Drake’s new world is an alternate Earth city, (Low Town), where all supernatural entities are out in the open, mingling among the humans. Gage, a tattoo artist and owner of The Asylum Tattoo Parlor, is also a wizard. For reasons yet not revealed, rejected the wizarding world and is now under a form of house arrest. He is forbidden from using his magic under the threat of imprisonment and/or death. Gage, instead, now creates spell enhanced tattoos to give his clients little extra edge.
I am a huge fan of Ms. Drakes Nightwalker series and was sad when it ended. When I found out she was starting a new urban fantasy series with a male as the main protagonist, I signed right up. The novella starts out with Gage’s best friend, Patrick, an incubus, needing a spell to help tamper down his need for sexual energy. Gage and a new potential employee, Bronx, attempt a special spell enhanced tattoo. When the tattoo suddenly takes on a life of it’s own, Gage and Bronx find themselves racing to fix their mistake before someone gets seriously hurt.
Character driven, Ms. Drake does a fabulous job of personalizing the characters of Low Town. We learn bits and pieces of the supernatural entities that inhabit the town and the overall the political climate. The dialogue is comfortable and infectious; very easy to assimilate. The world building is smooth with no overly technical or convoluted.descriptions. A noir urban fantasy lightened up with bits of humor. I see hints of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files and Kim Harrison’s Hollows series in here-a similar set up and development.
The Asylum Interviews is a wonderful peep inside Ms. Drake’s newest venture and will appeal to old and new fans of her work.
Overall Rating: B
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The good news is, I do have her first series on my shelves, the bad news is, I still have not started them. And now a new series to torment me with! I think I need a sabbatical, and win the lottery.