nmcannon's review
4.0
My quest to read more Cuthbert Beckett-centric Vampire: the Masquerade fiction continues! We're onto our first proper novel and I was astounded by the leap in quality and feminism present in this work. My partner was shocked when I babbled to her about the good writing within A Morbid Initiation.
Regina Blake's life is in uproar. When her mother Emma dies after a mysterious illness, her father is swamped in grief, Hungarian relatives invade her home with some very strange ideas about burial rites, and her wedding to the dashing Lt. Malcolm Seward is delayed for years. She is alone in her mourning and in investigating these bizarre relatives, who only come out at night and carve symbols of witchcraft into wood. If the missing body and scratch marks on the coffin are any indication, Emma is not wholly dead. Regina vows to stop at nothing to find out what happened to her mother. At least the alluring Miss Victoria Ash is kind of her....
As a fan and as a writer, I enjoyed A Morbid Initiation. Regina is a brilliant protagonist and dogged, Sherlockian gumshoe. Like any good Gothic vampire tale-spinner, Boulle doesn't shy away from sexuality, decay, death, and corruption. However, whereas lesser writers (*cough, cough* like whoever wrote Revelations of the Dark Mother *cough, cough*) would use this excuse to use, abuse, and de-power Regina, gender minorities, and characters of color, Boulle resists this trend. Even when Regina is under the influence of vampiric powers, she is always herself and as independent and powerful as one can be under the circumstances. Boulle is also brave enough to pose the question of what defines a monster. While none of the vampire characters are saints, the colonialist humans actually committed the atrocities that made me the most squeamish.
While A Morbid Initiation did have hiccups, I still found myself very invested in the plot, characters, and the theme of initiation. Even though I'm in no way new to White Wolf's lore, I was engaged as ever in Regina's journey of discovery. The parallelism between her and her erstwhile betrothed, Malcolm, gripped me like a fever. Beckett does pop in for a few chapters, and everything he does is a tantalizing delight. I can't wait for the next book when his and Regina's journeys converge.
If you're looking for a novelistic entry point to Vampire: the Masquerade, I heartily recommend A Morbid Initiation. I'm very much looking forward to the next book.
Regina Blake's life is in uproar. When her mother Emma dies after a mysterious illness, her father is swamped in grief, Hungarian relatives invade her home with some very strange ideas about burial rites, and her wedding to the dashing Lt. Malcolm Seward is delayed for years. She is alone in her mourning and in investigating these bizarre relatives, who only come out at night and carve symbols of witchcraft into wood. If the missing body and scratch marks on the coffin are any indication, Emma is not wholly dead. Regina vows to stop at nothing to find out what happened to her mother. At least the alluring Miss Victoria Ash is kind of her....
As a fan and as a writer, I enjoyed A Morbid Initiation. Regina is a brilliant protagonist and dogged, Sherlockian gumshoe. Like any good Gothic vampire tale-spinner, Boulle doesn't shy away from sexuality, decay, death, and corruption. However, whereas lesser writers (*cough, cough* like whoever wrote Revelations of the Dark Mother *cough, cough*) would use this excuse to use, abuse, and de-power Regina, gender minorities, and characters of color, Boulle resists this trend. Even when Regina is under the influence of vampiric powers, she is always herself and as independent and powerful as one can be under the circumstances. Boulle is also brave enough to pose the question of what defines a monster. While none of the vampire characters are saints, the colonialist humans actually committed the atrocities that made me the most squeamish.
While A Morbid Initiation did have hiccups, I still found myself very invested in the plot, characters, and the theme of initiation. Even though I'm in no way new to White Wolf's lore, I was engaged as ever in Regina's journey of discovery. The parallelism between her and her erstwhile betrothed, Malcolm, gripped me like a fever. Beckett does pop in for a few chapters, and everything he does is a tantalizing delight. I can't wait for the next book when his and Regina's journeys converge.
If you're looking for a novelistic entry point to Vampire: the Masquerade, I heartily recommend A Morbid Initiation. I'm very much looking forward to the next book.
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