Seven Kinds of Hell (Fangborn)

WHAT IS IT?

"Seven Kinds of Hell" is the first novel in Dana Cameron's planned "Fangborn" fantasy series. The Fangborn are supernatural creatures that come in three varieties: werewolves, vampires, and oracles. Magically compelled to fight Evil, the Fangborn have guarded humanity throughout the ages. Twenty-something werewolf Zoe Miller knows little about her heritage because her mother has, for her own reasons, always kept Zoe hidden from the Fangborn. With Zoe's mother dying, however, the Fangborn -- and others who know about the Fangborn -- begin closing in on Zoe. Some want to help her, but most want to use her. The immediate threat is Dmitri, a Russian gangster who kidnaps Zoe's cousin and demands that she acquire an artifact from an insane collector in exchange for her cousin's life. The quest to free her cousin leads Zoe to London and then to Venice, the Greek Islands, and beyond. She is hunted at every step, not knowing whether she can trust anyone, even her ex-boyfriend Will. Moreover, what begins as a mission to get hold of an insignificant figurine soon turns into a search for one of the most feared objects in Greek mythology: Pandora's Box.

WHY MIGHT YOU WANT TO READ IT?

My original working title for this review was "Junk Food for the Werewolf-Lover's Soul." Sometimes we crave junk food, and junk food is often better than nothing. I'm not going to praise the book, but I will say that the story moves quickly, there's plenty of action, and the idea of the Fangborn is one of the most oddball takes on werewolves and vampires that you're likely to come across. Fangborn vampires, for example, are *good* by nature, they *thrive* on sunshine, and when they manifest their vampire selves, they shapeshift into *snake* form. Furthermore, they're not undead, they're not immortal, they *heal* people rather than feeding on them, and their main thing is controlling people via their venom and some sort of psychic force. (In other words, her vampires have almost nothing in common with "our" vampires.) If archaeology appeals to you, Zoe has an undergrad degree in the discipline and her knowledge becomes quite important when the good (and bad) guys begin rummaging around in ancient Greek ruins. If Romance appeals to you, that's here too: Zoe broke up with brilliant and hunky Will years ago because she didn't have control over her werewolf self and was afraid that she might hurt him. Her knees go weak when she runs into him today, but does he still want her? Hint: this is a "kissing book."

WHY MIGHT YOU WANT TO SKIP IT?

The number one reason to skip this book is that it's a mess; a frustrating, confusing, difficult-to-follow mess. You expect more questions than answers in the first half of a novel like this one, but you also expect things to resolve over time. To be fair, some questions do get answered, but this book is packed with too many characters, too many agendas, too many locations, and too many objects for the mere human mind to track. For example, I'm still confused about who works for the Senator (one of the bosses out to control Zoe); who works for the TRG (an agency within the FBI, I think, that keeps tabs on the Fangborn -- think "HRG" :); what organization Gerry and Claudia represent, if any; who Adam and the guy with the shiny head work for; and whether any of them have anything to do with Zoe's father's family. If you can't tell what's going on -- and, worse, if you cease to care what's going on -- that takes a big bite out of your reading pleasure.

The book has a wide range of additional weaknesses, but if the first one doesn't bother you, the rest probably won't either. Still, here's a sampling: First, everybody makes inexplicable choices. For example, Dmitri wants figurines, but he doesn't ask Zoe to give him the one she has before she jets off to London. Second, much of the plot depends on the same sort of "hidden clue points to secret location of mysterious object" nonsense that you see in "[[ASIN:0307474275 The Da Vinci Code]]" and ABC's recent "Zero Hour." Third, there's just too much boilerplate cliche about fighting the Beast within, etc.

AND SO?

"Seven Kinds of Hell" is B-movie material at best. I don't regret having read it, but I don't expect to be buying any future books in the series either. Count this as a weakly negative recommendation.

POSTSCRIPT

A few years have passed and I've read all three Fangborn books along with some stories/novellas. I highly recommend the audiobooks narrated by Kate Rudd. She brings out humor, emotion, and rhythm in Cameron's writing that I completely missed when reading the books myself. She gives Zoe character that I just didn't see. Rudd can't keep the books from being totally nuts, but she makes the craziness a whole lot more accessible and exciting.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Hadn't heard of this author before getting a chance to read this book, and the werewolf genre tends to be more my wife's thing than mine. But I finished the book in two days (and it's not exactly a quick read, it's a decent-length book). It was a good story. The book was entertaining. I suppose it could have been a bit more polished: Cameron is a new author, and while not bad, the book doesn't flow as easily as some similar fantasy/sci-fi works I've read. I'm guessing that'll improve with additional books. I certainly couldn't do any better.

As a scientist (a biologist, in my case), I liked the small but important bits of academe that got incorporated into the text (the Sus scrofa reference made me smile). As expected, it was a little heavy on mythology, which I found interesting. A little dose of reality helps ground fiction to the real world.

The book started a little slow, but it definitely had its exciting moments.

Anyway... it was worth my time, will probably be worth yours, and I expect we'll be seeing more of Zoe Miller and the Fangborn in the future. I'm looking forward to it.

SEVEN KINDS OF HELL is the first full length novel in the Fangborn series, but it's not the first story set in this world. I've read and reviewed two short stories set in the Fangborn universe (there have been four) and was thrilled to get to jump into a more expansive novel featuring an archaeologist no less (possibly my favorite literary profession), along with the Stueben siblings from the short stories. I'm sorry to say I was less thrilled by the somewhat staid story and rather bland characters.

I normally love when short stories lead to full novels. In this case, the Fangborn mythology is so cool that it really should have leant itself to a great book. The Fangborn, or Pandora's Orphans, are the hope that was left when the mythical box was opened and evil escaped into the world. Werewolves, vampires, and snake shifters are the superheroes of this world, able to detect and destroy evil. Vampires, for example, don't feed on human blood, they literally suck evil out of people. There are all kinds of new twists on these creatures that I found fascinating. I was even glad to see the characters from the short stories pop up to help in SEVEN KINDS OF HELL. The problem was with everything else.

SEVEN KINDS OF HELL is, at it's heart, an archaeological thriller. But it's less Indian Jones and more whatever the boring equivalent of that is. Zoe was pretty sleepy for me from the start, and as she traversed the globe to rescue her kidnapped friend, retrieve artifacts, and avoid Fangborn politics, she never became any more exciting for me. In fact none of the characters captured my attention--not even George and Claudia who I enjoyed in short form. The whole book was slow even during fang filled action scenes. It all just felt bland.

I'm really baffled by my reaction to SEVEN KINDS OF HELL. It had everything that would normally equal a great urban fantasy for me: Eye catching art from Chris McGrath, fascinating mythology that I was anxious to see expanded, and even an archaeologist protagonist! The writing itself is fine, but I really had to push through the last 2/3 of the book due to the meh story and dull characters. There are two more full length novels planned in the Fangborn series, but I think I'll be passing.

Sexual Content:
A Brief sex scene

The story starts as Zoe, the main character's mother dies. Zoe is 25 year old who works at a museum in Salem, MA cataloging pieces. She graduated from Boston University with an archeology degree after transferring in via two other schools. Zoe and her mother spent their life moving every few years to avoid contact with her father's people. The book is a great mix of adventure, mystery, self discovery, romance, and world building. The brief sex and the violence reminded me it isn't a young adult book, however it reads like one.

A great paranormal book makes me believe that the characters and their stories are possible. In this book too much was unbelievable. Without revealing the story here's a couple spots I had to take too big a leap of faith, Zoe's rapid advancement to being a leader and her ex-boyfriend Will's sudden reappearance and promotions. The unique spin on vampires and werewolves was great.

My rating is 3.5, a four+ for the engaging, fast paced, unique world building story and a three for the unbelievable story lines and flat characters.

Seven Kinds of Hell is a start to what looks like it will be an interesting mash-up of urban fantasy and archaeological adventure fiction. I'm interested to see where the series goes, and will keep an eye out for more books from Dana Cameron, but this one in particular never really sank its teeth into me.

The Plot: Unknown to her, junior archeologist Zoe Miller is one of the "Fangborn," a secret group of what is essentially werewolves, vampires, and psychics re-imagined as superheroes and villains. She stumbles into a world-wide chase involving the Fangborn, weapons dealers, mystic artifacts, and ancient prophesies. In order to save her friends, she quickly must master her werewolf powers, identify who she can trust, solve various archaeological mysteries, and outwit a series of ruthless enemies.

What I Liked:

- At its best, this is a pretty good mash-up of an archeological thriller and an urban fantasy or superhero novel. Fans of those genres will probably be glad they read it.

- Cameron has an interesting twist on her paranormals, which I won't spoil, but I doubt you've read before. I'm interested to learn more of the Fangborn mythology.

- Zoe's character grew on me. By about a third of the way into the book, I'd gotten to like her and was interested in her struggles.

What Could Have, IMHO, Been Better:

- As I said, it took about a third of the book for me to get into this. The first third is weighed down with exposition, flashbacks, and moping, and I had a hard time getting through it. There's also a lot of backstory and exposition about the three men in Zoe's life that just dragged down the beginning. Once the various characters are in the story and doing things, they flesh out, but Zoe spends too many pages remembering how important they are to her instead of just letting the action show us.

- I thought the book as a whole was a little too ambitious. I didn't need supernatural creatures, world wide conspiracies, AND the twist at the grand climax of the book. I would have been happier if Zoe had solved a somewhat more manageable problem in this book, with hints of bigger things coming in future books.

From Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance

At A Glance
I had a lot of trouble getting into Seven Kinds of Hell, but by the end I was pretty happy I stuck with it even if it wasn't my taste.

The Good
What stands out about Seven Kinds of Hell is that it has a little something for everyone. It has a lot of action. It has the kind of mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. The suspense is intense for most of the book. The paranormal aspect is expertly woven within the story so you don't even think of it as fantasy. And a little dash of romance to keep things interesting. If you are looking for a loaded urban fantasy book, you can find it in Seven Kinds of Hell.

If you are into archaeology at all, this is the book for you. It is packed with rich history, artifacts, supernatural politics, and mythology. Then the paranormal aspect was fascinating. Werewolves, vampires, snake shifters, oh my! I love how Dana incorporates mythology and archaeology into her supernatural creatures' histories. And learning why these beings inhabit the planet and how they differ from the supernaturals I have read in other books was the best part.

I did enjoy following Zoe on her adventures most of the time. It seemed like she could never catch a break. I couldn't help but feel bad for her. She actually stayed pretty strong through the whole ordeal. Zoe had a way of assimilating to each new situation, each new threat. And her friends were with her every step of the way, even when we weren't sure they could be trusted.

The plot was very complex. I liked the twists and turns that caught me by surprise. And the writing was well done.

The Bad
I don't know why but I just couldn't get into Seven Kinds of Hell for the longest time. This book took me way longer to read than any book has in a long time. But it wasn't that it was bad, it just wasn't catching my attention like I hoped. I think around page 200 I finally got into the swing of things.

I think the characters didn't really capture my attention enough to keep me wanting to read about them. They all lacked the spark that makes characters truly interesting.

There was a little too much archeology and history lessons that slowed down this book a lot. They were too lengthy for my taste. I like heavy information dumps in small doses. This book rang more like an archaeological thriller.

Some plot points and inner monologue seemed to repeat a lot. For example, there is a group after Zoe, then there is another group after Zoe, then another, and another. She couldn't trust anyone and she said so over and over again.

The Snuggly
There is a minimal sex scene and minimal romance. Zoe and Will have an unfinished romance that sparks up a little in this book. But they weren't together enough to say the romance was satisfying, but it was enough for the theme and pace of the book.

Final Thoughts
I almost gave this book 3 stars, but after some thought, I don't think I am going to continue the series. It wasn't bad but it didn't blow me away. I do, however, think this book has an audience that will love it. So I recommend it to some people but not all. My review should help you decide whether this book is for you.

Quotes
The darkness was almost absolute, but I didn't need a light to sense the knife just below my chin.

Neither man spoke until we were deep in the shadows.

"We won't be need this," one of them said. I felt my shirt tear.

Now, the Beast whispered.

The oblivion I'd been seeking all night came as the Beast rushed in and I was suddenly a wolf. If I hadn't been resisting the rapists, it was because I hadn't been resisting the Beast.

I snapped my head around, seizing the wrist of the man with the knife. I bit through flesh, snapping fragile bones, feeling blood--dark, coppery, and filthy--rush out as I severed an artery. As his blood hit the floor of that dank basement, I felt a glorious satisfaction: his blood was better outside his veins. The more he bled, the better I felt.

Zoe Miller, the main character of the novel, has a problem. She doesn't know that she's a werewolf. She knows she turns into something different on occasion. She thinks she may be crazy. I really like Zoe. Despite everything she is a very strong character. Does she always make the right choices? No, but she has courage and tries to do the right thing.

I really love the mythology and archeology in Seven Kinds of Hell. You can tell right away the Dana Cameron knows her stuff. For me this is a major plus. It wasn't until after I'd finished the novel and read about the author that I found that she had trained as an archaeologist. This high level of proficiency with part of the subject matter of the novel made it more alive and more real for me. The mythological constructs of the Fangborn world are very well done. I really enjoy how the mythology that already exists is woven into Fangborn mythology and vice versa. I also really like that we learn about Fangborn world along with Zoe.

There is a terrific ensemble of characters as well. Some of them on Zoe's side, some utterly evil, and some misguided (or not). Ms. Cameron does not skimp on secondary characterization which helps give the novel depth. There is the Russian kidnapper (mentioned in the description) who is evil and awful. He's very well done and the catalyst for much of what happens.

In addition to being a coming of werewolf story (in a way) this is also a thriller that takes us from America to Europe and beyond. There is also a touch of romance, which does not overwhelm the novel, and is very nice.

The story often moves at breakneck speed and the pacing is good. Seven Kinds of Hell ends with things to be done. Not a cliffhanger, but you'll definitely be looking forward to the next novel in the series.

Seven Kinds of Hell is all sorts of thrillery mythological terrificness in a lovely Urban Fantasy wrapper. I'm putting Dana Cameron's Fangborn novels on my must buy list.

I hadn't expected much but I gave it a chance as I liked the theme of the story and I wasn't disappointed.

Fabulous entertaining read. Can't wait for the next.

I've read all of Cameron's books starting with Site Unseen. If you come to Seven Kinds of Hell expecting a read along the same lines as her Emma Fielding Mysteries, you'd better fasten your seat belt. This book is a fast moving, high stakes, race across the globe. It's darker and grittier than her earlier works without losing the impeccable archaeology, history and attention to detail you've come to expect

Think you know vampire and werewolf mythology? You haven't met these vampires and werewolves. "The Fangborn" aren't what we've come to expect from the rather crowded paranormal `verse. No spoilers here, but trust me, it's a decidedly un-stale spin on the subject. I'm really looking forward to the next book!