"Unclean Spirits" by MLN Hanover (Pocket)

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Unclean Spirits
M.L.N. Hanover
368 pp. Pocket. $15.00
Pub. Date: 12/2/2008
ISBN-13: 978-1416575979

Reviewed by Paul Stotts

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“I’m telling you the world’s more complicated than you thought.”—M.L.N. Hanover, “Unclean Spirits”

Hugo-nominated author Daniel Abraham changes his name and changes his genre for the first book in his new urban fantasy series, “Unclean Spirits.” Abraham (writing as M.L.N. Hanover) is best known for his imaginative, Asian-inspired fantasy series The Long Price Quartet as well as for his collaboration with George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois on “Hunter’s Run.” This is the first book in Abraham’s The Black Sun’s Daughter series.

Jayné Heller is days from her twenty-third birthday, a recent college dropout, and struggling to find a direction in her life when she’s summoned to Denver to settle the estate of her uncle, Eric Heller. Only days prior Eric was murdered, his killer still at large. Jayné discovers her uncle was more of a Fairy Godmother though as she’s the sole heir of Eric’s immense fortune and innumerable properties scattered around the globe.

But Eric’s death left a few mysteries behind also. What’s the Invisible College and how are they connected to his murder? What’s behind the sudden development of Jayné’s awesome fighting prowess? What was her uncle up to and how does a rag-tag group of Eric’s acquaintances fit into the equation?

The answers will transform Jayné’s world forever as she’s plunged into a battle with vampires, evil wizards, and unclean demon spirits known as “riders.” Still Jayné’s greatest battle may be finding herself before it is too late.

I’m not a fan of urban fantasy, particularly of the majority of novels which devolve into paranormal romance. Other than writers like Charlie Huston, Mike Carey and Jim Butcher, the genre bores me. Too many urban fantasy writers are trying to steal the magical mojo from Joss Whedon’s television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (At least the first four seasons, it jumped the shark after that.) Whedon’s big idea was to transform the normally hapless damsel into an empowered fighting dynamo, prowling the streets and kicking supernatural ass. The prey becomes the hunter both literally and metaphorically. Considering vampires symbolize sex, Buffy is a reversal of sexual roles, empowering woman beyond traditional stereotypes. The main focus of the series was examining this role reversal, asking the question of whether romantic love can co-exist with female empowerment. Can you be empowered and selfless at the same time?

Urban fantasy writers quickly developed their own Buffy-inspired heroines, empowered and sexually aggressive. Some writers clearly took this for code as “getting-your-slut-on,” creating characters that drop their drawers more often than they drop demon bodies. They ignored the underlying nuances to this sexual empowerment. Instead urban fantasy became a fertile ground for veiled romance novels. Romance novels which generally reinforce common sexual stereotypes. Do you see the irony yet?

Despite its cover which features the ubiquitous “my butt and tribal tattoo is sexy” pose, “Unclean Spirits” takes a more thoughtful approach to urban fantasy. While Jayné’s physical empowerment happens early in the novel, she struggles to find herself throughout the book. The more unique aspect is though Jayné can kick butt, she’s not the aggressor in the novel. Instead she and her cohorts spend the majority of the novel hiding from the Big Bad in her house, tucked away behind the safety of magical wards. Despite her newly discovered abilities, Jayné is still low hanging fruit waiting to get plucked. Her one romantic opportunity in the novel (in which she initiates the encounter) turns out poorly, a veiled lesson, perhaps.

Abraham’s re-reversal of sexual roles is an ambitious and courageous choice, eschewing the Buffy model for a more passive approach that is both more believable and realistic. The downside is the novel may be too passive, too much sitting around waiting for something to happen. When Jayné and her friends venture out of the house, interesting things happen. They just don’t leave the house often enough. “Unclean Spirits” is not your typical urban fantasy as much as it’s Abraham’s rebuttal to the plethora of me-toos flooding the market. It’s a middle-finger to the rampant stupidity and an attempt to rehabilitate the genre. It should be celebrated for this.

Because so much of the novel is character-oriented, its success is dependent on the reader’s interest in them. Jayné is an intriguing character, flawed, undeniably naive and a bit clueless. She struggles for answers and has difficulty in assuming the mantle of leadership for the group. Her superpowers are not a cure-all. She’s as equally flawed before developing them as she is afterwards. She’s a spectator in crucial decisions made early in the novel (since she is the least knowledgeable about ongoing events) which is interesting since the narrative is told from her perspective. Her cast of supporting characters are all well-developed, the charming Aubrey, the cursed Midian, the meditative Chogyi Jake and the militant Ex. Each of them have their moments, particularly early on in the novel as they get Jayné caught up on events. However none of them are really memorable.

Last Word:
Abraham should be applauded for taking a different approach with “Unclean Spirits.” It must be extraordinarily difficult to write an urban fantasy in which the characters are passively hiding throughout the book. The whole idea is the antithesis of the empowerment one normally sees from the genre. While I think the story suffered because of his choice, it also was more realistic and believable (apart from the supernatural elements, of course) than the typical urban fantasy novel. Maybe the most intriguing question is where does Abraham go with this series now that he’s distinguished himself from the Buffy wannabes. I anticipate the answer.

Final Grade: 71 out of 100