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Night Child (OSI #1)

3.35 of 5 stars 3.35 · rating details · 712 ratings · 86 reviews

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES.

Enter the night world of the OSI... OCCULT SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR

Tess Corday, Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, is used to seeing dead vampires. But there's nothing ordinary about this case. Not the lab results on the cause of death. Not the teenage girl living at the address found in the vamp's pocket, who may well be in t...more

Paperback, 293 pages

Published May 27th 2008 by Ace

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Jul 02, 2008 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: science geeks looking for a good urban fantasy

Shelves: 2008-reads

Well, it's not very often I feel like an intellectual midget but this book managed to do just that. I'm actually disappointed cause the premise really grabbed my attention - I thought it would be something like a cross between CSI and Moonlight. Instead, I got lost in the "geekspeak".

Tess is a mage. She investigates paranormal crimes with her partner, a telepath. They become caught up in a confusing case involving vampires, demons, and necromancers. Tess also has flashbacks to the death of a ch...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Alexandra Laughlin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

I thought this was a good book - combining familiar ideas of CSI with the complexities of a magical universe. I really like it when authors think out their science in a book and combine what we know with their science-fiction spin on things. The characters were thought out and interesting. I also really liked the stream of consciousness sections - the author was very creative and I loved the dream sequences.

The fact that the author is gay really shows through in his writing though - there are m...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Ailsa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wish I'd picked Night Child up sooner. There's an excellent independent fantasy bookshop near me, and I've read the back of this book several times, but somehow never picked it up. Thankfully, I saw it for 2.99 last weekend and grabbed it straight away.

Jes Battis kicks off the story with Tess looking at a body in the wee hours of the morning. There's apparently some tension between vampires & mages (like Tess & her team), which makes it a delicate situation to be doing a vampire postm...more I wish I'd picked Night Child up sooner. There's an excellent independent fantasy bookshop near me, and I've read the back of this book several times, but somehow never picked it up. Thankfully, I saw it for 2.99 last weekend and grabbed it straight away.

Jes Battis kicks off the story with Tess looking at a body in the wee hours of the morning. There's apparently some tension between vampires & mages (like Tess & her team), which makes it a delicate situation to be doing a vampire postmortem. Tess has a review coming up, and her boss who seems to enjoy picking at her, is trying to get her to run this case exactly the way it's supposed to go. I like that she sticks to her convictions despite that. When Mia gets in touch with Tess and her partner Derrick, Tess sticks with what she thinks is right, even though it risks her losing her job. This is a constant through the book - Tess is of an age where she should normally be higher up in the structure of the OSIs, but she enjoys the job she's got, so she's stayed there. It was good to see a female lead who isn't the most magically powerful, or the biggest in the playground in other ways, but can still be described as 'strong'. I think there is potential there for us to learn more about her power in later books and for her to become more than she thinks she is - it reminds be a bit of the early Rachel Morgan books by Kim Harrison.

I did find the early chapters a little slow going, but after a break of a couple of days, I really got in to it, and I hope to read the next one soon. I don't want to say too much about the plot, because there are lots of twists and turns, but I'm interested to see where things go from here - a couple of incidents from Tess's past clearly affect her in this book, and I want to see if the events of Night Child change things.

I really enjoyed this first book by Jes Battis, and I certainly plan on picking up book 2 in the OSI series, A Flash Of Hex, soon. I'd recommend it to fans of Kim Harrison and Tanya Huff. I give Night Child 7 out of 10. [originally posted by me on The Book Bundle - if you liked this, please consider following the blog at http://thebookbundle.blogspot.com ](less)

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Jan 29, 2012 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, own-fl

3.5. Pretty good for a first book. But I've been reading some other urban fantasy series lately in which the protagonist comes from a nonbelieving starting point and so the suspension of disbelief is much easier, which made this one a little harder to take with the presumption that of course all this supernatural stuff is going on. That hasn't bothered me before, so it must be the influence of the more cynical series I've read lately. A little too much attempt to put in local color (I always fin...more

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Jun 06, 2011 Monster added it

Shelves: vampires-adult

Tess is a forensic cop (kinda) in a world populated by demons, vampires, and mages. Her most recent case is a dead vampire with no signs of trauma and the address of a thirteen year old girl in his pocket. The girl, Mia, reminds Tess very much of a childhood friend who died traumatically in a fire, giving Tess plenty of fuel to protect Mia and make sure she doesn't end up like the dead vampire.
Close to the end of the book the bad guy says to Tess, "You couldn't do your job right if your life dep...more

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Oct 27, 2009 Lianne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

This was by no means a perfect book. I can't even say it was an altogether satisfying read. It had its charms and its downfalls, yet overall there was still something that made me read the next in the series.

The characters were good. I found Tess likeable, witty and very much aware of her own strengths and weaknesses. She doesn't consider herself a badass heroine out to save the world. She's just a girl with a job, doing her thing. But I think what made her an enjoyable character to read were he...more This was by no means a perfect book. I can't even say it was an altogether satisfying read. It had its charms and its downfalls, yet overall there was still something that made me read the next in the series.

The characters were good. I found Tess likeable, witty and very much aware of her own strengths and weaknesses. She doesn't consider herself a badass heroine out to save the world. She's just a girl with a job, doing her thing. But I think what made her an enjoyable character to read were her interactions with the other characters; the wonderfully warm, sarcastic Derrick, the snarky and resilient Mia and the capable Tash and Selena, among others.

But this book had many problems. The plot started off strong; a typical crime mystery echoing the likes of CSI and other similar TV shows. Battis clearly wanted to mix genres here, combining the recent obsession with forensic science with the recent obsession with urban fantasies. Unfortunately, it just didn't work. Well, not for me.

Battis apparently took a forensics course to write this novel, and it shows. This book read like an explosion of pure geeky glee. Battis wanted his readers to know that he knew this stuff, which was all well and good when describing a crime scene, but everything else? Not so much. Tess often began to sound and feel far too detached and clinical in her view of things. I'm sure even the biggest forensic nerd wouldn't consider every aspect of their lives with the same cold, scientific regard.

There were a lot of info dumps that weighed down the book. I love learning new things when I read a novel, but this was far too much for even me to take in. I like to be educated gradually when reading in this genre, not lectured at every given opportunity.

One of the biggest problems for this book was the way the plot played out. For a crime novel, there was very little suspense or tension. The author often tried to delay all those big reveals and twists and turns that are part-and-parcel of books such as this, but he delayed it too long and often crushed the big WOW! moments beneath lengthy descriptions of processes and procedures and other forensic gibber. Every consultant, technician, scientist and co-worker were implausibly explaining every little forensic step they'd taken to get them to that point of the big reveal, always declaring it interesting, fascinating, intriguing! I'm sure forensic scientists do find a lot of these things interesting, but I doubt after working there for a number of years every single one of them would feel the need to explain their every process to a colleague they've worked with during all that time.

The surprise "twist" wasn't really all that surprising. In fact it was all very cliche. And by the end of it, I didn't think that Tess had learned anything new or grown as a character. It was all very... clean and cut, ABC, hence my lack of satisfaction after reaching the end.

I understand what Battis wanted to do here, and it was very interesting to see how science could be used to explain magic. I just found the whole thing heavy-handed and too clunky for an urban fantasy novel. I like a little more action and adventure when it comes to this genre and I didn't feel like I actually got it. It was all very one-note.(less)

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May 07, 2009 Brooke rated it 2 of 5 stars

Tess Corday, Mage and Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, is woken up in the middle of the night to visit a crime scene. It's just a dead vampire, nothing unusual about that in her world, but after she takes a closer look she realizes that this isn't going to be an ordinary case of a dead vamp. An address in the vampire's pocket leads Tess and her partner to a teenage girl, Mia Polanski, who has demons after her, as well as the vampire community's attention, but why?

T...more Tess Corday, Mage and Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, is woken up in the middle of the night to visit a crime scene. It's just a dead vampire, nothing unusual about that in her world, but after she takes a closer look she realizes that this isn't going to be an ordinary case of a dead vamp. An address in the vampire's pocket leads Tess and her partner to a teenage girl, Mia Polanski, who has demons after her, as well as the vampire community's attention, but why?

Then there is Lucian Agrado, a necromancer who is liaison to the vampire community. Agrado is supposed to help Tess, but she finds herself charmed by him, and starts to suspect that he may part of the problem rather than a means to a closing the case.

Her boss is breathing down her neck, and expects her to work by the book, but Tess finds that impossible when her own life is on the line.

When I first started Night Child I was bummed. The opening with the dead vampire just didn't have me on the edge of my seat wondering what had happened. I stuck with it though, and as I got deeper into the story it started to have the feel of an Anita Blake novel. Heck, Anita Blake is even brought up in the story. That got a cringe from me, and I almost put the book down then. But I'm not one to just not finish a book. Tess definitely jumps right into things then thinks about what she should have done later. This is pulled off without totally ruining the character. The best part of the story is her partner Derrick. He's funny, snappy, and doesn't take Tess' crap. He trusts her, which made me, as a reader want to trust her instincts as well. The story picked up in the middle and into the end, but it still felt unoriginal in a sense. It was almost like Battis was channeling Laurell K. Hamilton. I especially thought this once Lucian Agrado entered the plot.

The end has a nice unexpected twist, but Tess not thinking before she dives into things definitely puts her and everyone she cares for in danger, again. Overall, Night Child is an OK book. I liked Tess and Derrick, and am looking forward to see if things get better in the second book in the series, A Flash of Hex.

For all the fans of Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, this might be another series for you to look into! (less)

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May 24, 2012 Mara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

This UF has its charms and its downfalls and, weirdly enough, they are the same.
-I loved the procedural and at the same time hated it when it went over the top.
-I loved the mix of science and magic, but was confused by it.
-The relationship among characters was its driving point, but some of them didn't have sense. Lucian and Tess were a WTF? As in "I don't understand what's going on and how".

The world-building is intriguing and nicely paced. I didn't get any infodump sensation (there were pl...more

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Aug 08, 2009 Mardel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Night Child

by Jes Battis
****

Night Child was a pretty interesting book. This was actually released in 2008, but I just read it on the spur of the moment last night and today. I happen to have the second book (Flash of Hex) and will probably start that one soon.

Night Child is set in a reality with Demons and Vampires. Although in this reality, vampires are a type of demons. In fact, necromancers, psychics and magic users are all half demons. I found this interesting.

This is Jes Battis' first no...more Night Child

by Jes Battis
****

Night Child was a pretty interesting book. This was actually released in 2008, but I just read it on the spur of the moment last night and today. I happen to have the second book (Flash of Hex) and will probably start that one soon.

Night Child is set in a reality with Demons and Vampires. Although in this reality, vampires are a type of demons. In fact, necromancers, psychics and magic users are all half demons. I found this interesting.

This is Jes Battis' first novel, although not his first book. He has written two previous non-fiction books; Blood Relations and Investigating Farscape. He is a professor. Despite his professorship, I found the dialog between his characters believable. They did not speak like they were writing an essay. Refreshing. I also enjoyed the dialog between characters. Except....there was one point (and this is probably an editing issue) where Tess (main character) was speaking to someone about a murder. This person mentions the method of the murder, without being told how the victim was murdered. That, though, was the only thing that jumped out at me. The rest of the book was well written and a satisfying read. Satisfying enough that I want to read the second book. I've noticed this type of mistake on a NYT bestselling author, (repeatedly) so in comparison this isn't a big deal.

Jes Battis also has many descriptive passages about different areas of town. This at times pulled me a little out of the story, but was still entertaining. The plot was good, the ending a nice twist; in fact the ending reminded me of some of those old-time detective novels where the captured detective/or p.i. talks to the culprit about how the culprit masterminded the whole thing. Nostalgic.

Night Child also read like a episode of CSI. Throughout the book, when a method, or instrument was used for forensics, this method or instrument was expained. I read in another review that this was info-dumping, and in yet another that it was similar to how the CSI cast would explain things to each other. I didn't mind most of the "info-dumping" in this book, because it was different, regarding magical/supernatural instruments and procedures. I do not enjoy CSI episodes or Law and Order, because I feel like I'm in class, with the teachers expounding on whatever knowledge or morality they want to impart. Just my opinion. It's a little ironic that this bothers me in a show, but not in the book. Of course I didn't feel like Jes Battis or his characters were shoving their morality down my throat either, so that makes a difference.

Gist of the book: Tess and psychic friend/coworker become involved in the case of a murdered vampire, which leads them to a teenager (Mia) that they end up trying to protect, while dealing with Demon Assassins, a by the book boss, and a necromancer that Tess is repulsed by/attracted to.

My favorite characters were Derek the psychic friend/co-worker and Mia the teenager in danger. I love that Mia actually sounded like a teenager, and I loved the snarky dialogue between Derek and Tess, Derek and Mia and Mia and Tess. I also liked the fact that Tess wasn't a completely perfect employee, or someone with uber-powers yet, though she seems to keep some of her power under wraps.

This is a good read, and I'm looking forward to more from Jes Battis.(less)

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Jul 26, 2010 Alicia *The Novel Strumpet* Wheeler rated it 3 of 5 stars

Basically the author's voice is split between being too analytical with all of the technical terminology and filling your brain with biological science and then trying to change to a more prose and (I guess he was going for) poetic way of "speaking." It got a little schizophrenic for me. I think this could really go somewhere, will probably read the next one to see if this is just "must build world" first book syndrome or if this sort of split personality writing continues. Not a bad read, just...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Lacrima rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, urban-fantasy

All in all, I liked the book. The plot/mystery was appropriately convoluted, there was action, investigative work, and the world building had some very interesting aspects.
The main character...Tess kicks ass, sometimes when talking would have probably gotten her the same results; she is, while far from perfect, not completely incompetent, and uhm. I also think that girl needs a therapist. A good one.
The secondary characters: Well, there isn't much to say about them, because we hardly learn any...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Aira rated it 1 of 5 stars

right...
well it wasnt a bad book, but it wasn't like omfg can't put it down
there were just way way waaaay too many info dumps, the author I think was trying to push the idea of science and magic working in harmony a bit more forcefully than necessary, it kind of felt like she was using square pegs to plug a round hole, with a jack hammer (to paraphrase one of my fave books) I think I scimmed so many paragraphs due to the unnecessary explainations, half way through I was just like YES I GET IT, Y...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Doris rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is the first in the series about the OSI (think CSI for the supernatural community). Tess Orday, the heroine, is stuck in a rut emotionally and professionally. She seems to be burnt out, but is only 24.

She is a mage, and at one point she says she is an earth mage, grounded in the earth.

However, this seems to be a contradiction, as we keep seeing vignettes of her early life, where she called fire. I got the impression that she is blocking fire from coming to her.

The story centers arou...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Ariel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, mystery-thriller-suspense, speculative-fiction

Pretty decent for a first novel. I was inclined to enjoy it; because, I love the genre. Much of the plotting felt a little clunky/forced but I mostly enjoyed the world building and appreciated the somewhat diverse cast. I definitely want to know more about how this world works. I did feel that Tess' powers were some of the least defined in the book. Apparently she was an earth mage but I didn't feel like that was explored as much as it could have been and I didn't understand if the aura reading...more

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Aug 26, 2009 Mary Beth rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: demons, magic, mystery, urban-fantasy

Did not really enjoy this book. The author seemed to add all sorts of superfluous info - little anecdotes and editorial comments by Tess, the main character, that interrupted the flow of the story and/or its action. I found it annoying, to say the least. Tess had a habit of having flashbacks right in the middle of the current story plot. Flashbacks are fine as a plot device but my beef is that I wasn't aware they were flashbacks until I was a few sentences into it. Simply italicizing the flashba...more

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Jul 25, 2009 Kathleen Burket rated it 4 of 5 stars

Excellent first novel from Jes Battis. It is hard to pigeon hole this novel as belonging to a specific genre. I found my copy in the fantasy section of my local library. However, it definitely has strong romantic elements, loads of suspense, more plot twists than many mysteries, and is set as a modern day urban fantasy in that hotbed of demonic activity, Vancouver. With all the technical forensic details that Battis provides, it is also a little bit scifi, and a thoroughly satisfying read.

Tess...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Michele Lee rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, urban-fantasy, reviewed

Tess is a forensic cop (kinda) in a world populated by demons, vampires (who are demons) and mages (who are part demons). Her most recent case is a dead vampire with no signs of trauma and the address of a 13 yr old girl in his pocket. And the girl, Mia, reminds Tess very much of her childhood friend who died traumatically in a fire, giving Tess plenty of fuel to protect Mia and make sure she doesn't end up like the dead vampire.
Close to the end of the book the bad guy says to Tess, "You couldn...more Tess is a forensic cop (kinda) in a world populated by demons, vampires (who are demons) and mages (who are part demons). Her most recent case is a dead vampire with no signs of trauma and the address of a 13 yr old girl in his pocket. And the girl, Mia, reminds Tess very much of her childhood friend who died traumatically in a fire, giving Tess plenty of fuel to protect Mia and make sure she doesn't end up like the dead vampire.
Close to the end of the book the bad guy says to Tess, "You couldn't do your job right if your life depended on it...You screwed up paperwork, botched evidence, showed up late, clocked out early, got hopelessly confused on your way to the bathroom, and you couldn't even work the photocopier." I don't remember Tess trying to use a photocopier, but sadly the rest is true. Tess is a extremely weak character. She blatantly ignores protocol (despite other people warning her constantly), irritatingly complains about being too old and not powerful enough (she's 24), leaves crime scenes when she's supposed to be in charge, takes an underage suspect to her house after she's been banned from contact with the girl and almost gets her killed. Everyone, including Tess, gets wrapped up in science tech talk, which would be fine for a forensic novel, but the voice is exactly the same every time, which makes characters sound like parrots of each other. And instead of sciencing up the magic Battis mucks up the science, saying that magic (or materia) is really just dark matter and mages can manipulate it..magically.
While there are good ideas here, like Derrick, and the demons, and the very concept of the night children, it's lodged like a great meal between some very awkward, and at times down right annoying teeth. As a reader one can see why Tess hasn't advanced anywhere in life, and I had to wonder if Battis wasn't just writing the wrong thing, trying to hammer a more classic fantasy or horror novel into an urban fantasy shape. In short, there are better urban fantasy and paranormal procedurals out there for public and private collections.
Contains: violence, language, sexual content(less)

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Feb 11, 2012 Eperdu rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book, it was a fast read that incorporated some of my favorite paranormal characters (vampires) with the world of forensics. It was to me, what CSI would be if crossed with vampires. I think in some ways it's an attempt to ride the fame that CSI has right now combined with vampires but that's OK because it was done well. The author took subjects that were (to me) fascinating and built a world around it. I did somewhat get tired of the constant harping about Tess not being more tha...more

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Oct 25, 2010 Denise rated it 3 of 5 stars

So, I liked this book. It doesn't rank up there with my favorites for a few reasons, but it was good.
The Good: The character's voice was very steady. She knew who she was and so did the reader. I liked her quite a bit. She was cool and fallible, which is interesting to read.

The world was pretty good too. It was not a new idea, but it was done well. It felt very realistic and understandable. I also got the feeling that our view of it was scewed by Tess's experiences, which was compelling to me....more

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Mar 09, 2013 Elizabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-by-both-of-us, recycle

Night Child by Jes Battis
Book 1 of Tess Corday, Occult Special Investigator
This is not a spoiler free review.
There are two kinds of urban fantasies – the kind where a select few are involved in a secret underworld of paranormal and the kind where the world is some sort of alternate universe copy of our world where everyone knows about vampires, werewolves, fae and the like. This book is the second kind.
Tess Corday works for Occult Special Investigators – the paranormal equivalent of CSI. The wr...more Night Child by Jes Battis
Book 1 of Tess Corday, Occult Special Investigator
This is not a spoiler free review.
There are two kinds of urban fantasies – the kind where a select few are involved in a secret underworld of paranormal and the kind where the world is some sort of alternate universe copy of our world where everyone knows about vampires, werewolves, fae and the like. This book is the second kind.
Tess Corday works for Occult Special Investigators – the paranormal equivalent of CSI. The writer jumps into this world in the opening chapter as Tess arrives at a crime scene where they are investigating a murdered vampire.
In the next chapter we get a bit of character develop as we are introduced to Tess’ nightmares. These nightmares are highlighted in nearly every chapter. So they must be important – right? Just kidding, they aren't. Total red herring.
The writer quickly introduces us to some of the basics of the world by cleverly having Tess observe a class of young mages. Then we meet Tess’ boss and discover she is a screw up. I suppose that is supposed to make her endearing and human but as soon as she rolls her eyes at her boss Marcus when he warns her to straighten up, she loses me a little bit. It is one sort of thing to have that kind of attitude when the hero/heroine is freelance or a private eye but this setting is entirely different.
We meet the following cast of characters plus a few more as part of the investigation:
Derrick – a telepath, gay BFF and roommate
Tasha - coworker
Mia – teen girl who is part of the case they are working on. At just thirteen, is she a supect? A pawn? Just an innocent child caught up in an unfortunate series of events?
Lucian – necromancer and forbidden love interest for Tess.
After specifically being told to follow protocol, when the teen shows up at Tess’ doorstep instead of taking her in to get a statement, she gets personally involved in the girl’s life. Soon she is fending off a demon attack. She is told explicitly not to conduct her own investigation and then she does of course.
Later, when the little girl’s life is in danger, instead of taking her into protective custody, Tess decides to keep the little girl with her. She gets into a great deal of trouble for the things she does. This all would make sense if she suspects what we find out by the end of the book, but she doesn't. She has no good explanation for her actions through most of the book. I suppose we are supposed to trust that she has some sort of psychic ability or just good instincts. It just doesn't feel that way throughout the book. Especially since the revelation that would vindicate her choices totally blindsides her in the end.
In the last chapter of the book, the plot is revealed, the bad guy unmasked. It was almost cliché. The book reminded me more of a mediocre thriller movie or procedural crime show than an urban fantasy. Maybe it was supposed to but I found the effect unsatisfying. It wasn't bad and compared to some things I've read, fairly well written, but overall it just didn't feel fresh or unique in a very over saturated field of urban fantasies.

(less)

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Jun 26, 2012 Nguyen Phuong rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: female-detectives, female-supernaturist, forensic

Tess Corday soon realizes that there is not going to be anything ordinary about this case-not the lab results on the cause of death; not Mia Polanski, the teenage girl living at the address found in the vamp’s pocket, who may well be in thrall to a demon; and certainly not Lucien Agrado, the necromancer who is liaison to the vampire community. Agrado is supposed to be part of the solution, but Tess suspects he might be part of the problem. Under pressure from her boss, Tess is trying to go by th...more

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Feb 25, 2010 Tiffany rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, urban-fantasy, vampires, witches, 2008

After reading good reviews, I was extremely disappointed with this book. Instead of trying to sound smart and scientific, the author should have focused a bit more on the actual storyline. The buildup wasn't much of a buildup at all, leading to a very blah climax. And the attempts at descriptions though-out this book made me ready to throw it. Everything does not need to be described in a completely nonsensical paragraph. I felt like I was talking to a stoner during half the book and a scientist...more

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Apr 29, 2009 Jennie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

This was an okay book. There were some instances in which I wished the author would just shut up! He would drag some descriptions and metaphors along for paragraphs. It got really annoying/exhausting. Stick with one metaphor and go with it. Also, every time someone made a face or looked different, he didn't need to compare it to some obscure CSI medical term. We get it, move on. If another book came out in this series, I probably wouldn't read it, unless I was really bored and it was the only th...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Julia rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wanted to give this 3-1/2 stars. I didn't like it as well as Devon Monk's Allie Beckstrom series, but then I'm only one book in here. Night Child is one of those rare books which compels me to carry a map of the city (Vancouver, in this case) to identify the geography as I read.

The characters are well drawn: flawed but interesting, and not too stupid. The level of detail is appropriate. I like to know details such as what is being eaten and worn. There seems to be a lot of detail/ background...more

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Nov 28, 2010 Hannah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-paranormal

Night Child is kept going by the paranormal murder mystery aspect, and nothing else. In the mystery respect, it is interesting; enough clues are revealed to the reader that keeps you guessing and wanting to find out more. The different species are fairly standard at first glance - vampires, demons, mages - but the lore is actually rather unique. Where the book falls a little flat, however, is the characters and world-building.

That there's barely any sense of the actual world that Night Child is...more Night Child is kept going by the paranormal murder mystery aspect, and nothing else. In the mystery respect, it is interesting; enough clues are revealed to the reader that keeps you guessing and wanting to find out more. The different species are fairly standard at first glance - vampires, demons, mages - but the lore is actually rather unique. Where the book falls a little flat, however, is the characters and world-building.

That there's barely any sense of the actual world that Night Child is set in, other than the descriptions of the Vancouver downtown area. Perhaps Canadians/Americans would have less problem visualizing this? I'm not sure, but the text doesn't offer me enough to visualize the area Tess is functioning in. She hops back and forth between the office and her apartment, as well as the club where Lucian is, but none are particularly vivid.

That can be compensated for if the characters are well-developed, but unfortunately, we don't spend enough time with most of them to really care about them, let alone understand what makes them tick. Usually one can at least identify with the main character, but here I don't feel like I know Tess at all. She's described in her files (and by her boss, Marcus) as too old for her level and incapable of following rules - clocking out early, being late for work, not doing her job properly. The gaps between that and the Tess we're clearly presented with (work-obsessed and over-enthusiastic) is never explained. Tess doesn't seem to have friends outside of Derrick, and even that shows us little about what she's really like... except that she used to be a pothead. Tess is like a string of heroine stereotypes strung together slapdash - she's brave, has trouble with her boss because she's impulsive and doesn't mind bending a few rules, she's a bit of an underdog, and she has a messed-up past that haunts her. This is all well and good, but what makes Tess, Tess?

The second most developed character is Derrick, her best friend (who also happens to be gay), but there's not much else to say about him. He's a telepath, he trusts Tess completely, and... what? Also, Lucian Agrado, the necromancer, is sold as Tess' potential "love interest", but really, they actually met about... 3, brief times in the book. Tess has a few strangely real dreams about him, and there is one scene where they began to get hot and heavy, but really, there's nothing between them other than an instant, dangerous attraction. Like the others, we know very little about him. Perhaps the problem here is that there's a lot SAID about these people, but very little shown.

Other reviewers have also commented on how the text feels disjointed, and I agree. I don't have any trouble with the jargon, but I DID find Tess' dream sequences about Eve (and later Lucian) fairly jarring. Essentially, Tess is being haunted by her childhood friend's death in a fire when they were teens, and we get the impression that her powers might have caused it. I felt like I was constantly being reminded of Tess' strange powers, and that this event might be significant, but other than being a source of angst and "background" for Tess' character, I'm not sure what the whole point of it was. Similarly, I felt that the vivid dreams about Lucian might imply he has powers to invade her conscious - otherwise, how can she know so much about him when they've only met once? But not only did they turn out to be just dreams afterall, they were difficult to separate from actual meetings from Lucian. Tess' moods fluctuate so quickly between determined, depressed, angry and plain distracted that it's hard enough to follow as it is.

That said, the lore is quite fascinating, as I have mentioned. Mages, rather than being fully human, get their powers from being part-demon. The vampire-siring process and the idea of vampire genes being like a spreading virus has been done before, but the idea of necromancers also being only part-human, extremely powerful in their own right and acting as intermediaries between vampire community and human, is interesting. A good percentage of urban paranormal books featuring a female investigating mysterious events tend to use an amateur detective, while Tess here is part of an official occult investigation department. Those mystery elements are enough to interest me in checking out the second book in the series, and hopefully Battis will better develop the side characters and actually allow us to get to know Tess as a person rather than a string of stereotypes.(less)

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Nov 11, 2009 Gina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, action, mystery, paranormal-supernatural, romantic-suspense, suspense

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 19, 2008 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It took a minute to get used to some Canadian references, but I found the book to be very interesting. Sure, some of it was cliche just because of its genre. But I think that if a book is an enjoyable read, cliched characters and easy to figure out plots aren't deal-breakers.

Tess is a lower level investigator for a paranormal crime unit. It's made clear that she should be a higher level based on her experience and age, but has problems with sticking to protocol. What...more

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Sep 09, 2008 Tez rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The mystical is also believable in Jes Battis's ace début novel.

An Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, Tess Corday arrives at a crime scene where a vampire is dead. A note and photo on the vamp lead Tess to Mia Polanski, a thirteen-year-old in danger but whom also possesses great power, and Lucian Agrado, a necromancer who's liaison to the vampire community. And the action heats up as the investigation deepens...

Vancouver is a welcome diversion from the seemingly endl...more The mystical is also believable in Jes Battis's ace début novel.

An Occult Special Investigator for Vancouver's Mystical Crime Lab, Tess Corday arrives at a crime scene where a vampire is dead. A note and photo on the vamp lead Tess to Mia Polanski, a thirteen-year-old in danger but whom also possesses great power, and Lucian Agrado, a necromancer who's liaison to the vampire community. And the action heats up as the investigation deepens...

Vancouver is a welcome diversion from the seemingly endless stream of American cities in urban fantasy. Jes Battis gives a right good dose of Canadian flavour that makes the setting all the more enjoyable. (Even necromancers have to love the Canucks.) Tess may kick arse with her athame, but she also makes mistakes in life, which make her instantly relatable. Fellow investigator Derrick Spiegel may be gay, but he's not the cliché type who discusses men, shoes and fashion with the straight heroine - in other words, Derrick is refreshingly real. Children in fiction commonly are precocious, and in that circumstance Mia is no different. But unlike others, Mia doesn't grate on the nerves.

Then there's Lucian...he's rare, a character actually worth fancying. Many a time I've come across love interests whom readers are supposed to like, but I just don't get the hype. Lucian, however...yes, he's hot. But he also teaches Tess about the world at large, and herself. And he doesn't overdo that alpha male thing, either.

It's so nice to have an author willing to go the extra mile to make their world more realistic. Most writers will explain things simply as "magic", and leave it at that. But Mr Jes goes further to explain the magic, and investigative procedures, which makes the book worthier. Even demons' skulls aren't ordinary. And how necromancers came about is fascinating. Then there's the subtle, blink-and-you'll-miss-it social commentary: We monitored the police lines twenty-four hours a day for any calls that might relate to paranormal activity. Kind of like how the USA's Patriot Act monitors alleged terrorism - only less evil.

I actually did hug this after reading, and not just figuratively. I read a lot of books, both bestsellers and mid-lists, and Night Child stands above most of them. Definitely one of my favourite books of the year, and one of only a few in the urban fantasy genre. Get your hands on Night Child now, but you'll have to wait until June 2009 for a sequel.(less)

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Dec 13, 2008 Cathy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, urban, fantasy

I really wanted to like it, but I just didn't. I enjoyed the characters but there were just too many inconsistencies. There are tons of demons and mages in the world, and demon clubs, and professional organizations in every city that mirror the police in size and technology to deal with crimes, but normal people have no idea that any of this is real. The lead character disobeys every rule of her profession, takes a crime witness/lead back to her apartment and continues to recklessly endanger her...more

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May 12, 2012 Tina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, magic, vampire, urban-fantasy

Tess Corday is an Occult Special Investigator (OSI) with the Vancouver Mystical Crime Lab, which operates under the auspices of the Central Occult Regulation Enterprise (CORE). Once you get past all the acronyms and who reports to whom, the story really takes off. Magic abounds in this first book of the OSI series, with vampires, demons, necromancers, paranormal investigators, and trained forensic crime-scene-sniffing animals. I'm looking forward to the next book.

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About Jes Battis

Jes Battis was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1979. In addition to writing fiction, he has also published academic books and a variety of scholarly articles in the areas of fantasy, television, and queer studies.

He earned his PhD in English from Simon Fraser University in the Summer of 2007, and is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the City University of New York, specializing i...more

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