December 24, 2007
This mélange of mystery, dark fantasy and over-the-top gothic horror marks a dramatic departure from Meaney’s existential SF epic, the Nulapeiron Sequence. In Tristopolis, where corpses are incinerated by the thousands to produce the “necroflux” that sustains the city and its undead inhabitants, police lieutenant Donal Riordan learns that a disturbingly well-organized cult is killing the world’s most talented artists. Tasked with keeping a visiting opera diva safe, the intrepid cop soon finds himself caught up in a sweeping necromantic conspiracy that could involve the very highest ranks of government. Meaney makes extensive use of dark colors and gothic imagery (“a golden clock, formed of interlocking metal bones”; “the bat-winged ambulance”), and Tristopolis is at times more fascinating than its inhabitants or the relatively conventional hard-boiled story line. With many plot threads left untied or simply ignored, readers will have to wait until future installments to pass judgment on this ambitious saga.
February 15, 2008
In a city based around death, murder still stands out as a crimeparticularly when the murderer is targeting celebrities. Police Lieutenant Donal Riordan's task is to prevent any more murders in the vast necropolis known as Tristopolis. Together with a "para-live" female agent who holds a forbidden attraction for him, they search through a world filled with zombies, spirit slaves, and other strange beings, some living, some not quite alive. Dark, humorous, and in places, poignant, Meaney's ("Sharp Tang; To Hold Infinity") series opener blends gothic urban fantasy with sf and horror to create a uniquely atmospheric detective thriller that belongs in most libraries.
Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
February 15, 2008
Meaneys latest novel straddles the line between gothic fantasy and detective fiction in creating an alternate world in which humans coexist with mythical creatures and a cultlike underworld that feeds, literally, on death. Police lieutenant Donal Riordan faces perhaps the most challenging assignment of his career when hes asked to provide protective services to, of all people, an opera diva visiting his native city of Tristopolis. A handful of celebrity artisteshave already been dispatched under mysterious circumstances, and Riordan quickly realizes that the murders are only the gruesome preliminary clues to a much larger conspiracy involving Tristopolis death-obsessed ruling elite. Before he can track down the lead conspirators, however, he becomes involved in an unlikely allianceand steamy romancewith an undead military commander who is already deeply engaged with the enemy in a chesslike battle in which Riordan is merely a pawn. Readers who enjoy this sort of fanciful, macabre romp can look forward to its sequel, Black Blood, slated for publication later this year.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)