This review contains some spoilers for the Fever series
If you haven't already read the Fever series - perhaps you are thinking of trying this out as a sample before reading - I would highly doubt you'll get much from this apart from a bunch of series spoilers. This could work as a standalone story but I think part of it's charm and part of the reader's ability to care is based on the assumption that you already know and love these characters. Seeing as this describes me perfectly, I enjoyed this little mini addition to the story a lot.
It took me a while to be certain exactly when this is set but it turns out it's somewhere in the middle of Shadowfever. I'd actually forgotten about this but Mac has already met the Fear Dorcha in Ryodan's bar, he was the strange Unseelie creature without a face who made Mac feel like her mind was being drained before he was told to leave her alone. He's a creepy little bugger, that's for sure, and he brings with him some interesting new Seelie mythology to add to the mix.
You know, I used to think that comics/graphic novels were so breasty because they were mostly read by teenage boys, but seeing as this is predominantly one for the ladies and Mac is still like a walking mammary gland, I can only assume that there is some rule in the graphic novel publishing world that prohibits normal-looking boobs. Strange. At least they got the t-shirt spot on:
Even though Mac and Barrons weren't quite how I pictured them, it was great to see two of my favourite characters again. Plus, one thing they did do completely right was the loaded banter between the two of them. This story is set after the Unseelie rape and Barrons has, ahem, come to the rescue, but it's also set before the end of Shadowfever so the tension between them is still running high and Barrons doesn't miss the opportunity to extract Velvet's name from Mac's tongue his own way:
So, probably not one for newbies, but it should certainly satisfy existing fans' cravings a little until Iced: A Dani O'Malley Novel comes out.
1
