chez_jae

Madhouse by Rob Thurman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Not even a week went by, and I cracked and gobbled up book three in the "Cal Leandros" urban fantasy series, by Rob Thurman. This one was appropriately titled Madhouse. As in the previous books, this is told in first-person point of view from our favorite snarky half-Auphe.

When vampire Promise brings a potential case to Cal and Niko's attention, none of them could have foreseen the nightmare they would be stepping into. An exhibit featuring serial killers at the Met is short one killer when the infamous cannibal, Sawney Beane, is resurrected from his ashes and escapes into the city. With all of New York for a hunting ground, pickings are great for a monster of Sawney's caliber. Niko and Cal hadn't meant to get in so deep, but there's no one better qualified in the city than they are to take care of the problem. Sawney, however, is only one of their problems. Cal's newfound ability to create gates is exacting a heavy toll, someone is out to kill Robin Goodfellow, Cal is still angsting over Georgina, and there's that matter of his pesky virginity. The brothers have one another's back, and this time, they have Robin's too. Cal is making friends, and he doesn't like it.

Holy shit, what a punch to the gut this one was. More gory and violent than the first two books (if you can imagine), more fraught with emotion (to Caliban's immense horror), and just...wow. I knocked this back in two evenings. Could have done it in one if I'd wanted to short myself about two hours of sleep. I refrained. We get to see more of Robin and Promise, along with an interesting character from Robin's past. Niko is his usual Zen ninja self, and poor Cal is just so flawed and damaged, but he keeps on keepin' on. The author could have almost split the two main plot points into two separate books (More Cal books? Yes please!), but each helped move the story along. I am proud of myself for figuring out who was behind Robin's misfortunes, long before even brainiac Niko did, although he provided the clue. Sawney was a force of nature, and poor Cal and Niko kept getting their asses handed to them each time they tried to take him on. If ever any mad monster needed to be eliminated, it was Sawney. Guh.

Favorite lines:
♦ Niko Leandros: As brothers went, he was a good one, despite a horrifying obsession with health food, meditation, and things generally not revolving around pizza and beer. But we all have our crosses to bear. Mine was to be smacked when I wasn't with the program and his was to be over-educated, as self-aware as the Dalai Lama, and to keep my ass alive. Poor bastard.
♦ "I keep telling you, if you'd go with the whole trophy boyfriend thing, life would be a lot easier."
Is it wrong that when Cal said that, I thought at first he meant Niko should take on Robin as a boyfriend...only to realize he meant Niko should set himself up as Promise's trophy boyfriend? Damn it, Cal. You're letting me down, here.
♦ Niko was a teacher's assistant at NYU (pity the kid who walked in late to one of his classes - decapitation is a big deterrent for tardiness).
( Cutting the rest, because yes, I quoted the whole damned book )

This was my least favorite of the series I've read thus far. Don't get me wrong; it was magnificent, but rife with angst. My heart broke for Cal. Still awarding this one five stars.

cal