Author: SJ Hollis
Publisher: Uninvited Black Cat
Rating: WORTHY!
This novel was an easy read. It lasts about four hours according to my Kindle's count-down which appeared from nowhere some time ago at the bottom of my screen with neither warning nor explanation. It used to tell me how many minutes to the end of the chapter; now it sullenly advises me how many hours remain until to the end of the novel, like it's annoyed with me both for taking up so much of its valuable time, and also irritated by my insistent tapping its right cheek every few seconds. Don't you just hate it when your technology branches out on its own like that, doing stuff without so much as a by-your-leave? Microsoft excels (particularly with its spreadsheets!) at that sort of thing, preventing Access, trying to have the last Word, sticking its PowerPoint sharp end first in your ass while you twiddle your thumbs (or whatever you're wont to twiddle) in Paintbrush waiting for your operating system to go 'Bing!' and let you know you can finally get something done on the device which you thought you owned, but which, according to Microsoft, you empirically don't. This is why I run Ubuntu on my computer at home. It, too, can be really irritating, but it's better than Windows. At least at home I don't to deal with patiently watching the hourglass, wondering what surreptitious machinations Microsoft is perpetrating in my face behind my back.
This is a particularly appropriate introduction to Bounty Hunter, because Kai Koson, the male protagonist, is subject to the whims of fate in much the same way as we are when our computer takes over from us. He's towed along behind his uncle Galway (who may or may not be a relative), a fierce and tough protector who has taken care of Kai ever since he was a child and his parents died. Why is he on the run? Because he's a witch in a world haunted by demons who came through a witch-initiated rip in the sky long ago, and who take an immediate and very personal dislike to him for reasons he can only bemoan and ponder.
It's during one of these encounters that Kai meets Sam, a bounty hunter with a ship of her own. He turns down her offer to join her crew, but reconsiders his refusal when his uncle takes him to meet a senior witch, and Kai overhears something which he doesn't at all like. So off he goes, leaving his uncle behind and chasing his dream into the wild black yonder, seeking bountiful bounties. Over the course of his long journey he learns who his friends are. He learns deep secrets about his uncle, and about the demons, he learns why magic is so hard to come by. He learns why he was never taught to use his own. And he ends up somewhere that he never expected to go with a huge bounty of his very own.
Talking of which, I had wondered about the wisdom of the choice of title for this novel. Bounty Hunter speaks strongly of the wild west, but it doesn't really speak sci-fi to me. I asked SJ Hollis about this, and she explained it this way:
The title was there from the very beginning. I was searching for something to write about, and Sarah Rees Brennan posted on her LiveJournal that a place to search for ideas is way outside your genre. She got her idea for Demon's Lexicon, I believe, from a documentary about wolves (her book has nothing to do with wolves). So I watched lots of TV and read lots of books constantly searching for something I could twist in a YA story. Then one day I watched Dog the Bounty Hunter and thought, hmmm, teenagers, bounty hunters. In space. WITH MAGIC! WIN!
The cover concept was a group effort between me, my sister and her partner and then my illustrator Lawrence Mann. We came up with Kai's hand holding the Earth, his blood dripping, and Lawrence, from my descriptions of Kai, the demons and Laon, put together the rest.
So I can't argue with that! Frankly, now I have to wonder about how her mind works, but then she does describe herself as "slightly odd" in her bio!
This novel has been described as influenced by "Buffy, Stargate, Firefly, House, Doctor Who, Big Bang Theory, Sherlock and Supernatural". I agree with the Buffy element, in that there's demon fighting, but this is a different kettle of fish to Buffy, a show I never watched because I detested it, so don't let that put you off! I don't recall reading anything which reminded me of Stargate, but that's another show I never watched, even though I loved the movie which spawned it. I agree with the Firefly: it's very much in the mould of a cowboy/Sci-Fi mash-up. I cannot see any comparison with House, a TV show I really loved. I agree with the Doctor Who as far as the 'bigger on the inside' goes, but that was only one instance; otherwise it has nothing in common with Britain's long-running (50th anniversary: 2013!) sci-fi series - there is no time travel involved, for example. I saw no elements of Big Bang Theory jumping out. This is a show of which I'm not particularly fond, but of which I've seen several episodes (my kids love it!). I saw nothing which jumped out at me and cried Sherlock, but kudos to Hollis for mentioning it! That's another show which is coming back in the fall for what's likely to be its last run. Supernatural is on par with Buffy as far as I am concerned - my wife loves it but I can't stand it, so don't ask me to comment on that!
I honestly think this novel is done a disservice when it's compared with TV shows, because it's strong enough to stand on its own. It's unique in my reading experience in the breadth of its constituent elements, and I was most impressed by the basic plot and by the execution of the tale. There was humor (Hollis seems to have a fondness for fish!), friendship, betrayal, forgiveness, and many twists and up-endings of status quo. It was an enjoyable read which entertained me throughout, and the satisfying ending made me glad I had read it. This is definitely a WORTHY read!
