Review::Wicked as They Come by Delilah S. Dawson

Wicked as They Come by Delilah S. Dawson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wicked as They Come by Delilah S. Dawson

This novel is listed as a steam-punk-paranormal romance. And though I did get paranormal romance out of it and there was mention of dirigibles and even Victorian like dress and some clockwork mechanics I would hardly want to call it steam-punk. But I might be a little unfair here because I'm not sure how well defined the genre is. What I do take away from this novel is that it's a bit like crossing Dracula with Somewhere in time and throwing in a bit of Alice in wonderland with Dorthy of Oz and I suppose that that's how we come up with blood sucking bunny rabbits.

Letitia 'Tish' Paisley Everett is an interesting character. She wants to be her own woman and escapes the smothering relationships she's had with men. And she does come off as a strong independent character. She just seems to be a magnet for controlling men. As a home care nurse Tish has been able to stay close to her grandmother helping to care for her while she cares for her regular patients. As the story begins with Tish at one of her recently deceased patients house[They are all old and infirm and on their death beds or they wouldn't need her] whose family is selling off her belongings and Tish has stopped to browse to perhaps pick up something to remember her patient. She runs across an old locket inside a book. She manages to have a medical emergency that calls her away and she ends up not paying for the locket. And so begins the strange journey.

When Tish finally opens the locket she sees the small portrait of man and her hand is burned by a red fluid which may end up being magically enhance blood from Criminy Stain. This takes Tish through the proverbial rabbit hole into an new world and another universe. Having arrived in the new world naked proves to compound Tish's problems. Criminy is a bludman which is this worlds equivalent to a vampire without some of the usual quirks of vampire. And the world itself is full of other blood sucking creatures which account for the Victorian like dress as a means of keeping her fully covered from the gnashing needle sharp teeth. Criminy is there to greet her and he seems to think he owns her, which is the last thing that Tish wants to hear. But Criminy is patient and really seems willing to give her all the space she needs while he waits for her to come around.

As Tish acclimates she discovers she is a glancer--she sees peoples past and future--and fortunately Criminy runs a circus of a sort and she fits right in with a paying job. Tish also discovers that it's possible that people who are in coma's on her world might be here just the same as she is. She also discovers that when she sleeps on this world she wakes in her own and vice versa, which means there will be no rest for her. With all the wild animals in this world having turned to blud-creatures the world is full of mechanical animals.[The only safe animals.] And the real villains in the book are the normal people who are trying to destroy all Blud-creatures including the Blud-people.

Though Tish is fascinated with Criminy and the rest of his circus, she primarily wants to get back to where she can take care of her grandmother which means she needs to either find a way to stop coming to the new world or find some way to coexist in both world without driving her self mad. But there is more evil afoot in the land of Bludmen and Pinkies and when that interferes with Tish's plans she and Criminy embark on a quest.

And once again Delilah S. Dawson has found a way to thoroughly entertain her readers.

I would recommend this to all Fantasy Fans and this should fit nicely into anyone's collection of Steam-punk as we know it these days. Any Young Adult would have to be the mature type.It's a world of Vampires and Magic out of step with ours about a hundred years.

J.L. Dobias



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