Strange Practice, by Vivian Shaw

[rachelmanija]

A charming urban fantasy about the unusual practice of London doctor Greta Helsing, who secretly treats the ills of the undead. This is the old-school type of urban fantasy (our world but with supernatural beings), not the later one (supernatural love triangles). There is a romance, but it's extremely understated, the consummation occurs off-page if it occurs at all, and is not what the story is about. The medical details, as far as I could tell, were accurate.

Like many urban fantasies, Strange Practice has a thriller plot--there's some glowy-eyed monks who are murdering the undead--but what makes it notable are the assortment of quirky characters, both human and not, the unusual premise, the generally light tone, and, despite some gory bits, the complete lack of grimdark. Greta is dedicated to her profession and her patients, and is surrounded by people who care very much about her and mean well in general.

A lot of the book consists of her found family and patients--vampires of various species, ghouls and an adorable ghoullet, and my favorite character, a telepath of unknown origin whom she essentially inherited from her doctor father and who has been a reassuring presence in the back of her mind ever since--hanging out together and making each other mugs of tea or blood (virgin's, for vampyres.) It's really sweet.

If you liked Nick O'Donohoe's Crossroads books about a veterinarian in fantasyland but could have done without the genocide and animal harm, this book's for you.

Strange Practice (A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel)

Comments

[slashmarks]

By coincidence I just finished reading this today. I agree, I really appreciated the atmosphere and the lack of grimdark, and the characters. I found the romance a little irritating mostly because I did not believe it at all, but it was sufficiently understated not to be too distracting.

In general the ethos of the universe was... very refreshing, very much a relief. In so many books, what Greta did with that particular monk would have been punished. I also just loved Ruthven. (Latte art!)

If I had one complaint it was the total lack of present female characters other than Greta. I really hope we get to see Nadezhda and Anna in person in the next books.

[rachelmanija]

I also found the romance unconvincing, but luckily there was barely any of it. I'd also like more female characters, or more of the others that there are.

You're so right about the storyline with the monk. I also really liked what happened with the issue of absolution. For a book with lines like, "Greta was always fascinated by her mummy cases," it was surprisingly moving.

[sholio]

LOL, I don't even remember a romance in this book, which I guess shows how much of an impression it made on me. I just remember all the stuff with Greta and her supernatural friends. Who was the love interest?

[rachelmanija]

Varney the Vampyre. It was kind of blink your eyes of polished tin and you miss it.

[sholio]

Ha, okay, I remember it now that you say that. Yeah, that just slid right out of my head. Most of what I remember (other than Greta herself) involves Ruthven, the telepath, and the monks.

[slashmarks]

Yeah. I kept expecting there to be a mandatory point about how Judgment Is Necessary or something with either the monk or Varney, but it didn't come, and it was such a relief - the emphasis on the fact that what happened was an improvement, that no one was irreversibly damned.

Though I was a little irritated by the afterlife treatment and that took away a little bit from the philosophical points.