Dreadful Company (Dr. Greta van Helsing # 2), by Vivian Shaw

[rachelmanija]

The second and equally delightful (thankfully, less gory) novel in a series of urban fantasies about an doctor to supernatural beings.

Greta is in Paris for a very specialized medical conference when she’s kidnapped by an edgelord vampire with poor fashion sense and a lot of unhappy minions, kept in a dank catacomb, and fed on nothing but coffee and chocolate croissants. (The person tasked with feeding her isn’t very imaginative.) If you’ve read the first book, I don’t think it’s spoilery to say that her compassionate and earnest presence makes the sad minions begin to rethink their life choices.

Though I missed Greta’s interactions with her usual crew, that crew is present, just separated from her for most of the book. I still find her romance with Varney the Vampyre completely and utterly inexplicable given the chemistry between her and Ruthven, but Varney is very sweet, there are several likable new characters, and the general atmosphere of people supporting each other, caring for each other, and trying to do the right thing is still present. Also, there are a whole lot of absolutely fucking adorable teeny monsters.

There is some death and violence, but this is overall an extremely cozy, comforting book that gives you hope for the world.

The first book, Strange Practice (A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel), is currently on Kindle for $2.99.

Dreadful Company (A Dr. Greta Helsing Novel)

Comments

[bironic]

This series sounds fun! Adding to my library queue.

[davidgillon]

Guess that answers what I'm reading next. Currently reading Charles Stross's The Delirium Brief, which is not remotely a comforting read.

[sovay]

If you’ve read the first book, I don’t think it’s spoilery to say that her compassionate and earnest presence makes the sad minions begin to rethink their life choices.

Well, that sounds delightful.

[rachelmanija]

It is extremely delightful.

[jenett]

I am expecting to finish this tonight, and have been loving it, much like I adored the first one.

I definitely agree on the "her compassionate and earnest presence makes the sad minions begin to rethink their life choices" count, and the adorable teeny monsters.

[rachelmanija]

Which monster is your favorite? I think the hair monsters would best pets in RL, but the well monsters are the cutest in description. I picture a cross between a frog and a lemur.

[jenett]

Ooh, hard question.

I love the idea of the well monsters, but I think the hair monsters would be absolutely adorable in person, and I'm loving the descriptions of the range of colouring.

(I'm also finding the whistler fascinating and endearing.)

She's got a really good knack for different cultural pieces in the worldbuilding, and what things are customary and how they work, and sketching it out briefly in a way that I really admire as a writing technique above and beyond enjoying the story.

[rushthatspeaks]

The hair monsters won for me because of the image Greta has of Varney wandering across his lands, Ye Olde Hunting Squire, with the pack of pedigreed hair monsters at his heels. AND THEN HE BASICALLY DOES.

Have come to the conclusion that apparently Ruthven is Just Too Gay, but would have liked that spelled out more in the book where he gets a love interest and everything.

[rachelmanija]

That was SO CUTE.

I always figured Ruthven was bi, based on how he acts around Greta. Is a love interest for Ruthven planned that you know of, or is that speculation?

[rushthatspeaks]

In the preview of the next book Greta thinks of Grisaille explicitly as Ruthven's boyfriend.

Which is why Grisaille moved into Ruthven's house. I would have liked it spelled out more at the time, but I am about eighty percent sure they're together at the end of this book, and if not that then between this book and the next. They do a lot of the really subtle stuff queer people do to figure out if each other are queer and available when they first meet.

[rushthatspeaks]

The way it goes down is that Grisaille is introduced speaking Polari, which annoys the Head Emo Vampire, so we know Grisaille is queer, and I think the text also refers to him as gay at a couple of other points. Then he mutters something in Polari which Ruthven reacts to, so we know Ruthven speaks Polari, which is... pretty definitive as a sexual orientation marker unless you are explicitly an academic/languages geek.

Then when Ruthven is trying to cheer Grisaille up about the possibility of there being a life after all this, Ruthven slips into Polari, which Grisaille reacts to with shock and delight-- I didn't look up the exact word Ruthven uses, but I assume it would not be used without the presence of attraction, because after that Ruthven is basically like 'you caught me' (demeanor, not dialogue) and Grisaille just moves into Ruthven's house.

On the one hand, I would love all this to have been more explicit; on the other hand, I suspect Greta noticed precisely none of it, and I kind of liked seeing a culture I know very little about working in the way it was designed to work? Everything about Polari fascinates and delights me, and I suspect that's where the author is too. Hopefully the whole thing will be more obvious next book.

[rachelmanija]

Oh, man, I seem to consistently be confused by the romances in these books. I got that Grisaille was gay but not that he and Ruthann actually hooked up. Normally I would notice when characters move in together but this is one series where it seemed plausible that anyone might invite someone to do so out of sheer kindness.

[grammarwoman]

I still find her romance with Varney the Vampyre completely and utterly inexplicable given the chemistry between her and Ruthven

THANK YOU. Or the chemistry between her and pretty much any other character. Varney is such a wet blanket in all of our POV peeks of his internal state, and we never get a clear picture of what sparks her interest in him. I think it gets mentioned once that he has a great voice? *SIGH*

I just finished the book off this morning, and found it charming in almost every other respect, with a slight "buh" for the explanation of everyone's distraction. I was expecting something else, but now I guess we'll see what's being built up to (if anything) in the next volume in the series.

[rachelmanija]

He has eyes the color of polished tin. POLISHED TIN.

I apparently found the explanation of everyone's distraction so forgettable that I have already forgotten it. TBH I'm not reading these for the plot.

[cyphomandra]

Ooh. I made a note of the author after you reviewed the first one but never tracked it down - have just requested both through the library.

[vass]

Ooh! *heads to library website*

[melebeth]

Oh, that looks GOOOOOOOOD. *buys for when she finishes Leviathan Wakes*

Oh, didn't realise it was already out - so many good books this month

[estara]

The second and equally delightful (thankfully, less gory) novel

Oh yay!

I still find her romance with Varney the Vampyre completely and utterly inexplicable given the chemistry between her and Ruthven,

THIS, totally. But if she stuck with writing it in the second entry, too, I guess we're out of luck... I hope Varney continues to grow mentally a bit.

Re: Oh, didn't realise it was already out - so many good books this month

[rachelmanija]

He acquires a menagerie of adorable little monsters. I call that character growth.