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Jul292011
Kitty Norville Month – BOOK REVIEW: ‘Kitty’s Big Trouble’ by Carrie Vaughn
by Carolyn • Posted in 3 Star Reviews, Authors U-Z, Book Reviews, Carrie Vaughn, Gollancz, Kitty Norville Month, Reviews by Carolyn, Tor US, Urban Fantasy
Title: Kitty’s Big Trouble (Kitty Norville #9)
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Publisher: Gollancz (UK) | Tor (US)
Publication Date: July 2011 (UK) | June 2011 (US)
Paperback: 307 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Review copy from publisher
Reviewed by: Carolyn
RATING: 6/10 – good
SUMMARY:
Kitty Norville is back and in more trouble than ever. Her recent run-in with werewolves traumatized by the horrors of war has made her start wondering how long the US government might have been covertly using werewolves in combat. Have any famous names in our own history might have actually been supernatural? She’s got suspicions about William Tecumseh Sherman. Then an interview with the right vampire puts her on the trail of Wyatt Earp, vampire hunter.
But her investigations lead her to a clue about enigmatic vampire Roman and the mysterious Long Game played by vampires through the millennia. That, plus a call for help from a powerful vampire ally in San Francisco, suddenly puts Kitty and her friends on the supernatural chessboard, pieces in dangerously active play. And Kitty Norville is never content to be a pawn…
REVIEW:
“Kitty’s Big Trouble” is the 9th book in the ‘Kitty Norville‘ series and it’s still going pretty strong. I continue to find all the characters interesting and most of the time, likable. However, I didn’t quite like the plot in this one as much as I have in previous books. There’s a lot going on with many different threads. It’s not difficult to understand as Vaughn does a great job at keeping everything easy but it did get a little tiresome with jumping from one storyline to another.
Kitty is on the hunt for another story for her talk-radio show and is looking into the history of different famous people from the past. She finds some interesting facts about them. She’s also helping Anastasia, along with Ben and Cormac, in the quest to find the Dragon’s Pearl, where the gang come face to face with Roman, a two thousand year old vampire, who they met for the first time in ‘Kitty Raises Hell‘.
I felt a slight atmosphere change in this book, it just doesn’t have the same feel as the preceding books. I’m not sure if it’s because it contained a lot more magic, or if it was due to the inclusion of Gods and mythology, but there is a definite shift in tone. And although there’s plenty of action as always, which I usually love, this time I found my mind drifting, I just wasn’t as engaged.
Even after all this time, I still find it difficult to believe in Kitty as a warrior, a true alpha, as she doesn’t fight with weapons, has no magical ability and hardly ever fights as a werewolf, therefore all that’s left is her human side, which surely has no hope against a two thousand year old vampire. And yet Roman seems concerned by her and her ability to thwart him. Kitty manages to stop evil in its tracks just by being there and being her sarcastic, snarky self.
Also, what is happening to Cormac? This is not how I imagined his character to end up. He’s a bounty hunter and yet he now feels stripped of that ruggedness I loved so much in earlier books. I’m not sure I like this turn of events for him and want him to be the guy I met in ‘Kitty and the Midnight Hour‘.
I’m also not sure about the inclusion of Gods – there are enough supernaturals in this series: werewolves, vampires, demons, psychics, wizards, ghosts, magicians, without having to add mythology and Gods to the equation – this is just overload. Although I must admit I did like Sun – he was pretty dishy 
VERDICT:
Despite “Kitty’s Big Trouble” not being the strongest book in the series, there’s still plenty to keep the interest of Kitty fans. I’m intrigued to find out what happens next for Kitty and her band of merry men, and I look forward to reading ‘Kitty Steals the Show‘ when released summer 2012.
You can find out more about the author here:
Books in Series Order:
9. Kitty’s Big Trouble
This book counts towards the following BCC reading challenges:
3 Comments
I have to admit, I never really felt like the Kitty Norville books were my "type" of thing; but after reading a few of your reviews I'm thinking I'll have to add them to my list of reads!
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This is the only Kitty book I haven't read yet – but I have a copy so will make a start this weekend!
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There are so many of these! I'm always on the look out for excellent book series that have run on for a while, that way I can gorge myself on them without fear of running out for ages! Thanks to Kitty Norville month I will picking up the first book very soon.
Thank You!
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