Bloodlines
Author: Peter Hartog
Rating: 9.0 AMAZING
What’s it about?: Welcome to Empire City, where magic and technology co-exist, and humanity endures behind walls of stone and spell-forged steel. A place where danger lurks around every street corner, and anything is possible.When former hotshot homicide detective Tom “Doc” Holliday is recruited to join Special Crimes, he trades in his boring desk job for a second chance to do what he does best: hunt down killers.
“I’d shot people before, and as far as I and the law were concerned, they damned well deserved it.”
I took about a week off from reading during the holidays. Having completed only a few chapters of Bloodlines, I figured I'd start over to get myself re-engaged with the story. However, I realized that throughout my book vacation, Bloodlines already had its hooks in me. As weird as this sounds, while visiting friends and family, I kept thinking about the girl drained of blood, the dark futuristic dystopian setting with hints of magic and the paranormal. I wanted to get back to this book. I knew that once I finally did, I'd be in for a treat. Bloodlines by Peter Hartog is an amazing first entry in The Guardian of Empire City series. Whether it was the perfectly implemented genre blending plot or the deep and genuine characters, Bloodlines always has something just below the surface that kept me riveted until the very satisfying end.
“While I find your race to be irrational, incorrigible and, at times, quite dangerous, I wanted to show him how the human spirit remains indomitable despite the horrors of your past.”
Bloodlines’ story is unique in the sense that it blends science fiction and paranormal with a hint of magic that fits nicely into its setting, Empire City. None of the genres that Hartog plays with feel overused or out of place. To weave these genres together and have it not only be cohesive, but compelling, is no easy feat, and nothing short of incredible. The story starts with an investigation of a girl found in an alley drained of blood. Enter Detective Tom “Doc” Holliday and crew to investigate. I would recommend jumping into this story with as little knowledge of it as possible. I feel like it will really enhance your experience. Bloodlines kept surprising me with every new revelation of its wild investigation. Several hooks are thrown at you within the first few chapters, and each one I found intriguing. It is a bit tropey in the sense that Detective Tom Holliday is, "the only man for the job," as the defamed detective gets pulled from his department of pencil-pushing to solve the case. However, It didn't bother me much considering the overarching narrative presented was interesting. I'm so pleased that I enjoyed the investigation just as much as the outcomes. There have been many times while reading murder mystery books that I found myself just wanting to find out who the killer is and not really enjoying the ride it takes to get there. This is not the case with Bloodlines. I loved every moment of the investigation just as much as the conclusion. Hartog spins quite a story that had me guessing and grasping at straws throughout. You never get too comfortable, with something always going on beneath the surface providing a continuous feeling of unsettlement. Holliday and the team's vexing case had a natural progression and evolution. Nothing felt tacked-on or forced. I really like the way Hartog grounded everything by making the investigation go through a more normal procedure by following up on leads, interviewing witnesses, and collecting evidence. The author never got too carried away into the crazy world he presented. No matter how outlandish the events became, it somehow always felt believable and cemented in reality. This is not an easy task and I really appreciate his ability to make it all work.
“You can rationalize all you want about logic, doing the dirty work, following the leads. But there’s more to you than meets the eye, and we know it.”
The characters within Bloodlines are centered around the main investigative crew of Holliday, Deacon, Besim, and Leyla. It's all centered around Tom “Doc” Holliday, whom there is always more to than meets the eye. I promised myself I would remain objective to Holliday, after finding out that he’s a coffee fiend. I may not have succeeded as I ended up loving him as the main protagonist. He has a deep and checkered past that haunts him. It's a cliche. Albeit, a very well thought out, well-implemented, and well-written one. My thoughts on Holliday weren’t always glowing though. "I feel like the author tells us about Detective Tom Holliday's past, but doesn’t show who he really is. Backstory always helps to provide context but it can't make up for lack of character depth." (roasted book reviews)-This is a note I took during the opening chapters of the book. To say it didn't age well would be an understatement. Detective Tom Holliday was slowly unraveled throughout the book with depth and further development that made me want to follow him wherever the series leads. This is just to show the type of journey Hartog took me on throughout Bloodlines. It has never made me so happy to be so wrong about a character. I usually just delete notes like these upon completion, if my opinions have changed. However, I thought it was important to show, in order to truly appreciate the author for Detective Tom Holliday's well-paced arc. The only real issue I had was that his inner monologue points out some obvious on-the-nose questions regarding his redemption that I thought was unnecessary. I wish that the author had let things play out and not felt the need to hold the reader's hand. What surprised me is that in addition to Holliday, all of the other characters grew on me as well. I found each individual quirky and intriguing from the start, but didn't find them particularly likable. I was concerned that if this continued, the plot hooks that were so deeply entrenched would start to slip free and I would lose interest. Hartog began slowly implementing character development using a slew of delivery methods all wrapped in genuine heart and charm. By the end of the book, I cared deeply for every one of these characters. Most surprisingly, Deacon who I actively disliked from the start. Although I would have liked to see more of his backstory for further development, he ended up being an endearing character. Furthermore, everyone within Bloodlines has their own personalities and inner workings that make them unique. From coffee addiction and chain-smoking, to a quirky medical examiner's brilliant fascination with death, the devil is in the details with the characters from Bloodlines, and they all are memorable in their own weird way. I think that Besim is a very interesting character and not just because she’s non-human. Her different perspectives and "abilities" compliment Holliday very well. The author provides personality throughout, using little head tilts and rhythmic tonal speech patterns that really brought her to life. Just like Holliday, there is much more to her than she lets on and it's these touches that made her stand out, further ensuring that she is not just a one-note sidekick. I was concerned that the introduction of Leyla, whose character I will not spoil, was going to hurt the dynamic within the balanced crew. Leyla turned out to be a great addition that held her own next to the other demanding personalities. I found that the tension within the story began to rise for me but not in the way I had expected. I began to care much more for this team of investigators than I realized. Yes, there may be a murderer on the loose with a looming evil conspiracy, but I just didn't want anything to happen to my crack team of misfits. Hartog’s character development, in case you couldn’t tell already, was fantastic.
“I was a drowning man in a desert, unable to escape the prison of my own failures.”
The first thing I noticed about Peter Hartog's writing that I absolutely loved is the snappy, snarky and matter-of-fact dialogue. It kept me engaged. The dialogue always stayed true to the characters which helped further their development. Unfortunately, all isn't perfect as some of the dialogue and wisecracks didn't work for me. Particularly around action heavy scenes. There were a few lines that didn't land and took me out of the moment. Injecting levity into situations like these isn't a bad choice, I just think some lines were implemented poorly. It's to be expected though anytime you have wisecracking characters. It can’t all be gold. Overall, I really enjoyed Hartog's writing. Even though the setting is so futuristic, the tone of his writing has more of an old-school noir feel to it. These contrasting elements really worked for me and pulled me into the setting and the murderous plot. The neon beehive that is Manhattan, and the various locations Holliday visits give off a dystopian futuristic atmosphere. The author does a great job at describing the environments as the robotic lifts move Holiday past the holographic advertisements all propelled by electromagnetic energy. Empire City is vividly brought to life even if the future is a bleak one. The author's detailed descriptions of people and their physical attributes is great. Considering that Holiday is a detective, it makes sense both as a plot device and serves to paint a clear picture of Empire City and its inhabitants. This style of world building was a perfect fit for the characters and the tone of the book. The author's word choices and matter-of-fact depictions of events pushed a distinctive detective feel that pulled me in. Hartog injects additional character and personality wherever he can, which I really appreciated. For instance, when entering Armin's Coffee House you're greeted with string lights, rusty pipes, a tower of multicolored mugs, and a menu consisting of a Triple Mocha Pumpkin Spike Polka Latte and a Hazelnut Yo Mama's Tea. You get the idea. The point is, these things all make a difference in the creation of a lived-in world that's believable. In this sense, Hartog is triumphant. Writing an investigative story has to be so difficult with all of its branching paths and twists and turns. Hartogs' skilled writing techniques keep you invested. Every time I felt like the investigation hit a wall, he addresses it in one way or another. This gave me the feeling that I was still making progress even though the investigation may have stalled out a bit. It's easy to get bogged down right along with the detectives in a murder mystery. Hartog's excellent writing kept me not only invested, but engrossed throughout.
“Holy sonofamotherbloodygoddamnfuck! Ow!”
I couldn’t be happier starting off my 2023 with a book like Bloodlines. The incredibly realized setting, memorable characters brimming with personality that continue to grow, and an intriguing investigation made this a phenomenal read for me. The skill on display juggling genres, wisecracking characters, murders, and conspiracies is extraordinary. I’m so thrilled the way it all came together perfectly with an ending that left me extremely satisfied and eager to jump into the next installment. Bloodlines, by Peter Hartog is an amazing debut novel that I highly recommend.