Vintage Soul by David Niall Wilson
The DeChance Chronicles #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Formats: Hardcover & eBook, 233 pages
Published: December 9, 2009 by Five Stars
ISBN: 978-1594147579
Received From: Author in eArc format
Read Chapter One
Donovan DeChance is a collector of ancient manuscripts and books, a practicing mage, and a private investigator. When, despite the finest in natural and supernatural security, a sexy and well-loved, three hundred year old lady vampire is kidnapped right out from under her lover's nose, Donovan is called in to investigate.
He soon finds that there is much more to the case than a simple abduction when an unknown intruder invades his home and steals a very rare, very ancient manuscript. There will be no ransom for the kidnap victim, and if Donovan doesn't prevent an ancient, forbidden ritual from reaching its culmination, far more than a single vampire's undead existence will be at stake.
Calling on his lover and partner, Amethyst, and an odd assortment of contacts, informants, and connections, Donovan follows the ghostly trail of the kidnapper through a winding maze of intrigue-always a step behind-through magical battles, murders, and confrontations with a rogue band of young vampires intent on beating Donovan at his own game.
My Ramblings:
Vintage Soul was a quick, entertaining read filled with magical elements that moves along a good pace with only a few slow spots and a slight touch of romance. The magical aspects of this novel are written in vivid details, making it easy enough for the reader to imagine the scenes. The vamps are your typical strong cold-blooded, beautiful creatures except they have a penchant for drinking aged liquor with a drop or two of distinguished individuals' blood. They considered this type of drink a rare delicacy. By reading the first chapter of this book you get a glimpse of this savoring by the vamps. The mages and wizards, who can be human or preternatural creatures, are capable of being very powerful and brimming with magic, giving the story a touch of malicious mystery.
I haven't read any of the books in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher but I have watched the TV series that's based on these books, and Vintage Soul reminded me very much of this show since the main character Donovan DeChance is wizard like Harry Dresden plus the urban backdrop of the story is parallel to the Dresden Files. That being said Vintage Soul wasn't a very deep read and I don't mean this in a bad way. Usually, I find that first books in a series are more often than not bogged down with back story but this isn't the case here. Wilson left a lot up to reader to imagine for his main characters; the story is told in a here and now tone from various characters with not a lot of information to form an opinion on or give depth to the main characters. Since this is the first book in The DeChance Chronicles, hopeful there will be an expansion on character backgrounds in future novels.
My Rating: 
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Other Ramblings:
