BOOK REVIEW: The Midnight Work - Kassandra Sims

THE MIDNIGHT WORK
Kassandra Sims
TOR Paranormal Romance

Ms. Sims' first published work, per the cover, is marketed as "paranormal romance." This ambitiously complicated tale deals with a grad student in religious studies getting more than she bargained for when she finds her seeming soul mate - who promptly turns her into a vampire.

Ms. Sims includes almost everything PLUS the kitchen sink - with a sanguine vampire twist. The story brings to mind the earlier work of Umberto Eco, "Foucault's Pendulum." Like Mr. Eco, Ms. Sims attempts to elevate the obscure and arcane issues of historical religious sects (Templars and Cathars) to a level of doomsday importance - but in a way that is personally and painfully relevant to her characters. Ms. Sims also makes nodding references to "The Wizard of Oz," "The Lord of the Rings," AND "Alice in Wonderland." Indeed, I felt as if I'd fallen down the rabbit hole after wading through the tumultous and violent antics of the main characters and their quest to save the world from a disarmingly charming epitome of evil, a psychotic death fairy bent on global ruin.

Like Mr. Eco in "FP," Ms. Sims refers to the Templars and the Cathars, but doesn't use them as a springboard for a cross-European murder-mystery-chase to beat the clock and save the world from a secret society bent on global domination. Instead she hints that her characters actually lived through the bloody conflict of the Templars and the Cathars. Also like Mr. Eco, she accurately pegs the bohemian academia while giving all her characters an air of mundane despondence. Aside from the complications of the story line, the similarities between the two books stop there.

Although the characters were well drawn, none of them was very likeable, and none of them made a significant change from that state by the end of the book. Sophie, the main protagonist, was at the same time ineffective, confused, and capricious to a fault. With her two roommates and best friends being described as a bitch and a psychopath, that didn't say much for her character. As the story progressed, they all went from bad to worse.

Without spoiling the surprises in store for those of you who plan to read this book, let me say that Sophie did not take well to her new life as a vampire. Things got dicey in a hurry when her lack of conscience (stemming from a religious view similar to the Cathar belief that God is evil because he crafted such a hellish world to torture humans) combined with her wild 'newby' bloodlust. She went on repeated killing sprees that raised a distasteful ICK factor for me. And she did absolutely nothing to redeem herself - which, I guess, is par for the course for someone who espouses the Cathar belief system.

I found the story imaginative and involved, but was put off by the violence and lack of romance and absence of redeeming qualities of any of the characters. It was not what I consider romance, but something quite different. Admittedly, the submission guidelines for this line of romance is supposed to be "cross-genre," meaning there should be romantic elements, but not necessarily the typical "happily-ever-after" or "happy-for-now" ending that most romance publishers routinely offer. Still, I expected something of a love story and was sorely disappointed. This book did not focus on a romantic relationship, but more on the cruelty of fate in regard to starcrossed lovers. It just wasn't a romance, folks, and if that's what you're looking for, don't go there - unless you enjoy quirky horror, because that's how I'd categorize it. Horror, pure and unadulterated by any hint of romantic love.

The ending was a letdown. To paraphrase Tom Hanks in "Big" ... "I don't get it." What I think happened was that the RESTART BUTTON got pushed, and everything went back to ground zero. Yikes. Not a fun or satisfying situation at all - kind of like the old TV show "Dallas" rewind ("it was all a dream"). Again, if you want a nice romantic read with a little vampire mojo thrown in for charisma, shop elsewhere, 'cause these vamps are a bloodthirsty, sniping, self-absorbed, unfun bunch! No love involved. Just longing and lust. However, Ms. Sims is not a hack - she can turn a poetic phrase. That alone may make some readers believe the story journey was worth it, even with the occasional OOPS typo. Go ahead and read if you're curious. Who knows? You might like it. But if you're expecting a romance, steer clear.