Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

It’s a post-Twilight market.  Genre fiction these days, especially the books aimed at teens, is saturated with what amounts to little more than trashy romance in a fantastical setting, populated by one-dimensional characters who are often horrifying stereotypes playing out “plots” that serve no purpose except to put them in one sexually tense situation after another.  It’s always refreshing to find a new voice that is both willing and able to defy the market’s expectations of what sells in favor of fresh, compelling storytelling and well-developed characters.  What’s more, to find an author who speaks to teens without talking down to them.  Kendare Blake does just that in Anna Dressed in Blood.

The story follows the adventures of the uniquely named Theseus Cassio, or just Cas, for short.  Having inherited his deceased father’s athame and talent for being able to slay the non-living, he and his mother move from town to town where he seeks out and destroys those restless spirits which seek to do others harm.  Those who do not, which are the majority, are left alone.  When a source sends the pair to Thunder Bay, Ontario, he faces his greatest and most intriguing challenge yet in the form of a six-decade old ghost named Anna who is stronger, faster and vastly more powerful than anything he’s faced in the past.

While Blake’s novel pays loving, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, homage to shows like Buffy and Supernatural, it by no means rehashes old territory without adding to the mix a bit of its own flavor.  From the beginning, it’s apparent that she’s come up with a rich mythology and cosmology for her world, the kind of groundwork necessary to give any fantasy a breath of reality.  As well, she doesn’t pander to her audience.  Life isn’t easy, but it isn’t chockfull of needless angst.  Cas is exactly the kind of kid you’d expect him to be, having lived the life he has, for better and worse.  The side characters, even the ghost, Anna, are all given the same loving treatment.

The story itself is paced perfectly.  While it does contain the kind of romance you’d expect in any novel dealing with a teenage protagonist, it does so in a realistic manner and never for a moment sacrifices plot for pander.  Blake pulls no punches, either, when it comes to violence.  It has real consequences.  People get hurt.  When they get knocked around, they don’t just spring back up and keep going.  The reality of it enhances the experience.

All in all, it’s a fantastic read.  And while it does have a fair bit of the kind of violence and gore you’d expect from the genre, it’s handled in a mature fashion and would still be a good choice for older teens and adults alike.