Kitty And The Midnight Hour (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
Updated 10/8/12My review is a cautionary tale. If one listens to a book on tape and hates it, but it's something they expected to like, always give the print edition a try. Here is my review after I tried to read this book for the first time:I listened to the first couple of chapters on cd, and it was so bad I had to stop even though I still had a hundred miles to drive with nothing on the radio. Since then I've realized that a bad narrator can ruin an audiobook so I think I'm going to try to read it instead and give it another chance. It would be nice to like a series that actually has a ton of books already written. My faves have 3-5. The ones I hate have 17-25. It's not fair.I am so glad I did try again, and I wish I read it several years ago right after I listened to the audio version. The book is really good. It took me awhile to figure that out, though. It wasn't because of the annoying tone of the cd version. That, thankfully, was only a bad narrator. But Kitty endures and justifies a lot of abuse due to her werewolf clan's rigid and cruel enforcement of pack order. I was afraid we had something even worse than Mercy Thompson since Mercy is at least is strong and repulsed by sexism unless it's with the pack politics. Even there, her acceptance of the pack's sexism doesn't extend to cowering in their presence, well, except when they're aroused, or when they are about to go all wolf or when...never mind. Those books drive me crazy taking a fabulous heroine and making her put up with being treated like crap because that's just what werewolves do. (You're not a werewolf and you're not in the pack!)Anyway, it looked like Kitty was okay with the ultra-submissive position she was in. I do have to say that it was a far more realistic portrayal of what life would be like in such a hierarchal animal society. The author not only showed what behaviors would result in showings of power, but also explained what they meant in a not telling sort of way.But I digress again. As the story progresses, things do not evolve into black and white on these issues. We the audience are not supposed to think this is all okay, either, and in fact, getting the reader thinking about them is the author's intent, I think. And the abuse isn't specifically toward women, either; all the pack is subject to these violent and deadly rules, although sexual abuse only happens to women it appears. The top position is always male, but there is also always an alpha female who is in a position to dole out heaps of abuse herself should she so desire. There is another violent male with very questionable values who comes into the picture and that brings new issues, but I can't tell you anything without giving too much away. I think that overall, these themes and how they are handled are some of the things that set this book apart. I love shades of gray when it comes to complex issues like this. Putting aside the violence and abuse issues, let's look at other parts of the book. For one, the heroine does do stupid and dangerous things, sometimes impulsively, but for once there are very good reasons for her doing them unlike what is so common in the UF scene. I do think there are problems though. I don't like how easily society accepts a huge change in its foundations of belief. I think that there would be a lot of (view spoiler)[chaos and Kitty would need bodyguards 24/7. Some fanatic would try to assassinate her right away (hide spoiler)]
I'll admit it, Vaughn lost me at the pornstache, but I'll take it from the top.For starters, her heroine is named after a stripper. Kitty? Are we serious? But I could have overlooked that had she not have been so flat, dull, and underdeveloped. Kitty is a werewolf at the bottom rung of her pack. She allows herself to be commanded and screwed by the men of her pack in exchange flickering moments of affection, that almost always occur while she is being pounded, and “protection”, which must have been hidden underneath the life control. I’ve seen several reviews that say this story is about a woman coming into her own after having endured a traumatic and abusive lifestyle, and though I agree that being attacked by a werewolf, and therefore being turned into one would have been traumatic, and the dynamics she faces within the pack are certainly abusive, I can’t say that the reason Kitty is submissive and meek are because of these factors. She had a normal life, with a loving family, prior to becoming a werewolf. She wasn’t abused or mistreated until she enters the pack and allows herself to become so. So really, Kitty only has herself to blame for how she allowed herself to be treated within the pack. I’m convinced that had I been turned into a werewolf and adopted by Kitty’s pack, I would have been dead or high ranking. It is simply not within me to be passive, dictated to or controlled and I would fight to the death before I would let some man “do” me whenever he felt the urge simply because he was Alpha.Then there is the talk radio format. Reading Kitty’s dynamic with her listeners reminded me of riding in my mother’s Nissan Sentra and listening to Delilah on my way home from school. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Delilah, she is very popular among women who need affirmation from a woman whose voice sounds as though her larynx has been injected with steroids. After Delilah dishes out the least practical advice to her listeners, she then segways into some corny Bette Midler ode. Celine Dion is also popular. Kitty’s advice is just as tragic, but rather than subject her listeners to Bette, she prefers Credence Clearwater Revival.Lastly there is the supposed love interest, Carmac. He has a mustache. I doubt I need to say more, but I will. He is a vampire hunter/werewolf assassin. His and Kitty’s first encounter occurs when he is sent to execute her. They have one, two second conversation after he fails to kill her and the next thing I know, she is calling him for help and attempting to jump his bones. Um, where did that come from? I don’t even have the heart to flesh out this lack of build up in my review as I see no reason to spend more time on these two characters than their creator.If you’re looking for a corny read, with no character development, little to no plot, and a submissive heroine, by all means, read this. Otherwise, steer clear of Kitty.
What do You think about Kitty And The Midnight Hour (2005)?
I recently heard Carrie Vaughn interviewed on the Tor podcast, "The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy." She talked a little bit about her books, but mostly about herself. It thought she sounded intelligent and interesting. It seemed like her Kitty Norville series might be similar to Jim Butcher's "The Dresden Files". A few days later, I found a free Audible download of a conversation between Vaughn and my all-time favorite author, Connie Willis. I was impressed enough to download a copy of Kitty and the Midnight Hour. I have to say that I was pretty impressed and I will continue with the series. (I'll be switching to the paperbacks though because they're much less expensive.)I especially liked the way Vaughn wrote about Kitty's shape-shifting into wolf form. I could almost feel the transformation. I thought it was interesting how she captured the pack behavior of the werewolves even when they were in human form. It was very well done. I can't think of anything I didn't like about the book. As audiobooks go, this one was rather short. Audible offers it as a one part download. I thought the reader did a very good job with the story.
—Sandi
Oh my - old timers! I thought I had this book, but couldn't find it. For some reason I'd collected the next 4, but didn't have the first, which was weird. I hadn't realized I read it! Well, I'm going to re-read it & then read the others that I have. I guess it wasn't particularly memorable.I barely got into it & remembered it fairly well. I blame my lack of memory on me & reading dozens of similar books over the past few years. It was fun! On to the next!!!------- From 27Oct08 -------------The book started off slow for me, but was readable. I actually didn't like the heroine much. About halfway through & I couldn't put it down, as the heroine came into her own (a little too rapidly, but it worked for me). It's not great literature by any stretch, but it was a fun, quick read. It wasn't quite as predictable as so many of these books are & while sex happens occasionally, it isn't graphic. I'll look forward to reading another.
—Jim
I've been aware of this series for a little over a year now, but I had no intention of ever picking up any book in this series. I mean, look at the cover: a curvy chick with a tramp stamp--super classy. And don't even get me started on the the title. The premise? A werewolf named Kitty who has a late night radio talk show. About supernatural critters. Really??? It has Trashy Urban Fantasy written all over it, and while I loves me a good urban fantasy, I do have my limits. And then by chance, I came across Ceridwen's Drunk Book Review of Kitty and the Midnight Hour. Though her review is full of hilarious drunken digressions, it's actually quite poignant. Anyway, because of Ceridwen's review, and the complete lack of anything else to read (seriously, what is up with the lack of book releases in January?), I finally picked up Kitty and the Midnight Hour. And, you know what? I'm glad I did. Cover art and title aside, this book is actually one of the best urban fantasy novels I've read in quite a while. It is leaps and bounds better then the Anita Blake series(I couldn't force myself to read through the first book in the series) or even the Rachel Morgan/Hallows series (I also couldn't get through the first book in this series), both are actually quite popular and highly recommended. For the life of me I don't know why. They are truly dreadful.The characterization in this series is quite good. It is clear Carrie Vaughn had a full understanding of who her characters were before she started writing, which I fully appreciate. Kitty is flawed, but she doesn't have the typical flaws bestowed upon most protagonists in this genre. Yes, she has quite a lot of baggage and is struggling with her identity, but there are special circumstances that make her situation that much more unique, and therefore interesting. All the back stories were fully developed and interesting as well. Yes, there are a few plot holes, one in particular got under my skin, but it wasn't enough for me to give up on the book; I hand-waved it since it is her first published work (I think). And anyway, by that time I was already invested in the story. Besides, I've read much, much worse. Contrary to what the cover suggests, this book isn't plastered with ridiculous, disgusting, gratuitous sex scenes. That is not to say there aren't sex scenes in this book, because there are--one or two, if I remember correctly--it's just that they serve a purpose. And the sex scenes in this book aren't descriptive. If anything I'd say they're well-written fade to black type sex scenes. And no ridiculous/icky/dirty names are used for what few body parts are mentioned. I'm struggling with how many stars I've given this book--because of the plot holes and a few other little things--but it deserves more then three stars; I really like this book. A lot. Oh, and, in case anyone was wondering, this is a quick read. I finished it in less then a day.
—Penny
