Title: No Dominion
Author: Charlie Huston
Published by: Orbit
Publication date: 5th July. 2007
Genre: Science Fiction/Urban Fantasy
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Source: Personal Collection

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Blurb/Synopsis

New York’s favourite rogue detective, Joe Pitt, is about to find himself caught in a nasty power struggle between competing Vampyre clans.

Down to his last few bags of blood and behind on rent, Joe takes on a decidedly dirty job: finding the source of a powerful drug that’s hit the street, one strong enough to affect Vampyres and make its users do unpredictable things, things that could bring unwelcome exposure to New York’s Vampyre community.

Unfortunately, that entails crossing the mid-Manhattan turf of the Coalition into the equally fearsome territory of the Hood in Harlem. One thing about Vampyres: they have plenty of time on their bloodstained hands to engage in complex, violent feuds. Worse, Joe might be some powerful player’s idea of a sacrificial pawn …

Review

I gave an introduction to Joe Pitt in my review for Already Dead so for the sake of not repeating myself on the intricate details of the lead character in No Dominion, I’ll link you to that review.

No Dominion is the second installment in the Joe Pitt case files and moves the over-arching plot on nicely from it’s dramatic starting point, while still having a solid plot all on it’s own. No Dominion sees Joe Pitt moving out of his comfort zone and into the streets of Harlem and into Hood territory – working a dirty job for the Coalition to keep up his supplies of blood and some cash to pay off his overdue rent. There’s a new drug on the streets of Manhattan that has a very significant impact on those that live during the night and it’s up to Anti-Hero Joe Pitt to find out the roots of the problem.

Now that the main players have been introduced, Charlie Huston wastes no time in getting the ball rolling in No Dominion, the books is fast-paced right from the get-go and we’re shown new faces in the form of the clan The Hood and the complications within their little corner of Vampyre Manhattan – all of which make up the details of the case that Joe Pitt has to solve.

In No Dominion we’re given more insight into how the clans work together – or don’t as the case may be – and how this impacts the lives of a rogue Vampyre like Joe; whose made himself no friends in his line of work. The plot is intricate and full of twists that the reader might not see coming. I certainly didn’t, but it’s not so complicated that it’s un-followable.

Not everyone is going to be a fan of Joe Pitt and his case-files; there is certainly an element of the repetitive in aspects of the plot and the whole ‘going to be killed so the bad-guy tells me everything then I get to escape’ might not sit well with some readers as this is a bit of a rinse and repeat from previous (and again in future) installments of the series – but this is something that I felt I can overlook as the rest of the novel makes up for this lapse in diverse scenes.

There’s the return of some supporting characters who are as enjoyable as they are in Already Dead and seeing them adapt and react to the developing plot is a treat in itself. Revisiting characters like Terry Bird, Phillip (The snitch) and Daniel (Leader of the mysterious Enclave vampire gang) helps to keep elements of the series larger plot relevant and No Dominion continues the larger universe-wide plot wonderfully while being able to stand on it’s own two feet.

Much like Already Dead, No Dominion is a solid novel offering something a bit different to the usual take on Vampireism and I highly recommend this series; if you can look past the unconventional format that was touched upon in my previous review of the series. expect my review of Half the Blood of Brooklyn in the next few days.