Half-Resurrection Blues

Bone Street Rumba, Book 1

By: Daniel José Older

Narrated by: Daniel José Older

First in a brand new urban fantasy series

"Because I'm an inbetweener - and the only one anyone knows of at that - the dead turn to me when something is askew between them and the living. Usually, it's something mundane like a suicide gone wrong or someone revived that shouldn'ta been."

Carlos Delacruz is one of the New York Council of the Dead's most unusual agents - an inbetweener, partially resurrected from a death he barely recalls suffering, after a life that's missing from his memory. He thinks he is one of a kind - until he encounters other entities walking the fine line between life and death. One inbetweener is a sorcerer. He's summoned a horde of implike ngks capable of eliminating spirits, and they're spreading through the city like a plague. They've already taken out some of NYCOD's finest, leaving Carlos desperate to stop their master before he opens up the entrada to the Underworld - which would destroy the balance between the living and the dead. But in uncovering this man's identity, Carlos confronts the truth of his own life - and death...

©2015 Daniel José Older (P)2014 Audible Inc.

I liked it. A lot. But...

First let's get this out of the way. Writers reading for their own audiobook is always a mixed bag. On the plus side, they get the tone and the general intent of the book better than anyone else possibly could. On the down side, they often aren't the best actors in the world, and tend to over-enunciate to the point that it's distracting from the storyline. I thought that was the case with Neil Gaiman reading his own audiobooks, and also true for Daniel Jose Older on this book.

Plus his overuse of the word "fuck" got a little monotonous and distracting. At first, I wondered does this writer know any other adjectives? or verbs? or descriptors? non sequiturs?

Luckily, the answer is yes.
As the story progresses, Older's luxuriant use of the English language is one of the main reasons to read this book. I'm not sure what he was after in the first 1/3 of the book, but so many "fucks" came across like a nerdy kid trying to prove he could fit in with the cool kids, but overdoing it. It was almost enough to make me not give a... well, you get the idea.

Now for what I loved. Too many Urban Fantasy books follow the same wish-fulfillment formula. There is always a useless comic relief character that is there for no other reason. Most portray every male character that is not the protagonist as evil, or worthless, while every female character instantly desires the hero (or hates him at first before admitting that she desired him all along). And of course there are the equivalent female wish fulfillment variants where the males all fight each other for her favor while the petty females all hate her.. but everyone talks about how much they all love her... you know the ones.
The humor in this book stems from situations that are naturally funny. So silly characters that behave like something from a Saturday morning cartoon. The main character doesn't suddenly make Road Runner sounds during the most critical, tension-filled scene of the story. Very refreshing. These characters are adults and written for an adult audience. Also very refreshing. The "bad guy" thinks he's the good guy, and just can't understand why someone would want to oppose him. Yes, that fits. That's how real humans behave.

Another thing that many fantasy books don't get, that this one handled well: no matter how outrageous our situation is, human beings tend to behave like normal people while we're in it. An over the top situation just becomes our "new normal", and we deal with problems accordingly. I liked the feel of that in this book. These people were used to their supernatural lifestyle and dealt with the situation like real folks would.
I'm looking forward to reading the next story in the series. Hopefully, the dialogue will rise to the level of the excellent storyline and great characters.

Great atmosphere

Older does a good job narrating his own work. The atmosphere is great however the story lacks a bit in connecting details which would allow it to flow a little more smoothly.

Daniel José Older's Narration is Poetry

I generally love books read by their authors. I think there's something intimate in getting to experience a novel the way its creator conveys it. "Half-Resurrection Blues" often sounds like poetry in Older's voice, and I'm glad I got to experience it.

The story itself is interesting and engaging. The characters and their reactions were believable. Carlos, the protagonist and who we obviously hear from the most, has plenty of depth and I felt all his emotions - anxiety, stress, love, lust - acutely. Kia and Baba Eddie were also very interesting and I hope to see more of them in the next book in the series.

Older's version of the supernatural setting is a refreshing break from the glut of similar backdrops that dominate the genre. I am eager to read more of his work.

His voice and words are home

As a woman from NY, living far away, I found myself drinking in his speech rhythm and turn of a phrase. Daniel Jose’ Older gave me back NY, and story, and poetry.
I bought book 2 even before I was Hal way through book 1.
My heart is home, even with a supernatural tale that mimics no other part of my NYer life.
Thank goodness for this gift of literature.

People who don't like Older's narration

People who don't like Older's narration don't get it. I didn't get it at first. But now I do.

It's pure Beat poetry.

Take Jack Kerouac out of the 50's and plant him in modern day Brooklyn in the body of a half-dead Puerto Rican ghostly enforcer, and this is exactly what he would sound like. Older's poetic waxing needs a soundtrack. Maybe 50's vintage jazz. Maybe a solemn Rumba. I don't know but bongo drums for sure.

Don't listen to it like a theatrical production. Listen to it like a spontaneous prose/poetry mashup. And soak it in.

So many twists and turns!

Carlos is such a badass!
Although I loved salsa nocturna , I loved this much more. Eagerly awaiting Older's next offering

Unusually good

Any additional comments?

This is a well written book with a good main character. I gave the narration 4 stars, but that was generous. I think the author give a cool latino vibe to some of the dialogue, but the overall story would have been better with a different narrator. Still, a good listen!

dark and beautiful urban fantasy

listening to this book took a little getting used to. Olders narration sounds like a long form beat poem, and when it comes down to it that's what it is. is voice rolls and roils with emotion comma humor, confusion... and story is beautifully told. It's a joy to find an urban fantasy that isn't about another runaway white kid, or aspiring musician. the characters have lives and emotions, and they don't do the most logical things or the most expedient. They live on their own.

Great story, great narration

Thoroughly enjoyed this story! It's witty, clever, and engaging. The autho's narration was perfect! Highly recommend.

A ghostly urban fantasy

Half Resurrection Blues is the first book in the new urban fantasy series Bone Street Rumba. It is a different take on urban fantasy then what I’m used to add it’s focused on ghosts and folks that are ‘inbetween’ being a ghost and living. The main character Carlos is just such an inbetweener, unable to remember anything about his previous life, not even his real name. He died and was brought back to a state of kind of half life. Currently he works for the New York Council of the dead pretty much as an executioner. Things pick start in the book one new years eve when he’s tasked with killing someone who just so happens to be just like him, an inbetweener.

There were:

Ghosts, a cool very large motherly type house ghost, ngks (try to pronounce that I dare you), inbetweeners (folks who’d died but weren’t quite dead), an undead council and Carlos who develops an instant hardcore crush/lust for the sister, Sasha, of the guy he kills at the beginning of the book. Ultimately, this series starter has a lot of potential and a very unique character voice for Carlos. Unfortunately I had a hard time really connecting with him. I wasn’t particularly fond of his personality (not that he was a bad guy) but I just wasn’t pulled in by him either. The ancillary characters were interesting as well but none of them particularly stood out to me development wise, infact they all sort of blended together and that left me overall kind of disinterested in the story and world. I think that folks looking for an urban fantasy featuring ghosts should definitely give this one a try because I’ve had a few other friends who’ve read it and seriously enjoyed it.

An interesting thing to note is that the author himself narrates the audio version of the book which for some I think will help add a certain appeal to that version of the book.