The Lost and the Least

Metamor City, Book 5

By: Chris Lester

Narrated by: Chris Lester

In the poverty-stricken neighborhoods of the Street, ordinary citizens are turning up dead, their bodies drained of blood. What seems at first like a string of vampire attacks is soon revealed to be something even more frightening. But in the dayside world of the city's upper levels, no one notices what happens to a few dead street rats.

Kathryn Kitaen, a magic affairs detective for the Metamor City Police Department, isn't supposed to be on this case or any other. Judged unfit for duty after a recent shooting, Kate is on indefinite leave. But when a Street-side friend begs her to find his missing neighbor, Kate will risk the wrath of her captain to get back in the game.

Without the backing of MCPD, Kate is joined in her quest by a band of misfits: Morgan Drauling, the vampire medical examiner; Callie Linder, a freelance spy for the criminal underworld; John, a seductive incubus from the Church of Hedonism; and Michael Perelli, a junior cop torn between his desire to follow the rules and his need to do the right thing. Together, they will face an evil that has lain hidden for decades...and Kate will discover the shocking truth about her own past.

"A police procedural in an urban fantasy setting full of demons, vampires, shapeshifters, and rogue gods. It's a great addition to the Metamor City story universe." (Abigail Hilton, author of The Scarlet Albatross and Jager Thunder)

©2018 Chris Lester (P)2019 Chris Lester

Great Story With Magic and Contemporary Technology

The Lost and the Least is a novel set in Metamor City, the capital city of probably the most powerful nation in the fantasy universe that happens to be named after the city. This universe has a rich magical and historical background that appeals to the Science Fiction and Future History reader I grew up as. There are a lot of details where this universe is like and yet unlike our own, which adds layers to the storytelling without getting in the way of the story. I think this book would be fine as a first dip into the Metamor City universe, but if you want to know more about this remarkable City, the original Metamor City Podcast and a well-organized website about it are still available.

The story has the virtues of a well-written thriller. A lot is going on, politically, romantically, magically, and even psychologically, with violence and tragedies enough to underline that the stakes are end-of-the-world high. Yet it all hangs together and the main threads, at least, are easy enough to follow. There are surprises, but they are properly prepared for, not just arbitrary tricks. Although this story follows the previous novel "Things Unseen" in time, and has many of the same characters, each is a complete story in itself. Speaking of the characters, they are nicely three dimensional and what they do always seems to come from the character’s own goals and drives, not just from the requirements of the plot.

The narration of this book is excellent. Sometimes a book being read by the author is a bad sign, but Chris Lester is really good at this.

As hinted in the title, this book does have an interest in morality and values. Not the kind of values that keep the sex scenes from being hot. Not even the kind that would make the character who thinks he can fix the injustices of the world by writing novels into the hero. Just the kind of values that mean that while this novel is very entertaining, that’s not all it is.

Poor quality

Writing was flat and boring. Narration just plain bad. Tried twice to listen, but couldn’t make it past the first third of the first book. Waste of a credit