Bride of the Rat God
Author: Barbara Hambly
Kindle Version:
Publisher: Open Road (March 29, 2011)
ASIN: B004TC146E
Paperback version:
Publisher: Del Rey (October 31, 1994)
ISBN-10: 0345381017?I
SBN-13: 978-0345381019
I should start off by saying I’ve been a huge Barbara Hambly fan for years, so it’s no surprise that I wanted to review this book. I wasn’t disappointed.
Barbara Hambly is an expert at creating worlds and drawing the reader in, and in this book, set in the Los Angeles of the Roaring Twenties, she does what she does best – makes you believe in this odd alternate L.A. where monsters and demons exist amongst bootleggers, silent film actors and flappers. Hambly brings to life the Los Angeles of the Twenties in vivid detail. Being a native Angeleno, I really appreciated the history lesson and also appreciated recognizing streets, buildings and the many sub-sections of L.A. What I loved most was that she made old L.A. so recognizable, so intertwined with the current L.A. that it seemed like a dear old friend. She’s paid homage to the buildings and architecture I love in this city and to the silent era of film that made this town the glittering beacon that still draws like the slinky, seductive vamps of that era.
The silent film star Chrysandra Flamande, aka Christine Blackstone, aka Chavela (quite the vamp), has a Hollywood life, complete with three pekinese dogs, a widowed sister-in-law companion, bathtub gin, cocaine and lovers. Christine is a silly girl, but one with a good heart under all that affectation. Strange things start happening and a mysterious Chinese gentleman appears with dire warnings about her opal necklace, which as it turns out was pilfered from Manchurian China. It seems that Christine, by wearing the necklace is now slated to be the sacrificial bride to the demon Rat God.
The Chinese wizard, Norah (the sister in law) and her cinematographer friend Alec, and the pekinese (fierce Fu dogs reincarnated as bits of fluff), all set out to protect Christine and save her from the Rat God all while filming a not quite Biblical epic complete with chariots and a demon-possessed lead actor.
Hambly’s characters are wonderful: the grief-stricken, almost fragile Norah who becomes stronger as the story unfolds, Christine who is silly but who turns resolute and brave; and her vivid depictions of Hollywood producers, directors, and actors are spot on and believable. Even the city becomes a character; I could almost taste the Kung Pao in her wonderful Chinatown, a place I spend a lot of time in. The buildings and streets, the canals of Venice and the theaters like the Egyptian and Million-Dollar made me feel at home in her alternate L.A.
There are stories within the story as well, Norah’s past, the wounds of the very recent WW1 and more, which I leave you to discover. The result is a multi-layered, fascinating read that you won’t be able to put down. I highly recommend BRIDE OF THE RAT GOD and in truth, any of Hambly’s books. You’ll be sucked in and swept away to another world and come out on the other end all the better for it.
Disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this book from Netgalley. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
