The Urban Fantasy Novel Soul Fraud...

Last weekend at BaltiCon 60, I attended a panel called, “Who Cares About The Chosen One?” It talked about the trope in Science Fiction and Fantasy where, you guessed it, the protagonist is so important, so integral to the story—if not the series the first installment kicks off—that they are, in fact, a, if not the, Chosen One. 

Soul Fraud, by Andrew Givler, is just such the start to an urban fantasy series. We have the hapless twenty-something, down-on-his-luck schmo named Matthew Carver, who is approached by a demon who offers a Faustian deal. Matthew strongly declines, but the demon goes ahead and forges Matthew’s signature, sealing the deal, anyway. 

Soon after, Matthew's "eyes are opened" to the Los Angeles supernatural community—and the various races that come with it—and he seeks assistance. He finds such in the personage of a supernatural journalist, Alex Johnson, who is only a few generations removed from his hybrid demon/human ancestors. Alex and Matthew soon recruit Orion—yes, that Orion—and the group sets forth to attempt to solve Matthew’s problem.

Like in other urban fantasy series, the supernatural community in Soul Fraud is both multicultural and multi-mythological. Lots and lots of different lore. Demons, the Fae, and were-creatures populate Los Angeles, and, one would guess, others will be introduced in the following installments. With such a wealth of lore to choose from, you’d think Mr. Givler would deftly weave the mythos and storylines together into a cohesive whole. He does, for the most part, with some shortfalls here and there. 

What is mostly lacking is the narration, the prose. I usually measure my satisfaction with a book by the length it takes me to read it; this took me over seven days. Granted, four of those days I spent at a writers' convention, but if a book truly engages me, I’ll find more time to get back to it.  

Soul Fraud isn’t a bad book, but the prose didn’t keep me engaged like those by other authors. I finished it, liking the premise and the main character enough to give the second installment a shot. So we’ll see from there.