Friday, December 29, 2017

Pausing in the middle of Sin de Jour

I just finished Idle Ingredients, the fourth book in the Sin de Jour series.

I would have never even heard of the series, let alone started reading it, if Howard Tayler hadn’t recommended it on his Schlock Mercenary site. His recommendations get some extra grains of salt.

The elevator pitch is that the series is about a catering company that specializes in events for the supernatural community. However, the books are not nearly as wacky or as whimsical as that might imply.

The catering company works for the government and we are definitely looking at a Cancer Man-style government. One of their primary clients are literally demons from Hell and damnation is definitely a driving theme of the series.

Spoilers

Spoilers

Spoilers

I bought the first three books as a bundle so I knew I was getting into to at least read those books. The first book felt a little strained but it had a fair bit of world building to do. The second book involved a wedding party turning into rape lizards being treated as a spot of good fun, which I found distasteful. At that point, I was not sold on the series.

Until the epilogue of the second book, which I hadn’t cared for. The government liaison slices the head chef’s throat and sends his soul to Hell to show him that the government isn’t happy with him. In hat one scene, I felt like the series finally found its voice. It’s dark voice but it’s a clear voice. And with that, I was sold on reading the rest of the Sin de Jour books.

I have learned that there will be seven books, one for every deadly sin. And I’m not surprised after the third and fourth book, that this isn’t an ongoing series but a story with a definite end. Indeed, I won’t be surprised if not every character lives to the end. Actually, I won’t be surprised if it ends in a blood bath.

I’m lucky I bought the first three books as a bundle. That committed me long enough to get to the good stuff.

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