No Dominion

By: Charlie Huston

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Joe Pitt's life sucks. He hasn't had a case or a job in God knows how long, and his stashes are running on empty. What stashes? The only ones that count to a guy like Joe: blood and money. The money he uses to buy blood; the blood he drinks. Hey, it's that or your neck, buddy.

The only way for him to lay his hands on both is to take a gig with the local Vampyre Clan. See, something new is on the streets, a new high, a high so strong it can send a Vampyre spazzing through Joe's local watering hole - till Joe sends him through a plate-glass window, that is. It won't be long now before he's slapping stoolies, getting sapped, and being taken for a ride above 110th Street.

Someone's pulling Joe's strings, and he's gonna cut them when he finds them - the strings and the hands that hold them.

Dying for more? Listen to the first book, Already Dead.©2006 Charles Huston (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"There are echoes of Raymond Chandler and of Hunter S. Thompson, too. Among the new voices of the 21st-century crime fiction, Charlie Huston is where it's at." ( Washington Post Book World)
"The doomed love story at the heart of Huston's action-filled epic is what truly makes this a noir novel, and the undead microcosm of society he creates is both surprisingly relevant and entertaining." ( Publishers Weekly)

Even better than the first!

I really enjoyed this story - it's even better than the first one in the series {Already Dead}. Joe Pitt is cool and calm and very funny in a dead-pan way.

The plot is decent; the bad guys are bad, the good guys are flawed, and the main character is fully fleshed and consistent. It is gory and gross and has coarse language. And, best of all, no "morals" are stogged down your throat.

The narrator is very good.

It's mature and non-romantic - basically a vampire novel written for adults rather than teens. I can't wait until the next in the series becomes available on Audible.

Vampires with no stakes (but high-stakes politics)

Would you consider the audio edition of No Dominion to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the print edition, so I can't really say. However, Brick did a good job conveying the laid-back nature of a couple of the characters (esp. a hippie leader of one faction), which I wouldn't have picked up on quickly without his narration. He's obviously a talented performer, so bound to make the most of what the text has to offer.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's a first-person story, so we of course identify with the main character, who is a nice mix of tough guy and worrywart.

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

I really liked all the character voices *other* than the main character, who, presumably by request of the author, has a sort of trite noir-detective New York twang. Every time the story returned from other groups (the downtown hippies, the way-uptown black toughs, the mysterious druidical sect) to our main character, I cringed a little again. But the story and overall narration were great, so I was pulled along.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It had fast and slow stretches, so there were some breaks when I didn't mind having to take my headphones off. But I did want to get back to it.

Any additional comments?

Not at all typical of how vampires are handled, and honestly, the sort of detective story and political maneouvering are much more central to the story than is the vampire aspect, so it might appeal to plenty of people who are put off by all the romantic woes of the mainstream vampire cadre...

Great story

I liked the original a little better, but it's still great and I can't wait for the next installment on audible.com.

enjoying this vampire tale.

friend a while back told me to read them. never did but the audio books so far are great.

Great sequel

Great book, but he cover that Audible uses is embarrassing. The narrator grew on my in the second book. A little predictable, kind of simple, but engrossing.