I just finished reading Blood Tally, book two in Brian McClellan’s Valkyrie Collections series of urban fantasy novellas. This one, as you might have guessed from the name, is about vampires. If McCellan keeps hitting up the pulp urban fantasy tropes in the methodical way that he seems to be doing, I’m going to place a bet right now that the next one is going to be about the fae (or Fair Folk or whatever you want to call them).
I really enjoy this little series. The Valkyrie Collections stories are basically urban fantasy popcorn–big enough for an interesting plot twist and some new character introductions, but not long enough for complicated character development or really twisty intrigue. We get to see a little more about the world, and the various background plots that started in the first book advance by inches, but mostly what we’re here for is a part-troll bounty hunter named Alek interacting with a bunch of weird magical characters and fighting a bunch of vampires in an effort to find a missing kid. And that’s exactly what we get. No surprises, just genuinely fun pulp fantasy entertainment.
Looking forward to the next one.