Kirsten Reviews: The Golden Age of Death by Amber Benson
The Golden Age of Death by Amber Benson
Calliope Reaper-Jones #5
My name is Calliope Reaper-Jones (Callie to my friends). I’m Death’s Daughter and—as of very recently—the (reluctant) head of my father’s company, Death, Inc.
I was gradually learning how to be a businesswoman. Had the power suits and shoes down, though the day to day was slow going. Then I was blindsided by Enemies Unknown and sent off to I-don’t-know-where. Not a good thing.
Now not only must my friends and family be frantic, but without a CEO, Death, Inc., can’t function. With the newly deceased left free to roam the Earth, it’s the zombie apocalypse come true.
I’ve got to get back—for my sake and the sake of, oh, all humanity…
The Golden Age of Death by Amber Benson finds Calliope Reaper-Jones, Death’s Daughter still acting as the head of her father’s company, Death, Inc. Not something that most people go to business school to do, but nonetheless, Callie is learning on the job. Then, just when she thinks things are starting to settle down, she’s attacked by unknown enemies and ends up someplace unfamiliar. The real issue is that without somebody acting as the head of Death, Inc. nobody can die properly. That means that they’re left to wander the earth as zombies. And that never goes well for anybody. Now Callie has to figure out how to get home again and prevent the zombie apocalypse, or at least reverse it a little bit, otherwise humanity’s chances are nil.
Benson has a firm grasp on Callie and her friends, but the rotating points of view are a little tiresome.
At times the writing is a bit too ‘tell’ instead of ‘show,’ and characters’ actions are described in too much detail. Giving readers insight into the characters via body language and other subtle clues would be better than telling us that somebody is trying to figure out how to react to something, and so on.
But, once the plot comes together, things start to move more smoothly. That isn’t to say that there aren’t rough patches. With so many plotlines and issues from the previous books to deal with, Benson has to bring them all together, and is mostly successful in getting everything to a good stopping point.
To nobody’s surprise, there is a powerful villain on the loose, but in addition to that, Callie’s exploits are catching up with her, and not only is she in danger, but anyone close to her has also been targeted. The way to deal with the first half of the story is to keep track of all the characters, even if they aren’t particularly interesting or likeable, although readers’ mileage will vary, and hang on for what is a somewhat rough ride until Callie gets a handle on her plan, and puts it into action.
As far as the series goes, Callie’s journey comes to an end in a way that will make most loyal readers happy.
(Received a copy from the publisher)
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Previous Books:
- Death's Daughter
- Cat's Claw
- Serpent's Storm
- How to be Death
