Wednesday Knights Blog

No Dominion is the second book in a series about Joe Pitt, an unlicensed private investigator in New York City that is a vampyre. I almost did not read this book simply because I have never really enjoyed vampire stories. However, I loved Huston’s Hank Thompson trilogy (Caught Stealing, Six Bad Things, and A Dangerous Man) so much that I thought I would give this book a try.

In No Dominion, Huston retains his twisted sense of humor and his propensity for gratuitous violence. Normally, I am not a big fan of violence for violence sake, however, Huston pulls it off perfectly while managing to keep the reader liking his protagonists. Additionally, the twisted sense of humor is fantastic. For example, one of the vampyre characters has a propensity for wearing ironic t-shirts (such as Count Chocula and Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

One cool thing about the novel is that vampyres are created by being infected by a virus (this should remind some people of Shadowrun). Although acknowledging certain benefits that come from being a vampyre, Pitt clearly sees his infection as a disease, one that he would prefer to be rid of.

One of the more poignant aspects of the book is Pitt’s relationship with his HIV positive girl friend, who does not know he is a vampyre. She will not have sex with Pitt because she is afraid that she will infect him with HIV. Pitt, on the other hand, is fine with her decision because he does not know if the vampyre virus can be transmitted in bodily fluids other than blood. Although Pitt recognizes that the vampyre virus would cure his girlfriend of HIV, he does not want to take the chance of infecting her.

The plot involves Pitt approaching a former employer for work when he starts running low on his blood supply. Pitt then becomes involved in trying to find out who is supplying young vampyres with a new drug that has some very serious side effects. In investigating this problem, Pitt travels through territories controlled by different vampyre factions and meets some interesting characters.

In No Dominion, Huston again succeeds at creating interesting and memorable characters and great dialog. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it, even if you do not typically like vampire stories.