Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly

[watervole]

There are several books in my collection that owe thanks to SallyMn.  This is one of them - I would never, ever have bought this book if she hadn't recommended it, but I'm very glad I did.  I rate it 10/10. 

A delightful book that brings to life the era of the silent movies.  In theory it's a horror story about an actress being stalked by an ancient demon, but in practice it's a wonderful description of the lives of the movie stars (incredibly long working day, parties with drugs, strain, early camera techniques, etc.) written by an author clearly in love with the era.

The POV character is an outsider, a poor relation employed on a whim by a star, who can view Hollywood with an open mind.  Norah becomes embroiled in the threat to Christine's life from an ancient Chinese curse.  With the help of a Chinese sage, and Alex the cameraman, Norah and Christine struggle to survive.

As I said above, don't read it for the plot (the plot is actually pretty good, but it's not what makes the book so enjoyable), just revel in the descriptions of filming a chariot racing across the desert, of leading men who are decorative, but can't act, of what Los Angeles was like in the past, and what people will choose when offered anything they want by a demon...

This is also a book guaranteed to make you love Pekingese dogs.  There are three of them, and they are real characters.

 

(If you have the Del Ray edition, ignore the blurb on the back - it has events out of order and keeps making you think you've missed something in the text!)

Comments

[selenak]

I adore that novel - I think it‘s my favourite standalone Hambly. One of many details I love is that while Norah and Chris are very different, Christine isn‘t the evil blonde to Norah‘s sensible and virtuous brunette - they‘re truly fond of each other.

And of course Norah getting into scriptwriting makes me imagine her ending up as a fictional version of Salka Viertel!

[watervole]

Yes! Christine is shallow, but not evil in any way.

What other stand alone Halmblys would you recommend?

[catalenamara]

I loved that book for all the reasons you described. And it gave me an appreciation of Pekingese dogs.

[watervole]

I went and looked at all sorts of things about Pekingese, and I'm not even a dog lover!

[katherine]

That sounds really fun to read! Maybe I'll add that to the list.

[watervole]

Definitely worth it. It makes a change from so many formulaic novels. I think it's the mad insanity of the silent movie industry that makes the demon's curse seem almost plausible. But it's the characters that sell it. The aging gay movie actor desperately in love with the young stunt man, the producer who views everything through a lens of profit, Norah who starts out as a dog-sitter and gradually finds her own roles.
Everyone has their own angles, but they are all believable people.