The pacing was unsteady, which meant I put this down for long stretches a bunch of times, but overall I did like it. Two-months-ago!me, who'd just finished it, gave it 4 stars, but while I remember the setting and many plot points, I can't remember why I felt that way. I'll definitely be looking for more by the author. ( )

I loved the idea of this book, and I loved Lou. What I didn't love is how Lou didn't really do much? Mostly, stuff just happened to her. Yes, she did embark on a mystery journey (awesome!), meets interesting folks (lots of queer representation! gay dudes! lesbian chicks! an intersex person! Lou is also kinda genderqueer!). There were talking bears and also sea lions! The story also speaks about gross racism and xenophobia without feeling preachy! Lou seemed like she was fairly competent at her job, but also not perfect at it. But jesus, she stumbled into everything. And didn't really solve a mystery, so much make it explode

I'm rating it up to 4 stars, because I thought it was weird and interesting, but Lou really wasn't a good detective. I'll read her other adventures, like for real, if Molly Tanzer decides to keep exploring with her.

And I'd like to shout out Word Horde for packaging the e-book with the paperback. I bought the trade paperback because I love that cover and also to support small presses, but not having to cart the book around is awesome. My carpal tunnel syndrome is appreciative. ( )

Highly enjoyable though a bit uneven. Extremely imaginative and vivid; looking forward to more in this series.

Weird & Wonderful discussion notes: http://positronchicago.blogspot.com/2016/09/weird-wonderful-vermilion.html ( )

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, which for some reason I wasn't expecting to like. It is set in an alternate version of the Old West, where ghosts, vampires, and werewolves exist, bears and sea lions are intelligent and talk, and professional psychopomps are employed to routinely usher the dead into the next world. Lou Merriweather is one of them, a Chinese-American 19-year-old girl who often passes as a boy, who travels from San Francisco to the wilderness in Colorado in search of some young Chinese men who have disappeared, and runs into a lot more than bargained on. Good characters, a fun story, a light and entertaining read that really hit the spot right now. ( )

I don't know why I'd been dragging my feet over reading Tanzer. Once I immersed myself in Vermilion (audio and ebook in tandem) I was hooked. I loved the character of Lou and was intrigued by her work, the mystery, and her various relationships with the other characters. And one of the most intriguing things about the story is that no one, not even Lou, is exactly what they seem to be.

The character flim-flamery is deftly done, so it never feels forced, and there's a big reveal that honestly took me by surprise even though I suppose it ought not to have done. In particular I found Lou's character fascinating, irritating, amusing, and ultimately endearing. She's a (reasonably) competent psychopomp (someone who helps the dead cross over) but once she's outside of her home turf, the cracks show. She's not nearly as tough or smart or resourceful as she seemed at home in San Francisco, but by the time we find all this out, we're with her, we're rooting for her even as we're shaking our heads and muttering "Oh Lou, for heaven's sake!"

The villain is a surprisingly engaging one, at least in part because Tanzer has kept us off balance over exactly how bad or good he might be. Though there's no sex, sexuality is a primary focus of the narrative, and it's thoughtful and adult. I did think that some passages dragged a bit, and repeated information and ideas we'd already been given, but given how much fun I had reading the book, it was a minor problem.

I was honestly disappointed when the book ended, and I want more of Lou's adventures, more of the characters of Coriander and Miss Foxglove, Bo and Thurlow, and Lou's mother, Ailien, and her business partner, Vilhelm. I want to know more about the bears and the sea lions, and all the magical creatures Bo and Thurlow hunt. This universe, and its characters are a rich source of untapped stories, in my opinion. And that could be good for all of us. ( )