reviews_and_ramblings | The Shape of Things by Mychael Black

This novella is a mix of fantasy and futuristic setting. In a Washington D.C. of late XXI century the world we know doesn’t exist anymore, and otherworldly creatures now are the elite people. There are two main breed, the Vampires and the Shapeshifters: the first are the elite inside the elite, being almost like aristocracy and having a council which laws and taxes; Shapeshifters instead are like small nobility, or Lords, and they depend on the Council’s decision. The prince of the Vampires, and more or less the one who can also rein the Council, is Devon Hart, a former XVI century knight turned vampire, and not the most ancient of them all. But Devon is not liked by the Council and at the beginning of this story he is left on the open to die; the one to save him is Vincent Sheridan, one of the Shapeshifters Lord.

Vincent has a personal reason to not like Vampires, but his clan wants peace, and they are willing to make a pact with the Vampires if needed; willing to please his people, Vincent decided to play the role of the sacrificial lamb, offering himself both as donor than lover to Devon. A bond like that is tighter than a simple agreement to collaborate.

The knight’s nature of Devon, the big mansion where Vincent and his people live, even the almost “political marriage” Vincent and Devon have, and some other elements, help the reader to recognize an almost historical romance plot in the story. True there are the paranormal elements, but also them are dealt in a way that makes this story more a Fantasy than a Paranormal; there is a slight and subdued difference between the two genres, and it’s all in the details, what makes a Fantasy is the “legendary” atmosphere and the medieval touches.

It’s also interesting to see the double nature of both men, and it’s not “double” only since they have a second “otherworldly” side. Both of them are in domineering position, leader of their clans, but both of them have almost a need to let it go sometime, to not being always the one in command. In Vincent is more clear, Devon plays more the role of the pure and strong, no willing to compromise in bed as he is in life; but then, at their first sexual escapade, it’s right Devon who is the first to give up, and even if in their following encounters, they share the role of the leader, I always felt as if Vincent was the strongest, even if in a quite way. In their everyday life, Vincent seems to be the backup for Devon, but in their private, even if not with clear actions or words, Vincent gave me the impression to be the real strong core of their couple.

And right in the last sentence, the author will give you a detail more to link this story to the old medieval legends, something that I actually didn't realize during the reading, but when it was explained, it made sense.

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The Shape of Things by Mychael Black

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