Dreadful Company
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4.4 • 143 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A witty, charming fantasy adventure starring Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, whose family has been keeping the supernatural community not-alive and well for generations.
When Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, is unexpectedly called to Paris to present at a medical conference, she expects nothing more exciting than professional discourse on zombie reconstructive surgery and skin disease in bogeymen―and hopefully at least one uneventful night at the Opera.
Unfortunately for Greta, Paris happens to be infested with a coven of vampires -- and not the civilized kind. If she hopes to survive, Greta must navigate the darkest corners of the City of Lights, the maze of ancient catacombs and mine-tunnels underneath the streets, where there is more to find than simply dead men's bones.
Praise for the Dr. Greta Helsing Novels:
"An exceptional and delightful debut, in the tradition of Good Omens and A Night in the Lonesome October."―Elizabeth Bear, Hugo-award winning author
"Shaw balances an agile mystery with a pitch-perfect, droll narrative and cast of lovable misfit characters. These are not your mother's Dracula or demons."―Shelf Awareness
Dr. Greta Helsing Novels
Strange Practice
Dreadful Company
Grave Importance
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Shaw's second novel featuring Dr. Greta Helsing, doctor to the London undead (after Strange Practice), is a playfully witty confection spun from the setting of The Phantom of the Opera, sardonic yet a touch sweet, in which the elegant vampires of Helsing's social set come up against an undisciplined coven of sparkly, eyeliner-loving youngsters. Greta, accompanied by her sophisticated friend Edmund Ruthven, arrives in Paris to give a last-minute talk at a supernatural medical conference, but unexpectedly encounters cute but misplaced baby monsters in her hotel room and an unsettling velvet-clad gentleman at the opera. Meanwhile, a pair of psychopomps investigates an influx of partial ghosts to the area around the former Cimiti re des Innocents that could be a symptom of the universe unraveling. Readers will find Shaw a pleasing tour guide through the salons and catacombs. She moves smoothly between the ongoing stories of her returning characters and the immediate plot, and between pop culture references and innovation, framing London's supernatural residents as delightfully normative while still capably evoking the frisson of the uncanny when desired. This series is a fine example of how much (un)life remains in the historical urban fantasy genre.
Customer Reviews
Dr. Helsing goes to Paris; Mayhem Results!
“Dreadful Company” is the second in the “Dr. Greta Helsing Novel” series by Vivian Shaw. These stories are set in an alternate world where beings that some might term “monsters” exist undercover in the modern world. These include vampires, demons, ghouls, mummies, witches, banshees, etc. Greta Helsing is a specialized medical doctor who is following in her father’s footsteps, and provides care to these beings.
She is visiting Paris, in order to attend a medical convention. She and her friend Lord Edmund Ruthven decide to attend the opera while they have an opportunity. While they are there, they are sighted by an old enemy of Lord Ruthven. This nemesis decides to kidnap Greta and use her as bait to draw his enemy into his lair. Greta finds herself in the catacombs under Paris, as the prisoner of a coven of young and tasteless vampires.
Like the first novel, this was fun, witty, and charming. The characters were warm and engaging. It’s very much a story of found family, and how people accept and take care of each other. I’m glad theres plenty more books in the series. I’m now looking forward to reading the next volume, “Grave Importance.”
Excellent and Enthralling
Loved this story and all of the characters that I could relate to! A very “human” villain and even more “human” heros that kept me fascinated till the end.
Loved this trio
of books with Dr Helsing, providing health care to vamps(all the different kinds…who knew), ghouls, ogres and monsters of all kinds. What I want to know is if there’ll be more. Maybe Dr Helsing is so busy she opens a 2nd clinic with a practitioner who makes CrAzY mistakes. Or a new plague is running through the monsters making them absolutely horrible human snotty Brits.