Title: Vermilion Author: Molly Tanzer
Published: April 15, 2015
Genre(s): Fantasy
Page Count: 376
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Gunslinging, chain smoking, Stetson-wearing Taoist psychopomp, Elouise “Lou” Merriwether might not be a normal 19-year-old, but she’s too busy keeping San Francisco safe from ghosts, shades, and geung si to care much about that. It’s an important job, though most folks consider it downright spooky. Some have even accused Lou of being more comfortable with the dead than the living, and, well… they’re not wrong.
When Lou hears that a bunch of Chinatown boys have gone missing somewhere deep in the Colorado Rockies she decides to saddle up and head into the wilderness to investigate. Lou fears her particular talents make her better suited to help placate their spirits than ensure they get home alive, but it’s the right thing to do, and she’s the only one willing to do it.
On the road to a mysterious sanatorium known as Fountain of Youth, Lou will encounter bears, desperate men, a very undead villain, and even stranger challenges. Lou will need every one of her talents and a whole lot of luck to make it home alive…
Okay okay okay. So here’s the thing: Vermilion sounds excellent, but it’s even better in reality. I was completely blown away by this story, by Lou Merriwether as a protagonist, and by how author Molly Tanzer went about it. This book is a wonderfully diverse steampunkish paranormal adventure that was a delight to read—Tanzer really nailed everything here.
So, firstly, our protagonist, Lou Merriwether. Lou is a half-Chinese woman living in San Francisco in 1870. She dresses like a man, smokes cigarettes, and cuts her hair short. Also, she’s a psychopomp—an exorcist—in charge of her own agency. If this is not a great pitch for a main character, I don’t know what is. Though there was a lot to love about Vermilion, I think that Lou was my favorite part. She’s rash and sarcastic and maybe a bit crazy, but she’s 100% herself 100% of the time. I loved that Tanzer was able to show this young woman as being confident in who she was, but also doubting herself at times too, because that happens to the best of us. In Lou, I found a character I could root for and invest in, one who (in spite of her outlandish steampunk circumstances) was one I could see realism and truth in. That is the kind of character I love to find, in speculative fiction or any other genre.
Perhaps equally important to the crafting of Lou’s character is the setting. Vermilion takes place in an alternative United States in which most paranormal creatures (vampires, ghosts, demons, jinns, werewolves, etc.) exist, and also one in which the Union won the Civil War only with the aid of bears. Yes, bears. Unlike other “monsters”, the bears in this book (and also sea lions) are more or less fully integrated members of society. They walk, talk, and take part in the government. I just really freaking loved the bears, okay. Aside from them, I loved the way the paranormal was expressed in this book. Tanzer has taken cues from Taoist necromancy, and it seems like she’s done her research quite well. Which is important! That sense of legitimacy and respect definitely upped my enjoyment of the story.
And, what a story. From the beginning, when Lou is exorcising the rightfully cranky wife of a rather awful husband, things are exciting. It turns out that many young Chinese men have been disappearing lately, and Lou’s mother recruits her to go find out what happened. Which leads to a train ride to the Rocky Mountains, a seriously sketchy sanatorium, and other nefarious paranormal shenanigans. Lou tends to rush in headlong with only a half-baked plan, which is part of her charm, but it never gets annoying. Vermilion is a bit longer than the average novel, but every page felt justified and nothing felt unnecessary.
ALSO: hella diversity in this book. Which bears mentioning, because, hello: it’s important. So aside from the cross-dressing WOC protagonist, we have multiple POC characters, several queer characters, at least two Jewish characters, and one intersex character (!). Plus, there’s a lot of intersectionality going on in here, which is also important. I definitely felt like Vermilion reflected reality a lot better than many books I’ve been reading lately. So, I’m just saying. It’s kind of sad that this level of representation is so rare in fiction that I need to specifically point it out, but I’m so glad that Molly Tanzer did what she did here.
So in short: Vermilion is awesome and everyone should read it very soon. A great protagonist, excellent world-building, amazing story—everything I could ever ask for is here in this book. This is the rare book that actually has me (sort of) wishing for a sequel. It’s just that good.
