Review: Blood Tally (Valkyrie Collections #2) by Brian McClellan

RATING: 5/5

SYNOPSIS

Alek Fitz is the lead reaper for Valkyrie Collections, an agency that gathers debts for the paranormal elements of the world. Bound into modern-day slavery by a contract he cannot break, sold by parents he never knew, Alek works alongside demons, spirits, witches, and even Death himself to collect on deals made with humanity.

When Alek is forced to take a job from a local vampire hunting down a run-away thrall, he is immediately thrust into a world of blackmail and backstabbing, where the Rules are nothing more than an inconvenience to ancient, supernatural predators. For the first time, Alek has more to fear from his clients than from his debtors.

But Alek is the best in the business. It’ll take more than a Vampire Lord to keep a good reaper down.

REVIEW

I received a digital ARC copy of Blood Tally (Book 2 of the Valkyrie Collections) from Brian McClellan before the release date of the book (which I think is on 11.02.2020) in exchange for an honest review.

I’m so happy that Brian decided to continue with this series! Its so good to follow once again the adventures of Alek Fitz, the reaper (a collection agent who works for the paranormal elements of the world) and his best friend Maggie, a djinn (who is trapped in a ring by a powerful sorcerer, Matthias). This time, Alek is caught up with a job which involves vampires and thralls (humans who sold their souls to vampires and willingly agree to be their slaves in exchange for immortality). In the midst of completing this job, Alek discovered the plot of a vampire (Boris Novak) who breaks the Rules as well as the plot of a Vampire Lord (Lord Ruthven) who intends to increase his power. Its good to see Brian incorporatoing the usual vampire tropes (i.e. fear of garlic and sunlight) with his own creative twist. The concept of thralls linked with groups of unwanted youths is something new and I loved it a lot!

Alek and Maggie is further caught up with the events that follow from the first book (Uncanny Collateral). Apparently, Matthias is still hunting for Maggie. Alek and Maggie decided to team up with Nick the Necromancer (one of the antagonists in the first book) to solve this problem.

Brian’s characterization skills is further demonstrated in the developments between Alek and a few characters: Alek and Ada (a mother figure to Alek and also Alek’s master/employer) which is complicated; Alek and Olivia (a coven-less amateur witch) whom he fell in love with; Alek and Eddie (a sphinx and herald of Sekhmet, an Egyptian goddess) who became Alek’s “pet”. I’m sure Olivia and Eddie will be involved in Alek’s future jobs and i hope to see more interactions between them!

All in all, this is an amazing read and a strong continuation of the first book in this series! A definite 5/5 star rating! For those who are interested, you can order Blood Tally (as well as the first book of this series, Uncanny Collateral) from https://www.brianmcclellan.com/bookst… once its released!