Rating: 
Summary: Murder in Historical New Orleans
Review:
It's the summer of 1833 and the muddy, cobbledstone streets of New Orleans reek with the stench of death. The city is under siege by an invisible killer that is claiming hundreds of lives. Knowing no difference between class or color, yellow fever is striking at will. From the lavish mansions of the wealthy landowners to the battered slave quarters, no one is safe. Nothing seems to be able to keep the illness at bay, not the skills of the conventional doctors or the mysterious healing powers of the voodoos. Citizens fortunate enough to get away to the country flee in droves. The ones left behind avoid the streets and open markets as much as possible, leaving New Orleans a virtual ghost town by night fall.
The city's hospital is filled beyond capacity with the wailing, suffering victims of the fever. For Benjamin January this is one of the rare occasions where he can use his skills in medicine. Educated in the finest medical schools in France, January is an accomplished, experienced surgeon. However, in 1833 New Orleans no Black man can practice medicine, even if they are free. Therefore, January is subjected to being nothing more than an assistant to less competent white doctors. Yet, as a trained physician he can not ignore the suffering of others. So by night, enduring meager wages and indignities, he assists the suffering victims as best as he can, sometimes secretly correcting the wrongs his less skilled white counterparts bestow upon them.
By day January earns his living as a music teacher, one of the few dignified jobs available to a free man of color. He teaches the children from wealthy white families as well as a few from the free black families how to read music and play piano. It is during one of these lessons that January is approached by a runaway slave to relay a message to the servant of one of his pupils. Having been a slave himself, January understands the desire to hear and see loved ones who have been sold away, so he takes the risk to pass on the message. Little does he know that this one act of kindness will have deadly consequences.
Intrigued and angered by the events that transpires, January decides to investigate. What he uncovers is a string of mysterious disappearances masked by the yellow fever epidemic. Understanding that it is not safe or accessible for a Black man to question what goes on behind certain closed doors, January approaches everything and everyone with extreme caution. He knows that he must rely upon his wit and a few trustworthy friends to get to the truth. As he digs deeper into the mystery, risking life and limb, he uncovers a den of lies, deceptions and a sadistic, murderous secret that will shock and anger even the most hardened New Orleans citizen.
In FEVER SEASON, Barbara Hambly has captured the essence of old New Orleans.
Hambly brings to life the complex mixture of cultures and people that helped form New Orleans into such a legendary city. Never relinquishing to mere stereotypes, Benjamin January is a character who understands his environment and those who inhabit it. Hambly allows him to remain dignified and intelligent in a world that often did not appreciate such attributes in a Black man. January was first introduced in A Free Man of Color, and although FEVER SEASON continues with his experiences in New Orleans, it truly is a stand alone novel. So for anyone who wants an intelligent mystery where the characters are believable and the plot is thrilling, pull up a bowl of gumbo and take a stroll down the French Quarter in FEVER SEASON.
Reviewed by L. Raven James
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Rating: 
Summary: Even Better Than the First One!
Review: As much as I loved the first book, A Free Man of Color, the second in the series was even better in some ways. Hambley plays her strongest card in this book--her fantastic command of characterization. Once I got to the last 1/3 of the book, I literally could not put it down. My only complaint--the end left me wanting more!
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing mystery, believeable setting
Review: Barbara Hambly gives her readers a mystery that captures their attention and a main character that captures their sympathy. Benjamin January is in quite an unenviable position. He is a free man of color, but his status is very precarious in a society that at one time respected the rights of people like him, but as more American whites have come in, his freedom could be taken away at any moment. And with the murder of a free woman of color ruffling the feathers of both the white and colored community, Benjamin's very life could be in danger.
Ms. Hambly not only makes the mystery engrossing, she also makes the caste system engrossing. We come to understand the ins and outs of the New Orleans society Benjamin and his family and friends reside. We also understand why Benjamin both reviles it and yet cannot leave it. For better or worse, this is home. And Ms. Hambly describes it in lush detail, from the wild costumes of the colored balls to the Louisiana backwoods and swamps. You can almost feel the drumbeats the slaves are forbidden to tap out, yet do so with their voices and the rhythm of their work. I will definitely be reading more of this series.
Rating:
Summary: More please
Review: Barbara Hambly has done it again. Benjamin Janvier returns in a sequel to A Free Man of Color. The images that are invoked are excellent. The streets of New Orleans, the culture, the miscarriage of justice reflect the way it was. My friends who teach French and enjoy mysteries loved the frist one after I pointed it out to them. I am recommending this one as well. Please keep up the good work.
Rating:
Summary: Many shades of gray in old New Orleans
Review: Benjamin January (Janvier)- free man of color, educated, speaks several languages, classically trained pianist (and guitarist)as well as Paris-educated surgeon and now amateur sleuth. An interesting character to what could build into a great series. The plot at first seems simple, January must discover the true killer of Otis Redfern, but along the way he gets involved with slave kidnapping, slanderous accusations among so-called "medical professionals" and must carefully maneuver the caste hierarchy that existed in 1830's New Orleans. Here are things I liked about the book:
The level of detail presented was excellent, from the character's skin tone, dress and physicality to the way they spoke. The buildings and period description immerse the reader into that time. The atmosphere of hot summer, fever and cholera is as much a character as the people. In fact, once the summer was over and the plot remained unresolved I thought it took a little of the edge off the story. I like that the characters, both black and white and in between, are depicted in shades of gray and shadows. Not every white person is shown as a cruel slave owner or crude illiterate and not every person of color or black is shown as a noble victim of the oppressed. These are complex characters with the illusion of reality. January's best friend, Hannibal, is an Irish violin virtuoso who reads several languages and reels off quotes but is also a drunk, an opium addict infected with consumption and regular customer with prostitutes. Abishag Shaw, January's associate with the law, is an unwashed, tobacco-spitting Kaintuck but who knows enough French to pronouce the names correctly and has a strong but unspoken moral and ethical code. The story also introduces Rose Vitrac, an educated woman of color who runs a school for girls that want something more than to be a placee for a white man. Rose is also a complex character, emotionally scarred, but provides a good ally for January. There are many other interesting characters and again I enjoyed the way January moves through the various levels of this society. The medical practice was truly horrifying. My main critique is that January is always thinking about the caste system that exists there. Always. It sometimes detracted from the plot. I also wanted to get deeper into his relationship with his mother. Livia Levesque was one not given much dimension.
I also was a little disappointed with the historical epilogue and felt it was not needed. My questions: What happens next? Will January and Rose develop a relationship? Where does his career go from here?
Rating:
Summary: Many shades of gray in old New Orleans
Review: Benjamin January (Janvier)- free man of color, educated, speaks several languages, classically trained pianist (and guitarist)as well as Paris-educated surgeon and now amateur sleuth. An interesting character to what could build into a great series. The plot at first seems simple, January must discover the true killer of Otis Redfern, but along the way he gets involved with slave kidnapping, slanderous accusations among so-called "medical professionals" and must carefully maneuver the caste hierarchy that existed in 1830's New Orleans. Here are things I liked about the book:
The level of detail presented was excellent, from the character's skin tone, dress and physicality to the way they spoke. The buildings and period description immerse the reader into that time. The atmosphere of hot summer, fever and cholera is as much a character as the people. In fact, once the summer was over and the plot remained unresolved I thought it took a little of the edge off the story. I like that the characters, both black and white and in between, are depicted in shades of gray and shadows. Not every white person is shown as a cruel slave owner or crude illiterate and not every person of color or black is shown as a noble victim of the oppressed. These are complex characters with the illusion of reality. January's best friend, Hannibal, is an Irish violin virtuoso who reads several languages and reels off quotes but is also a drunk, an opium addict infected with consumption and regular customer with prostitutes. Abishag Shaw, January's associate with the law, is an unwashed, tobacco-spitting Kaintuck but who knows enough French to pronouce the names correctly and has a strong but unspoken moral and ethical code. The story also introduces Rose Vitrac, an educated woman of color who runs a school for girls that want something more than to be a placee for a white man. Rose is also a complex character, emotionally scarred, but provides a good ally for January. There are many other interesting characters and again I enjoyed the way January moves through the various levels of this society. The medical practice was truly horrifying. My main critique is that January is always thinking about the caste system that exists there. Always. It sometimes detracted from the plot. I also wanted to get deeper into his relationship with his mother. Livia Levesque was one not given much dimension.
I also was a little disappointed with the historical epilogue and felt it was not needed. My questions: What happens next? Will January and Rose develop a relationship? Where does his career go from here?
Rating:
Summary: vivid depiction of a bygone era
Review: FEVER SEASON hooked me from page one. The layers of culture in New Orleans (circa 1833) are revealed to you through a variety of characters that have learned to live and survive in their respective "castes". These complex and believable characters are really what make this novel such an intriguing and engrossing read.
Ben January is an educated man. In fact he is a European trained doctor, but being a free man of color doesn't allow him to actively practice medicine in the race driven society of the 19th century. Fortunately, he is also a skilled musician who is allowed into the homes of New Orleans finest families. It is there, acting as a music teacher, that he hears and notices things that others might not. Because of his mixed race, the elite don't think of him as a real person and consequently things "slip out" in his company.
This second book takes place during the summer. A time of sweltering heat when many upper class families leave town and others just shut themselves up in their homes. The lower class don't have this luxury and consequently they often succumb to the cholera that runs rampant during this time of the year. With so many dying daily it isn't surprising that a few extra people missing wouldn't be noticed. When a young girl comes to Ben for help locating her missing lover he is intrigued but hesitant to get involved. She then disappears, but not quite "without a trace". Unfortunately both of the disappearances seem to have occurred near the home of the very wealthy and influential Creole wife of a local Doctor.
From the beautiful homes of the cities high society to the squalid hospitals of the terribly poor, this story takes you through every facet of the elaborate New Orleans society. Based on the true story of Delphine Lalaurie this novel is a wonderful mystery filled with historical tidbits that I found fascinating. Barbara Hambly is an extraordinary storyteller.
Rating:
Summary: History's lesson
Review: I am a big fan of Barbara Hambly's. She writes wonderful characters and interesting plots. I was very curious to see what she would do with a story where the plot was already there. She does a very good job representing a culture that still has it's threads here today and a distinctive man who is truly a hero. I knew nothing about New Orleans during this time period, and Ms. Hambly did a fine job of explaining the culture without it taking over the story. The villain is as gruesome and horrifying as any villain should be, but the fact that this villain was real makes the shivers continue long after you finish the book. The horrors of New Orleans during the two plagues, slavery and the cholera, make a great setting for the book, but I should warn you that it makes for grim reading at times. January's return to love and a good woman is a sweet and sometimes funny note to the book. True to form, Hambly's heroine is no dumb lady but a brilliant scientist and teacher in her own right. This is a book that will stick with you long after you turn the last page.
Rating:
Summary: History's lesson
Review: I am a big fan of Barbara Hambly's. She writes wonderful characters and interesting plots. I was very curious to see what she would do with a story where the plot was already there. She does a very good job representing a culture that still has it's threads here today and a distinctive man who is truly a hero. I knew nothing about New Orleans during this time period, and Ms. Hambly did a fine job of explaining the culture without it taking over the story. The villain is as gruesome and horrifying as any villain should be, but the fact that this villain was real makes the shivers continue long after you finish the book. The horrors of New Orleans during the two plagues, slavery and the cholera, make a great setting for the book, but I should warn you that it makes for grim reading at times. January's return to love and a good woman is a sweet and sometimes funny note to the book. True to form, Hambly's heroine is no dumb lady but a brilliant scientist and teacher in her own right. This is a book that will stick with you long after you turn the last page.
Rating: 
Summary: Sorry, I don't share the same view as the majority.
Review: I had a difficult time "getting into" this book and could hardly wait to finish reading it.
| 
