Bone Crossed
Patricia Briggs
** spoiler alert **
Mercy levels up
Bone Crossed is the fourth novel in Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series. The first three novels were an extended introduction to the Mercyverse, introducing Mercy herself along with three main preternatural communities: Werewolves, Vampires, and Fay. Mercy herself is none of the above: she is a walker, a shapeshifter who can take on the form of a coyote. In this first three novels Mercy managed to get herself in trouble with werewolves, vampires, and fay, to the point where it was not obvious how she was going to make it.
Well, there is a common thing that happens in fantasy fiction series -- the central character becomes more powerful as the series proceeds. It's common enough to have a name, "leveling up," which of course comes from gaming. In most fantasy leveling up happens by the character acquiring new and greater magical powers. People level up in real life, but not by acquiring new magical powers. We level up by learning new things and by forming friendships and alliances. In my reviews of the first three novels I mentioned that Mercy levels up mostly in that realistic way.
Only "mostly," though. Bone Crossed is one of the exceptions. In Bone Crossed Mercy is in trouble with vampires, and she gets past those troubles in part through friendships, but also through discovering new powers. We also get some important world-building here.
Werewolves, Vampires, and the Fay, we learn, came to the American continents from Europe. The Americas have their own folklore traditions, however from Native Americans. Mercy's father was Blackfeet Nation. There were once many more walkers like Mercy in North America. However, vampires are vulnerable to the abilities of walkers, which go beyond shape-changing. As a consequence the vampires virtually exterminated walkers in North America. Mercy is a rare sport.
Now Mercy is in trouble because she destroyed two vampires in novel 2, Blood Bound. Until now she managed to conceal that from the mistress of the local vampire seethe. Now Marsilia has learned the truth and wants Mercy dead. Mercy discovers more about why vampires are vulnerable to walkers and, of course, manages to come out on top. She even emerges with an uneasy alliance with Marsilia.
Thus although Mercy levels up mostly by learning to use magical powers she was unaware of, there is a little of that leveling up by forming alliances. Quite a lot, in fact. At the end of novel 3, Iron Kissed, Mercy agreed to a relationship with Adam Hauptman, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack. She will eventually become a member of the pack and Adam's mate, as well as his wife, and the wolves are good people to have on your side in a fight.
This one was less harrowing than Iron Kissed, and more purely enjoyable. It puts in some important world-building.