Part of the Marvel: Heroines series from Aconyte Books, Cath Lauria’s Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest is a madcap thrill-ride full of monster battles, jet-setting and bickering siblings. Elsa Bloodstone – badass monster hunter, daughter of the famed Ulysses Bloodstone, definitely not a team player – is quite content with her life spent travelling the world, slaying assorted horrors for money. When a simple monster hunt is interrupted by mercenaries wanting her bloodstone shard, however, it seems as though her life is about to get a bit more complicated, an impression only reinforced by the appearance of a previously unknown half-sister asking for help in recovering her own, recently-lost bloodstone. Begrudgingly, Elsa agrees to help Mihaela, and the two of them set out to track down whoever’s behind the bloodstone theft.
What ensues is a pacy, action-packed adventure as Elsa and Mihaela search for their late father’s old bases in the hope of finding hidden bloodstones, the mercenaries who attacked Elsa and stole Mihaela’s shard, or – ideally – both. Setting out from Elsa’s home in Boston they race across the globe, from relatively civilised locales like New York and Mombasa to the wildernesses of Antarctica and the immodestly-named Bloodstone Isle, facing up against all manner of dangers and winding each other up like only siblings can. There’s little that Elsa can’t handle on her own, with her bloodstone-granted powers, hard-earned skills and considerable arsenal (including, brilliantly a ‘pillow gun’), but a few names from the wider Marvel universe pop up in brief supporting cameos now and then to lend a hand, and over time Elsa has to concede that there are occasionally benefits to be had in working alongside her sister. Occasionally.
Both strong-willed, no-nonsense women with their own secrets and motivations, for all their apparent differences – age, career, upbringing, opinion of their father, attitudes towards monsters – Elsa and Mihaela have plenty in common too. While Elsa takes great pleasure in baiting the older woman whenever possible, as the story progresses the way they act towards each other gradually develops into something neither of them expected. It’s this relationship which makes the book sing, the two characters bouncing off each other in entertaining fashion while bullets, blades and razor-sharp words fly. Elsa is an absolute badass and it’s a delight to watch her work, but with all her abilities there’s little that can pose a real danger to her – she can, after all, heal pretty much anything. As such, the disturbance in her comfortable life that Mihaela causes adds valuable tension to the story, not just in terms of Elsa keeping her sister alive but also in the way that Mihaela’s outlook on their family causes Elsa to reconsider a few things as well.
If you’ll forgive me a break from third to first person, I should point out here that I had never come across Elsa Bloodstone before, so had little idea of what to expect when I picked this up…but I was delighted to find that I loved both Elsa and the story! I enjoyed the way Lauria dropped in occasional references to Elsa’s earlier life and previous adventures, and likewise the connections to the wider Marvel universe, all of which combine to give a satisfying sense of shared history and a decent grounding in the character. More than that, with her sharp wit and determination to always speak her mind, Elsa is just tremendously entertaining to read about. There’s a slightly strange mix of English and American in her voice, which perhaps represents the author too but ultimately works in context of her character, and really what’s not to like about someone described thus: “You move like a cat and fight like a wolverine, and you do it all in heels and toting more guns than most people can even name.”?
It’s fun to read about high-profile characters from the Marvel universe, but there’s something to be said for the slightly less well-known names like Elsa Bloodstone who – for someone like me who’s mostly familiar with Marvel from the movies rather than the comic books – can bring something a bit different to the table. To my mind, this is a great example of how much fun superheroes can be, but at the same time how important it is that their stories are grounded in character first and foremost. What makes Elsa really interesting to read about is her relationship with her family, not her powers, and while I loved all the action and the wisecracks, I also cared about Elsa, and Mihaela too! If you’re on the lookout for a pulpy action adventure with a Marvel character who deserves much more attention (and lots more stories after this), I can heartily recommend you give this a go.
Many thanks to Aconyte Books, Marvel and Cath Lauria for providing me with a review copy of Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest, in exchange for my honest review. It’s due out in global ebook and US paperback in May, with the UK paperback following in July.
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