Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Did I say it was amazing? I will read anything that deals with Marvel. Another great one!

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.

If there is any area it would be logical for tie-in books to excel in it’s in lesser known characters. Think about the space they provide. I don’t need a mountain of exposition on Batman to enjoy a novel about him. A novel about Doctor Fate would be far more useful. I get why there aren’t more novels on unfamiliar heroes, they don’t sell, but it’s a wasted opportunity.

Or it would be. This is my fourth review of a Marvel/Aconyte book and so far 3 of the 4 have centered on characters with much lower profiles. Aconyte has done novels on Rogue, Doctor Doom, and Domino with Dark Avengers getting an eagerly anticipated book this summer. But mostly we’re seeing the spotlight shine on characters who need it.

Elsa Bloodstone shouldn’t be though. She’s a badass character, a member of a line of monster hunters. She’s been in titles such as the beloved by all who read it Nextwave, Monsters Unleashed, and the really underrated Battleworld: Marvel Zombies miniseries. She’s a tough as nails heroine who deserves far more than her fairly scant appearances.

So let’s look at Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest by Cath Lauria, a rare solo story for the character. In fact it’s only her second name in the title story and third where she’s directly centered.

Here’s the plot synopsis from the publisher: “Elsa Bloodstone just can’t catch a break. She’s barely finished shutting down a hive of ratmen when a special ops squad turns up guns blazing – and they’re shooting at her! It’s nothing a good grenade can’t sort out though. When Elsa returns home, she discovers an unexpected guest claiming to be her long-lost sister, seeking her own stolen Bloodstone shard. The Bloodstone is the secret to Elsa’s superhuman powers, and a shard in villainous hands is seriously bad news. Cue globetrotting adventures full of monster-smashing. But danger stays one step ahead of them as Elsa realizes her sister isn’t quite what she seems, and an old enemy with a secret about her family’s past could overturn everything Elsa’s ever believed.”

We are in a mountain of tie-in tropes today but thankfully good ones. There’s a lost sister (who isn’t what she seems but not in the usual way.) There’s a villain connected to the past, a good one too. There’s a solid fetch quest plot. This is as well built as a tie-in on a new character gets.

And that’s a good review of the book. This is a solid tale through the Marvel monster side. But it hit me as I was reading it this is a bit bare bones. It does the trick but it doesn’t have the flourish I might expect. There’s none of the style of the X-Men books from Aconyte. Don’t get me wrong. It’s well written. It’s just that it’s merely good enough but kinda generic.

I think that’s down to the challenge of writing about a newer heroine. Elsa Bloodstone doesn’t have the material for an endless well of lore. There’s not many more appearances than you’d find in a standard Epic Collection It is a limiting factor for her book. Almost every shard of her lore is here. And while I dig the character, she lacks say the mental health problems Nadia Van Dyne had to give the Unstoppable Wasp book distinction. This is just a good monster book.

However that’s enough. This isn’t a messy read. It’s a solid down the line read. I definitely recommend it. It lands May 4.

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