The Clandestine Daze series by Tim Marquitz is a set of supernatural spy fiction depicting a doppleganger named Z who has temporarily adopted the persona of a Texas security consultant in order to spy on his employers. The opening scene of the novella, Eyes Deep (reviewed here), was him killing the innocent man and eating one of his eyeballs to assume his form.
Needless to say, this is not your typical hero.
I was intrigued by Eyes Deep's premise, so much so that I decided to check out the full-blown novel which followed up on its events. Sadly, the novel opens up with an infinitely less interesting scene of Z serving as an impromptu member of the inter-dimensional border patrol dealing with illegal otherworldly immigrants.
Sorry, Tim, but not your best.
Despite this, the rest of the novel is a collection of numerous spy vs. spy shenanigans as Z struggles to maintain his identity as an agent for the mysterious A.I. organization while being tempted by the prospects of a normal life (which he stole).
The series' premise is A.I. is the lesser evil as they represent the faction of the Aellisars (fairies, basically), who don't want war with humanity and it falls to Z to make sure they are thwarted. Likewise, Z must make sure humanity doesn't gain the technology to identify the Aellisar amongst them. You know, despite the fact they include vampires and other predatory monsters.
Which is both the series' strength and biggest flaw. You see, well, the protagonist and his employers are kind of... evil. I don't mean in a small way, either, but in a really big way that makes them repulsive. Z reminds me strongly of Grand Theft Auto V's middle-aged protagonist Michael de Santa who, "sits in his pool all day feeling guilty about all the people he's murdered. Then goes and does it again the next day."
Z refuses to sleep with the wife of the man he's murdered and is impersonating, believing it is his only saving grace but I can't help think the author is as aware as the reader this is just self-justifying crap. The rule he's established for himself keeps him from becoming a rapist but doesn't do anything to redeem the other terrible things he does for a dubious goal. Because, really, at the end of the day, he's just facilitating the more secretive predators amongst the Aellisar.
Given the protagonist is almost completely unsympathetic, you'd think this would be a deal-breaker but I actually like the web of rationalizations and self-justifications Z keeps trying to feed himself. I also think the author is building up for a big moment where they all come tumbling down. The moment where he decides to abandon his Z persona entirely and become Theodor's wife's husband, with all the horror that implies, because it is a better existence than his current one or when she discovers what monster she's been sleeping beside.
And I really wish we'd seen that this time around.
I'm terrible at patience.
Another area I think the novel could do better in is to quit teasing the reader with the sex. The genre is squarely fantastic Noir where everyone is one manner of a scumbag or another but the characters remain ever surprisingly prudish. Z can't sleep with his beautiful femme fatale partner Jace any more than he can sleep with his wife, despite numerous moments where I think it would have made the story more intense. Indeed, he keeps himself remarkably monkish and focuses entirely on the mission which serves to make him less human. If a monster he must be, at least be a monster who has fun.
Anywho, despite this, the novel is full of outstanding writing moments. Tim Marquitz weaves a complex and entertaining yarn with various factions, double-crosses, triple crosses, and red herrings. Despite the fact it's a book about modernized fairy kingdoms versus the American government, the spywork feels authentic. There's also a lot of black humor I loved like Jace sexually teasing poor Z when he's forced to assume a female form.
In conclusion, I recommend this book but not as a starter to the series. I strongly encourage newcomers to pick up the original Eyes Deep and read it in conjunction with Influx. The two books really should be released as one edition given they flow from one to another. Despite this, for black on black spy urban fantasy work, you could do a lot worse.
9/10