The protagonists of Jim C. Hines’ amazing novel, Slayers of Old, all believe that their fighting days are over. Jenny, Annette, and Temple now run a bookshop out of Temple’s home in Salem, Massachusetts. Decades ago, Jenny was a goddess-touched monster slayer, Annette a talented magical detective, and Temple a powerful wizard. Their knees aren’t what they were. Their world-weariness has made them sharp-tempered. And yet, when things get hairy, the trio have to find it in themselves to save the world one more time.
We meet Jenny first. Jenny has long been retired from her role as a Hunter of Artemis. Once she used the goddess’s blessing to take on all manner of supernatural baddies, until something (revealed later) goes so wrong that Jenny hangs up her bow and devotes herself to healing the same creatures she used to hunt down. Then Annette takes a turn as narrator. Annette is the granddaughter of a succubus, which grants her some impressive powers of persuasion as well as enhanced strength and healing abilities. Her regrets center on her son and grandchildren and she wonders if it’s too late to repair their relationships. Then we meet Temple. At 99 years old, Temple worries that he is about to succumb to old age. Because his magic is closely tied to his family home, he frets that it might die when he does.
All of them have plenty to be getting on with when weird things start to happen. What’s up with the kid in the sinister van who appears to be following Jenny and Annette? Who on earth are the three teenaged jerks who attack Annette with spray guns full of holy water? And why are some of the local adolescents growing extra eyeballs? And can our heroes deal with all of this before their joints give out?
I very much enjoyed Slayers of Old. After so many teenaged protagonists who inexplicably have to save the kingdom, empire, or world, it was delightfully novel to have characters who knew what they were doing, even if they didn’t quite know what was going on this time. Hines also has a great sense of humor and there is plenty of comic relief packed into this novel. I laughed more than once at Jenny’s dialogue with Artemis (she likes Beyoncé) and Temple’s snarky commentary and Annette’s domestic squabbling with her relatives. This book was a pure joy to read.