Alek Fitz is a reaper, a collection agent who works for the supernatural elements of the world, tracking down debtors and solving problems for clients as diverse as the Lords of Hell, vampires, Haitian loa, and goblins. He’s even worked for the Tooth Fairy on occasion. Based out of Cleveland, Ohio, Alek is the best in the game. As a literal slave to his job, he doesn’t have a choice.

When Death comes looking for someone to track down a thief, Alek is flung into a mess of vengeful undead, supernatural bureaucracy, and a fledgling imp war. As the consequences of failure become dire, he has few leads, and the clock is ticking. Only with the help of his friend Maggie—an ancient djinn with a complex past—can he hope to recover the stolen property, save the world, and just maybe wring a favor out of the Great Constant himself.

It’s a hell of a job, but somebody’s got to do it . . .

Ah, look at this! Another book written by a fantasy author I love, but in a different genre!! To start with, and having zero chill, being contacted by Brian McClellan about reading his new self-published urban fantasy novella, Uncanny Collateral, was a huge fucking mood boost! Although I still have more of his books to read, The Powder Mage trilogy are among some of my most favorite fantasy novels! So getting a chance to read his first foray into urban fantasy was wicked exciting!

This book was just fucking awesome, cover to cover. All the pieces fit into place here, the pacing & length of the story were dead on, and the whole thing was just so much goddamn fun!!

This is the story of Alek Fitz. He’s a reaper who works for Valkyrie Collections, a supernatural collection agency based out of Cleveland, Ohio. He’s also a half-blood troll with retractable tusks & magical power-enhancing tattoos, so that’s pretty fucking cool! Overall, Alek is just an imminently likable dude…he’s for sure a badass, and he’s good at his job & gets shit done. Although his employment with Valkyrie is brutally demanding and not precisely voluntary, he enjoys some aspects the gig.

His partner is Maggie, an ancient jinn who resides in a magical ring that is stuck on Alek’s finger. They communicate via telepathy. Maggie is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things supernatural (or Other, as they are referred to in this book), and she & Alek make an incredibly effective duo.

This first volume finds them hired by Death (literally, Death) to track down some souls that have gone missing. Alek & Maggie run into a whole lot of obstacles trying to unravel this particular mystery.

It’s the dynamic between Alek & Maggie that really makes this book as captivating as it is…they work so well together, and although Maggie isn’t physically there fighting beside Alek, he relies on her for so much. They have an easy & comfortable vibe about them, and the dialogue between them is fantastic.

I certainly hope we’ll be seeing more of this duo going forward, because I loved Collateral Damage a ton! Like I mentioned, the pacing is intense, and there’s some for real bone-jarring action sequences. Also there’s necromancy, because of course there is.

Highly recommended!!

Massive thanks to Brian McClellan for the copy!!