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uselessly crossing obscure fandoms
Okay, so I have this book lying around the house called Summon the Keeper. It was recommended to me in high school on the basis of, I believe, the fairly awesome talking cat; my copy is beat-up enough that I seem to have read it a number of times. It's not particularly great, but it's good fun -- basically, this woman Claire (along with her aforementioned talking cat, Austin) is a Keeper, charged with keeping the balance of good and evil righted in the world, and closing rips in the fabric of reality. She ends up stuck trying to seal a hole to Hell in the basement of a guest house in Kingston, which also houses the fabulous ghost of a Quebecois sailor and is tended by a handsome young man name of Dean McIsaac.
The reason I actually picked this book up again, specifically, is because I had the sudden revelation that, hey, uh, Dean? really freakishly a lot like Benton Fraser. I went back through to see if my recollection was accurate, and lo -- Dean is pretty much exactly what you'd expect twenty-year-old Fraser to be like if he was a handyman instead of a Mountie and from Newfoundland. It's a closer match than you might think.
For example, Dean's introduction:
A little later on, they find a woman in a magical coma in room six. (Don't ask.) The following exchange:
The woman in the magical coma turns out to be, of course, EVIL (and I kept persistently picturing her as played by Victoria Metcalf, surprise surprise), so even ordinary mortals like Dean kind of get hit with the backlash:
In case all of this wasn't enough, Claire then has to explain about this whole fighting-evil schtick, because although in general she'd just alter a bystander's memories slightly, in this case Austin the cat insists that Dean is a part of events and needs to be told. Dean quickly assures Claire that she can trust him.
Dean is also weirdly charmingly literal in much the same way that Fraser is:
Anyway, Dean leaps to conclusions about poor Fred, and when Fred turns up in the hotel and decides to take the elevator (which goes pretty much anyplace you'd like except for any of the floors in the hotel, which makes it a pretty dangerous elevator for the unwary; don't ask) Hell does its best to tempt Dean not to do the right thing, and Dean hesitates for a fraction of a moment before running to save him. Dean then proceeds to question his entire worldview and self-conception because his hesitation has made him A Bad Person. Even Hell thinks that this is ridiculous. (Hell also, much like Discworld Death, TALKS LIKE THIS.)
Anyway, due to complex circumstances Dean realizes that there's no way Claire and Diana can save the world and also save him; Claire realizes this too, but since we're talking about baby Fraser here, this is a more difficult choice than it might be in the main. In any case, to make up for his single moment of hesitation, Dean voluntarily sacrifices himself to Hell so that Claire can save the world. Being a willing sacrifice, he comes out of it perfectly well and also with a restored sense of well-being, considering that he helped save the world and all, but still.
And the book has a pretty priceless final line, too:
The reason I actually picked this book up again, specifically, is because I had the sudden revelation that, hey, uh, Dean? really freakishly a lot like Benton Fraser. I went back through to see if my recollection was accurate, and lo -- Dean is pretty much exactly what you'd expect twenty-year-old Fraser to be like if he was a handyman instead of a Mountie and from Newfoundland. It's a closer match than you might think.
For example, Dean's introduction:
Standing at the refrigerator was a dark-haired young man in his late teens or early twenties ... a certain breadth of shoulder and narrowness of hip suggested to Claire that he wasn't the bookish type. The muscles of his back made interesting ripples in the brilliant white cotton of his T-shirt, and when she lowered her gaze, she discovered, after a moment, that he ironed his jeans.IRONED HIS JEANS. I realize that is not quite as good as ironing his boxers, but I'm sure he does that too. And near the end of the book, while he is packing up a suitcase, he definitely folds them.
...In spite of his age, or perhaps because of it, this was the most grounded person she'd ever met. First impressions suggested he'd never push a door marked pull, he'd arrive on time for appointments, and, in case of fire, he'd actually remember the locations of the nearest exits.
P. 14
A little later on, they find a woman in a magical coma in room six. (Don't ask.) The following exchange:
"I was raised better than to stare at a woman's chest."I realize that a reverend and a traveling librarian are not quite the same thing, but the result seems to be the same. Bless.
"You thought it was a corpse."
"Doesn't matter."
"Who raised you?"
"My granddad, Reverend McIsaac," Dean told her, a little defensively.
Claire had her doubts at how often a twenty-year-old male actually followed that particular dictum but had no plans to discourage admirable intentions.
P. 22-23
The woman in the magical coma turns out to be, of course, EVIL (and I kept persistently picturing her as played by Victoria Metcalf, surprise surprise), so even ordinary mortals like Dean kind of get hit with the backlash:
His back against the wall, Dean slid down to sit on the hall floor, feeling much as he had at ten when the local bully had smacked him around with a dead cod.See, this is the kind of shit I could not just make up. He's not in the Territories, so of course he can't get hit with an otter -- instead it's a cod! I bet being hit by a cod doesn't leave a scar on your collarbone, Dean.
P. 24
In case all of this wasn't enough, Claire then has to explain about this whole fighting-evil schtick, because although in general she'd just alter a bystander's memories slightly, in this case Austin the cat insists that Dean is a part of events and needs to be told. Dean quickly assures Claire that she can trust him.
The possibility of not trusting him hadn't crossed her mind. Total strangers probably handed him their packages while they bent to tie their shoelaces. If a game needed a scorekeeper, he'd always be the one drafted. Mothers could safely leave small children with him and return hours later knowing their little darlings had been fed, watered, and harmlessly amused. And he does windows.None of these observations are particularly shocking, but they are pretty hilarious.
P. 39
Dean is also weirdly charmingly literal in much the same way that Fraser is:
[Claire said,] "I think I can spare a moment." When he frowned, clearly considering the actual time he'd need, Claire sighed. "Figure of speech, Dean."The next quote I bookmarked isn't ... really something that screams Fraser at me, but it did make me start giggling uncontrollably for mildly Fraser-related reasons. Context involves a girl named Faith, who really gives off the impression of having recently also escaped from a due South episode, seeking a moment's rest at the hotel. She and her boyfriend Fred live a life of petty crime, but they're quite rubbish at it and keep forgetting their loot on busses and things. Fred is just as charmingly inept as Faith, but since he doesn't appear right away, and Faith turns up somewhat bruised and exhausted, Dean leaps to a perfectly logical conclusion, which leads to the following:
P. 194
[Dean said,] "She's terrified of him, or she wouldn't have been out all night, forced to throw herself on the kindness of strangers."Like I said, I started giggling uncontrollably, but then I could just be easily amused.
Claire sighed. She'd just discovered two things about Dean. The first, which was hardly unexpected considering the rest of his personality, involved taking the side of the weak against the strong. The second, that at some point during his scholastic career he'd been forced to read A Streetcar Named Desire.
P. 288
Anyway, Dean leaps to conclusions about poor Fred, and when Fred turns up in the hotel and decides to take the elevator (which goes pretty much anyplace you'd like except for any of the floors in the hotel, which makes it a pretty dangerous elevator for the unwary; don't ask) Hell does its best to tempt Dean not to do the right thing, and Dean hesitates for a fraction of a moment before running to save him. Dean then proceeds to question his entire worldview and self-conception because his hesitation has made him A Bad Person. Even Hell thinks that this is ridiculous. (Hell also, much like Discworld Death, TALKS LIKE THIS.)
And he'd listened. He'd hesitated.And then here's the bit where I spoil lots of bits of the end-plot for you, because it's delicious. Sara, the evil woman in the magical coma, wakes up and tries to gain control of Hell, which you may recall is hanging out in the basement. In order to do that, however, she needs to give Hell the blood of a virgin. Claire's seventeen-year-old lesbian sister Diana has turned up at this point to help out, but to Claire's vague horror and my giant crush on Diana, she's not the one evil Sara is using for a sacrifice. Three guesses and the ones that aren't "Dean" don't count.
OH, FOR ... SIX SECONDS OUT OF TWENTY SQUEAKY-CLEAN YEARS!
He deserved to go to Hell.
YOU'RE KIDDING, RIGHT?
P. 319
Anyway, due to complex circumstances Dean realizes that there's no way Claire and Diana can save the world and also save him; Claire realizes this too, but since we're talking about baby Fraser here, this is a more difficult choice than it might be in the main. In any case, to make up for his single moment of hesitation, Dean voluntarily sacrifices himself to Hell so that Claire can save the world. Being a willing sacrifice, he comes out of it perfectly well and also with a restored sense of well-being, considering that he helped save the world and all, but still.
And the book has a pretty priceless final line, too:
HEY! WHO TIDIED THE BRIMSTONE?Because you know Fraser would do that too. :D
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Oh my God, you're right! Dean is Alternate Universe Fraser!
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(All versions of Fraser are adorable. It's THE LAW.)
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Also:
but to Claire's vague horror and my giant crush on Diana, she's not the one evil Sara is using for a sacrifice.
1) YES to the giant crush.
2) Have you read the sequel that follows Diana?
Funnily enough, I'd actually just re-read Summon the Keeper a week ago and have been looking for my copies of the sequels (which I am beginning to think are still at my dad's house, because I haven't been able to find them anywhere).
In conclusion: <3 Tanya Huff.
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And yes, I definitely read the Diana-centric sequel, although I don't recall it very well -- I read it more than two years ago and it's the only one I haven't reread. (I'm about twenty pages into my reread of Second Summoning right now. Claire and Dean are about to have epic sex that creates the angel and demon. OH GOD THESE BOOKS. <3) All I really remember about the Diana-sequel is that I got quite impatient with her love interest, but I suspect this may be because I wanted to be her love interest and was jealous. Heh.
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*dies* That is awesome!
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