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BSI: Bureau Of Supernatural Investigation (An Enchanted Immortals Novella) (2000)

by C.J. Pinard(Favorite Author)

3.55 of 5 Votes: 5

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review 1: The government has set up the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation to investigate growing paranormal crime without alerting the public. Bosses are unaware that some law enforcement agents they employ are paranormal creatures who belong to their own policing service.The idea on this one was good but I didn't really enjoy the execution. This was more like an ordinary historical crime novel except the suspects being quizzed and searched for were supernatural as were a few of the officers. And I don't like crime novels. Crime novels tend to be heavy on investigation details and interviews and low on action which is what I found this one to be.Most of this book is taken up with interviewing agents being recruited to this new unit and it was pretty repetitive and started to drag... more after a bit. I wanted to see what they did, hunting down rogue vampires and shifters and having fights with them, but this book felt more like a big info dump to set up the rest of the series and it did not hold my interest.One thing I did find very annoying was the way the characters are described. We are told their full names when we first meet them which is fine. But the author then calls them by their full names every time we go back to them which was so irritating! I KNOW their names so you don't need to keep telling me their full names every page! Calling them Adam and Tony or Swift and Bianchi is more than enough, especially in a short book! There is nothing wrong in the writing or development of the book if you are a crime novel fan and like all the interviews and investigative stuff that go with it. It just isn't my kind of book as I wanted to see more supernatural action and I won't be continuing with the series. I would however consider looking at other work by this author in something that is more my genre.
review 2: Whether you're a fan of C.J. Pinard's paranormal/urban fantasy series, Enchanted Immortals, or being introduced to it now BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Investigation is a fantastic novella to read at any point in the series. It provides backgrounds to already known characters as well as introduce fresh characters from different cities and era's. It comes complete with imagination, action, fun and drama. Not to mention the various fae, including vampires, shifters, succubae and sylph.This Enchanted Immortals novella takes the reader into the very beginning of the BSI; who set it up, how it was set up, agents that were assigned to the BSI and unexplained/unsolved investigations that had been re-opened. You may find some similarities to the tv series, The X-Files, in that the investigations are of a supernatural kind and some of the agents are more open-minded and knowledgable of the paranormal than others. The difference being that the BSI concentrates on the shifters and vampires mostly.The prologue explains the setting up of the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation. After the FBI's Assistant Director Jim Blackwell's son, Paul, is murdered in Washington, 1945 it becomes more evident over time that this killing was possibly of a supernatural kind. As all lines of inquiry begin to dry up, Jim still remains determined to find the killer of his son. When approached by General Frost, Jim's mind opens up to the possibilites of paranormal behaviour.BSI is separated into three main sections (excluding the prologue and epilogue). Each section focuses on a different city and era, i.e. San Francisco (1946), Chicago (1963) and New Orleans (1989). (This reminded me a little of the CSI's on tv as there are different series based in different cities.) Each of these sections have their own case to follow, with different BSI agents in each section.The epilogue then takes us back to Washington as the reader discovers the outcome of the case of the BSI Founder's son! Will the killer be caught? Does Jim have all the answers in the end? One of my favourite aspects of this novella is the way in which C.J. begins with the prologue, the beginning of the set up of the BSI, and then leaves it open until the epilogue where one way or another ends this novella brilliantly.In this novella the reader will be informed that some Immortals become BSI agents as they need to discover how much the human agents know about them. The agents are selected by excelling at their job and are able to close most cases, apart from the ones that are unexplained and are left unsolved. In some instances, once the agent begins working for the BSI they are then able to try and crack their unsolved case with a more open mind as they are made aware of the existence of vamps, shifters and succubae.In some instances the Immortal agents open up to their human partner, especially if suspicions have risen with their supernatural powers and their knowledge of the Fae, and make them aware of what they are – although this usually comes with a price itself and the human then must become an Immortal. During the times when the Immortals reveal their true selves they also explain their age and lack of aging, the elixir and their healing abilities. This is a fantastic way to introduce these qualities into the novella as it supports the main books of the series.There's a little action in each story, with some stories focussing on shifters more and others on vampires and succubae. During some of these action scenes, in particular the vampires, there are instances where heads are completely cleared from their bodies and heads popping or bursting. Even though these are serious moments of action and gore, and are in context and necessary for the story, I cannot help but smile as the terminology makes reading these scenes fun instead of being too horrific.I cannot help but personally hope for more stories from C.J. Pinard in the Enchanted Immortals series. The BSI novella has familiar characters in Agents Swift and Bianchi, and yet have introduced some fresh characters that could easily be written into new work, therefore opening up the possibility for some fresh Immortals in the main series. The characters are likeable, special even, with their powers and relationships with each other. I would also like to read more about the succubae, a form of vampire that takes the whole soul of a human, rather than their blood.So, if you fancy a new urban fantasy/paranormal to sink your fangs into, or you are a fan of the Enchanted Immortals series, please check out C.J. Pinard's BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Investigation on Smashwords for FREE!!!! less

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