Fine Print vol. 1

“Fine Print?”  Coming from Stjepan Sejic, creator of “Sunstone,” it’s more like foiiiiiiiiiine print, amirite?

…Okay, I’ll start the review.

The old gods haven’t gone away, they’ve just had to find new ways to get sustenance from humans these days.  Rather than get the energy they need through worship, they’ve found a better source:  Desire.  They’ve even found a way to delegate things, leaving the harvesting of desire to Cupids, Incubi, and Succubi to fulfill the desires of humans who’ve made an appropriate contract.  The thing is that there are some humans who have so much desire that they merit a golden contract and the service of the most experienced God of Desire around.  

This is what has happened to Lauren Thomas.  She’s a former model who has the uncanny ability to make the worst possible decisions when it comes to love.  It’s after yet another drunken night out that she meets Merryl, a Goddess of Desire, who offers her golden contract – and some eye-meltingly good sex as a teaser.  The only problem is that the title of “God of Desire” is currently contested by an incubus and a succubus:  Thadeus Brimstone and Leila Ashen.  So in addition to getting the fulfillment of every desire she can imagine, Lauren is also going to have to choose the next God of Desire as well.  No pressure.

It’s not that Sejic hasn’t done fantasy before, it’s just the first time I’ve read some from him.  While “Fine Print” trades in the same kind of kinky/romantic fun that “Sunstone” thrived on, it’s not quite on the same level.  Part of that’s due to all the worldbuilding that the creator feels obligated to set up here.  I appreciate the thought he’s put into this world, but the explaining really drags down the overall pace of this first volume.  So while there’s some good stuff here, such as Lauren and Matt’s first meet cute, an extended cameo from a “Punderworld” character, Lauren’s “test drive” of Merryl, they only come off as sporadic highlights throughout the volume.  I still enjoyed the volume overall, also thanks to Sejic’s still-great art, so my hope is that the story will take off now that all the setup is out of the way.