Strange New World (Dr. Greta Helsing #4), by Vivian Shaw
19 Aug 2025The Book
Synopsis:
In this witty conclusion to a delightful fantasy series finds Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, facing the latest and strangest challenge of her career...accompanying an anxious angel and a sullen demon on a road trip across America.
After narrowly avoiding the end of the world, the leaders of Heaven and Hell are struggling to collaborate according to the terms of their new treaty—especially because angels and demons are, quite literally, allergic to each other. Seeking a solution, the powers that be decide to see if the allergy persists on Earth by sending an angel and demon on a research trip, first New York City. And what better chaperone than Dr. Greta Helsing, who happens to owe Hell a few favors of her own?But there’s unrest in New York’s monster underworld and Greta and her team are about to land in the middle of it. Something is off in Heaven and on Earth, and Greta will have to figure out just what that is if she hopes to protect those she loves most.
My Review
Strange New World is the fourth and final book in the urban fantasy series Dr. Greta Helsing, written by Vivian Shaw and published by Orbit Books. A cozy and fun proposal that introduces us to a new reality where angels and demons are collaborating; a road trip trying to solve the problem of allergies between angels and demons where the Dr. Helsing will be again at the center of everything, with a humour that remembers to Good Omens.
Greta agrees to go on a research trip to America, at the orders of the Archdemon Fastitocalon; trying to discover if the effects of close interaction over a demon and an angel are not shown on Earth. At the same time, some creatures are being attacked with poisoned darts, sending them directly to Erebus General, and to add salt to the wound, a prophet-like figure is running around New York; a general premise that takes us into more mischief and fun in this instalment of the series.
Not only Greta shines again due to her competence at dealing with the strangest of situations, but the duo of personalities given by the angel and the demon on the travel also adds a delicious layer to the story; Andariel, anxious to be helpful and trying to understand this new world, while Orlax is not the most proactive one, as we could have imagined with the episode on how he got into the trip.
We also have an opportunity to see how Shaw twists the story of the demons' fall from heaven, a new spin on an old tale; the shock of the two sides collaborating is another of the highlights from this book.
In terms of pacing, I would say that this instalment is a bit too slow at the initial quarter, but once our characters are in America, you can't stop reading while having a smile on your face; a great mix between serious moments and more irreverent ones that makes this a delightful experience.
Strange New World is a delightful read, especially if you are looking to read more of our proficient doctor, dealing with the supernatural as if she was battling a scar; a really fun novel which (right now) concludes with the Dr. Greta Helsing adventures.
The Author/s
Vivian Shaw
Vivian Shaw wears too many earrings and likes edged weapons and expensive ink, and, as an expat Brit born in Kenya, is not actually from anywhere. She has a BA in art history, an MFA in creative writing and publishing arts, and makes jewelry for fun. She writes about monsters, both in and out of classic horror literature; medicine, in its many forms; machines, extant and fantastical; disasters and their causes; and, perhaps most importantly, found family. She is the author of the Dr. Greta Helsing contemporary fantasy series, STRANGE PRACTICE, DREADFUL COMPANY, GRAVE IMPORTANCE, BITTER WATERS, and STRANGE NEW WORLD (Orbit, forthcoming), and the sci-fi/horror novella THE HELIOS SYNDROME (Lethe Press).
In her spare time she collects terrible vintage cookbooks and very nice fountain pens, and writes fanfiction (pen name: coldhope). She lives in Santa Fe with her wife, the Hugo- and Locus-Award-winning author Arkady Martine.