Monday, May 27, 2019

From my TBR shelf...

Title & Author:  Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore

Why I bought it:  I really like urban fantasy novels and I was intrigued by the fact that the main character in this one is a necromancer.

What you should know about Eric Carter:

  • Ghosts come to me like moths to a flame. I can see them and they can see me.
  • I'm tattooed over most of my body. Neck to wrists to ankles. Wards and sigils. Symbols in dead languages to help ward off threat, divert attention, help me focus my magic.
  • My life is a succession of rest stops and cheap hotels. Walmart fashion and estate sale finds.
  • I'm an exterminator. Ghosts, demons, gremlins. I kill for a living. That about sums it up.
My thoughts:  Fifteen years ago Eric Carter left L.A. behind; two weeks ago someone killed his sister, Lucy, bringing him back. He's determined to avenge her death no matter the cost.Then Santa Muerte shows up and everything gets a lot more complicated. Despite his anger issues and overuse of the F-word, I liked Eric Carter. I also really liked the magical world Blackmoore created. It does get fairly violent and messy at times. And I didn't love the way Blackmoore ended this one (although it does set things up for the next book in this series). Overall, I thought this one was a decent read. Plus, it counts as another TBR read for Lark's 2019 Backlist Reader Challenge

My rating:  3/5 stars.

Happy Reading!

22 comments:

  1. A necromancer and an exterminator covered in wards and sigils--I'm really curious about this one!

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    1. He's an interesting character. I just wish he didn't use the F-word quite so much. :)

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  2. I've really developed a taste for urban fantasy! I don't mind the language, but I can't do gruesome, detailed violence (torture) - how would this one rate on that scale?

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    1. Some of his rituals are strange and dark (like a ghost getting eaten by other spirits), and he sees a vision of his sister's death which is also dark, but it isn't graphic detailed violence or gruesome torture. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst and 1 being bunnies and kittens, I'd say this rates a 5.

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  3. I'm a big urban fantasy fan and don't think I've read one with a necromancer as the main character. Too bad about all the f-words, though.

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    1. I would have liked it better if the author had expanded his vocabulary. :D

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  4. Good to see someone making progress on their TBR list; mine grows by three or four a week no matter how hard I try to whittle it down. Congrats.

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    1. I'm trying to work through the books on my shelves, but every three weeks I head to the library, check out too many books, and derail all my good intentions. And then there's the bookstore. And Amazon! It's a vicious cycle. ;D

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  5. Sounds like an interesting urban fantasy. And great job getiing some off of your backlist!

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    1. I don't know why it's so hard to get around to reading the books I own, but for some reason it is. ;D

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  6. Sounds like this is a solid jumping off point with good world building. Hopefully the following books will be even better and maybe the author will ease up on the f-bombs!

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  7. Sounds like a fun read and of course, having a necromancer as a character is equally intriguing, too. :)

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    1. That was probably my favorite part of this one. :)

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  8. I can't remember if I read this one or not as over the years I read a lot of similar sounding urban fantasy! It does sound familiar so it might have been a DNF!

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    1. Urban fantasies can start to blend together after awhile, can't they? :)

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  9. Hopefully his next book will be better for you. It's an interesting premise. The series that comes to my mind that I've read with a necromancer as a main character is Laurel K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. I only read up to a certain point in the series, but I really enjoyed her earlier books.

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    1. She's another author I've certainly heard of, but never read. I'll have to give one of her earlier books a try. :)

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  10. Half way through this and enjoying it thoroughly!

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    1. I'm so glad! Eric Carter's a great character, isn't he?

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  11. This sounds like a lot of fun. Like Literary Feline mentioned, this totally reminded me of the Anita Blake series. I read several books in that series and those were quite fun.

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    1. Sounds like that's a series I need to check out. :D

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