D.E.M. Emrys Reviews: The Grim Company by Luke Scull

The Good: A promising debut set in a truly epic world, with gritty, relatable characters, and a page burner of a plot (yes, that's right, a page burner).

The Bad: In my opinion I don’t think there is a lot that is BAD about ‘The Grim Company’ – I’ve seen the pointed finger on a lot of reviews, but I’ll try and clarify my thoughts on the ‘grimdark’ and ‘Abercrombie part-II’ here.

The Ugly Truth: The Grim Company is a hugely impressive debut. Yes, it’s Grimdark. Yes, it’s comparable to Joe Abercrombie. But if you’re going to write a grimdark novel OF COURSE you’re going to be compared to JA. It’s like writing a novel about elves and dwarves but hoping not to be compared to Tolkien. What The Grim Company does do, and does very well, is entertain. It’s unashamed of its roots, which to me is all that counts. Don’t shout and scream that it’s ‘just a copy’ – it’s not. It’s a tilt of the hat, a nod in the direction of, but in my opinion it’s a very strong contender in today’s fantasy market able to stand on its own two legs (unless you’re an unfortunate mage like Eremul, of course!).

For Those That Like: David Gemmell, Brian McClellan, magic based stories, grimdark, gritty characters, tyrant-overthrowing-plots, and oh alright then I’ll say it, JOE ABERCROMBIE.

The gods are dead.

Magic is dying.

Freedom isn’t far off being terminal, either.

Dorminia is a city under siege from within. The Tyrant of Dorminia rules with the approach of: hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil. ‘Evil’ being anyone with motive to oppose him. His mindhawks can hear the thoughts of the people, the city watch see everything, and if anyone steps out of place then Salazar’s magically powered Augmentors sort it out. Swiftly.

But ‘evil’ is in the eye of the beholder. One man’s hero is another man’s villain. Salazar himself is a hero for overthrowing the gods hundreds of years ago, but what about the men who seek to overthrow Salazar?

Two ageing barbarians, one with bad knees and the other with a bad temper, aren’t your typical everyday heroic pair. Nor is a cocky hot-headed youth who claims to be a hero at every opportunity. And a ‘half mage’ with no legs barely scratches at being 'half man', and there’s no such thing as a ‘half hero’. But together with a band of rebels, they seek to bring down Salazar and liberate Dorminia.

Luke Scull’s ‘The Grim Company’ is his debut novel, and the opening to a brand new epic fantasy series. ‘The Grim Company’ is a story of the unlikeliest companions thrown together to bring down an enemy that even the gods couldn’t defeat. The odds of their success are grim (see what I did there? Ok, I’ll stop!).

You need a fitting start to a tale in which the gods are dead. It needs to be a cataclysmic intro, something world-shattering to live up to the epic setting. What to choose, what to choose…oh, I know! A tidal wave. Eureka. Wait… …

A TIDAL WAVE?!? In the first five pages?

Certainly sets the tone, doesn’t it?

‘The Grim Company’ comes out swinging, and throughout it doesn’t pull its punches. Look, I’m not going to go into the similarities that other reviewers have pointed out just yet, because I think that ‘The Grim Company’ can stand on its own two feet and fend for itself in terms of originality. Sure it’s grimdark fantasy, which is all the trend at the minute, but it has its own unique spice. I won’t bore you to death with examples but here’s a tidbit for you. Without spoiling anything, Scull introduces the concept of deep-sea mining at one point in the story. DEEP SEA MINING IN A FANTASY?!? Stick that in your originality pipe and smoke it. Then you have the concept of the Augmentors, warriors with a specific talent or trait magically magnified. Yes, this concept (or at least the base idea of it) has been used numerous times in fantasy, but it’s execution in the story is fantastic and makes for some fantastic character development and twists.

Scull shamelessly man’s his ‘Grim Company’ with the unlikeliest of heroes, even though each stereotype is likely to appear in every other grimdark fantasy novel out there. BUT, and I must emphasise this point, BUT Scull does it SHAMELESSLY. Ageing barbarian with aches and pains, getting too old for the life of a warrior; a crippled and bitter intellect, seated at the heart of a conspiracy yet he can’t sit down or stand up without risking sh**ting himself; and a hopeful young hero, talented, brave, destined for greatness, that is if he can stop his ego from running away from him. They’re all familiar to a fantasy fan, but don’t be put off by thinking this is a copy-paste cast. It’s a testament to Scull’s writing that he can take such familiar characters and breathe new life into them. I myself fell in love with the characters. Yes I can see the similarities. Do I care? No. They’re individual to me.

The plot and the setting are fantastic. Who doesn’t like an epic backdrop to a fantasy? And it doesn’t get much better than dead gods whose corpses leak magic. Seriously, top this, go on, I dare ya.

Scull’s style is refreshing. I mean when you weigh it all up he has PACKED ‘The Grim Company’ with ideas and characters. When you try and list them all down, it seems like it won’t work on paper. There's just so much going on. But it does. It really, really does. The pacing is fantastic, never relenting. It’s not so much a page turner as a page burner.

But the heart of the matter, I guess, the thing that everyone wants to know:

 …is ‘The Grim Company’ just another grimdark, or is it (as a minority of reviews/readers suggest) a blatant copy of other things out there (He-who-shall-not-be-named!).

In my opinion? NO!

‘The Grim Company’ is its own story. I used this word earlier, SHAMELESS. It is shameless in its use of characters, tone, and even word choice. But what does it have to be ashamed of? Nothing if you ask me. It’s a damn good read from a damned good author. I’m not going to point out the similarities for you, because in my opinion that’s not me doing justice to Luke Scull or ‘The Grim Company’.

If every reader in the known world wants to know the TRUTH about this similarity binge, I’ll give you a truth. You might not be able to handle it, but here it is.

Is ‘The Grim Company’ a mirror of Joe Abercrombie’s ‘First Law’ series?

No.

As a debut novel, ‘The Grim Company’ is better.

Guest Reviewer Info: D. E. M. Emrys. Author. Soldier by day, Soldier by night - Writer in between. Knows war to write war. David Emrys, known as D to his friends, is a serving soldier and author.

Growing up with the heroic tales written by authors such as David Gemmell and James Barclay, D was inspired to write stories of his own. After joining the army D used his free time to focus on his dream of sharing shelf-space with his idols.

D lives where the army send him, but home is in Chelmsford with his fiancé. They say that behind every great man there is a woman pulling the strings, but she lets him dance to his own song whilst being the perfect partner in step. D claims that his books would not have been written without her.

David Emrys is not his real name. Nor is D.

You can read more about the author and his other book reviews on his website.  Also read Mihir's review of From Man To Man by D.E.M. Emrys. You can order The Grim Company over here.

Obscene Language Not Included, Vanilla Ice Cream for Some, Others Chocolate Pudding

The other day I was ruminating on how I might want to scale down on how many times I use "fuck" in my reviews. Not that I think I use it that often mind you, in fact, I think I've been quite tame for what comes natural to me. But the fact remains that I have interest in re-posting my reviews on Amazon, so it means that I have to do double the work to edit some sentences so that they're vanilla enough for public consumption. But what the fuck, the trouble is worth it. So all the "shits" and "fucks" will remain as I move forward with my reviews on the blog.

Accordingly, George Carlin came to mind and how long it has been since I've shared with the world just a little piece of his awesomeness. He's by far my favorite comic of all time. A person who I consider to be of high intellect, and to my pedestrian vocabulary limit, a true wordsmith.

It's only fitting that I found this gem for a video that compiles George Carlin imparting fuck bombs from left to right. How awesome is that? A 10-minute video purely showcasing the different ways he's delivered the word "fuck", and it's fucking great. No one can deliver the word "fuck" as Carlin does, including such stellar favorites like "fuck Lance Armstrong" and "fuck Tiger Woods". Considering how things developed after his death in 2008, I think he was onto something.

Needless to say, NSFW, but very well worth the watch. Hope you enjoy. As they say, practice makes perfect.

Update on ARCANE WEST, a New Series by K.A. Stewart (Mihir)

Last year I found out that one of my favorite series was dropped by its publisher because they adjudged that the series wasn’t selling enough books. The Jesse James Dawson series was truly a good one and I’m looking forward to the author's next book in the series whenever she releases it independently.

Yesterday the author revealed a new book, which is set to be released via Intermix, Penguin’s new e-book imprint in January 2014. The book is currently titled Peacemaker first in the Arcane West series and here’s the blurb:

Caleb Marcus is a Peacemaker, a roving lawman tasked with maintaining the peace and bringing control to magic users on the frontier. A Peacemaker isn’t supposed to take a life—but sometimes, it’s kill or be killed… 

After a war injury left him half-scoured of his power, Caleb and his jackalope familiar have been shipped out West, keeping them out of sight and out of the way of more useful agents. And while life in the wild isn’t exactly Caleb’s cup of tea, he can’t deny that being amongst folk who aren’t as powerful as he is, even in his poor shape, is a bit of a relief. 

But Hope isn’t like the other small towns he’s visited. The children are being mysteriously robbed of their magical capabilities. There’s something strange and dark about the local land baron who runs the school. Cheyenne tribes are raiding the outlying homesteads with increasing frequency and strange earthquakes keep shaking the very ground Hope stands on. 

Something’s gone very wrong in the Wild West, and it’s up to Caleb to figure out what’s awry before he ends up at the end of the noose—or something far worse…

I have to say this alternate historical story sounds very exciting and combined with K.A. Stewart’s writing style, both Bastard and I can’t wait to get our hands on this new title from one of our favorite authors.

For those interested in knowing more about the Jesse James Dawson books can read the following reviews:

• My review of A Devil In The Details
• My review of A Shot In The Dark
• Bastard's review of A Shot In The Dark 
• My review of A Wolf At The Door
• My interview with Kari A. Stewart

Also you can follow the author over at her blog and via twitter.

Patremagne Reviews: Dauntless by Jack Campbell

I'm relatively unexplored, so to speak, in the SciFi genre. I wanted a book that would be a quick, entertaining read, and Dauntless looked like it would fit the bill. If you're looking for a book with a deep story with a cast of three-dimensional characters, Dauntless is not what you seek.

Dauntless is the first in Campbell's The Lost Fleet series and it begins with John "Black Jack" Geary having been frozen in hibernation for a century. Before his hibernation began, the Alliance had been fighting a war against the Syndicate, or Syndics as Campbell often calls them, and Geary went down in a blaze of glory in holding off the Syndics in order for the rest of the fleet to escape. Only he didn't go down, he managed to jump into an escape pod and begin hibernation when no immediate rescue could be seen. Upon being rescued, he is thrust right back into the same war he had been fighting a century ago. Now obviously a century will cause some changes to everything, but Geary returns to see himself worshiped as a hero; as a model that all new recruits aspire to be. Sailors swear by his name, i.e. "Black Jack himself couldn't get us out of this mess". Needless to say, Geary is quite disturbed about how he is portrayed and continually attempts to dissuade his sailors that he is not some sort of legend.

His return is also marred by the fact that a century of war has drastically changed the way the Alliance Navy works. Sailors no longer salute, which leaves Geary baffled many times in the outset of the book. The Navy now no longer uses tactics to win battles, and instead urges captains to charge head-on as if they were Black Jack himself, claiming that the only important things were to achieve glory and honor. Throughout the book we see Geary appalled time and time again at the deteriorated state that he sees the once glorious Alliance Navy in. Not only have the traditions such as saluting vanished, Geary has to deal with insubordination as well. A few of the captains under him determine, based on the legend, that they do not like him, as if he created the legend himself. Though the story is told in third person, Campbell thrusts us into the mind of Captain Geary throughout, and we see his train of thought on certain situations as well as the possible outcomes. The third-person limited thought process allows us to feel for Geary as he tries to adjust to the change in technology.

Since there is no world to come alive before us due to the fact that the entire book is based on a single ship, the Dauntless, Campbell did a pretty good job trying to make us feel like we're inside the ship as he describes it. In the conference room, he describes the technology well enough that I can paint a solid picture in my mind on how the likenesses of other captains essentially floated in the air as if in a normal conference in person. With what he had to work with (though he gave it to himself), Campbell did a fine job putting us in the ship.

While reading reviews for SciFi books I have noticed that some are so wordy that, to use a phrase I vaguely remember from another review, you'd need to be a physicist to understand what's going on. There are some cool concepts in Dauntless, such as the utilization of the speed of light, especially in combat. There is no immediate scanner to pick up the exact movements of enemies and allies. There's a delay based on how far away the other ship is. This adds tension in knowing the enemy has been in the same system as you for hours now and you didn't find out until just now. Along the speed of light idea, a ship, when travelling around .2 light-speed, begins to distort the area around it in that another ship would need to predict its movements because it cannot be seen clearly on the scanner. The constant use of phrases like "Fox Five, turn three degrees and accelerate to .1 light-speed" was a little tiring during some combat scenes, but not all that overbearing, especially if you enjoy military SciFi.

The real downside to Dauntless that I was aware of going in was that there is no character depth. There are perhaps two real secondary characters and we somewhat learn more about them throughout, but not as well as most other books I have read. This may be a consequence of the third-person limited narrative style, but I think it has more to do with the fact that Dauntless is the first in a series. Though it isn't Campbell's debut, I find that many authors need to work out the kinks when beginning a series. The real focus is on Geary, and we struggle with him in trying to suppress this legend that he has become in his hibernation. It is a true "I didn't ask for this" story. His character develops a bit in this 293 page book, but not all that much. The combat is well done and the book sets a fast pace, but nothing really appeared to be done. The fleet traversed a few systems and participated in a few skirmishes. Though I haven't read the second book, I think that it would have been better if the first and second books were combined and perhaps slightly trimmed of some fat in order to make us feel like something significant happened. Another issue I had was the inconsistent use of vulgarity. In some situations "hell" and "damn" are used often, and then there are others i.e. "knocked us on our butt" where "knocked us on our ass" would fit the bill much better. In this inconsistency, Dauntless loses some of its seriousness.

The enjoyment you get from this book is based on the mindset you have when you go in. Like I said at the beginning, if you want a really deep story with really deep characters, this is not it. If you're a military SciFi fan and want a fast-paced action book that's a short, quick read, this might be for you. I went in with the latter mindset, so Dauntless was enjoyable for me outside of the points that I outlined because I went in expecting just these faults.

You can get Dauntless at The Book Depository and you can head on over to Campbell (John G. Hemry)'s website here.

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I want to take this opportunity to introduce Patrick "Patremagne" Doherty. He's interested in starting his own review blog, and while he sets it up I've invited him to provide a review, or more if he's up to it, so that he could get some experience.

For the time being he'd appreciate some feedback, and his future website will be A Bitter Draft: Fantasy and Science Fiction Reviews. You can also find him on Twitter @Patremagne and over at Goodreads.

Guest Post & Giveaway: A Tale from the Trenches from author Tim Marquitz

The dilemma of self-publishing is the constant nagging thought of, “What do I have to offer that people can’t find elsewhere and how do I get it to them?” At least it is for me.

With the shelves of (remaining) bookstores stocked full of traditionally published books and those of the big small houses, being self-published without a traditional publishing background is a challenge. It’s not insurmountable, as many authors have shown, but it certainly puts the onus of marketing and promotion and the drive toward success squarely on the shoulders of the author. And while I’ve got the internet to spread the word and hopefully sing the praises of my books, the reality of it is more like throwing a book into the ocean and hoping it hits each and every shore. It’s an unrealistic expectation, especially at the outset; a hopeless dream that appears doomed from the onset.

And that’s exactly what it felt like when I started publishing. I’d sold a few hundred copies of Armageddon Bound, the first of my Demon Squad series, and while that was awesome, it certainly didn’t pay me back the money I’d spent on giveaways or my web page, and it definitely didn’t pay for my occasional convention trip. Not that it’s all about money, mind you. I write because I love to, but there’s an uncomfortable reality of return when you’re writing for public consumption. You can’t just constantly hemorrhage cash trying to get your name out there with no return and expect any sort of longevity.

For me, the first few years were hard as far as my aspirations were concerned. Seriously, $400 a year doesn’t go very far. I was fortunate—and still am—to have a solid, full time job with benefits. I’m no starving artist living on the street, but for me, the goal is to write for a living. $400 isn’t going to get me there. It’s not going to get anyone there.

Seeing that paltry sum in return for all the long hours I’d spent writing and editing and imagining was a kick to the baby parts. The first four novels I’d written were stashed in a trunk, rejections having piled up with no substantive advice buried in them, and writing the fifth felt like taking a swim with a cannonball. I was drowning.

Early on, I was under the delusion that writing was all about the writing. Turns out I was wrong. It isn’t how good a writer you are these days, and it isn’t about how poetic your prose or awe-inspiring your plots are. Of course those matter, but they’re just one piece of the publishing puzzle. It took me a while to realize this, focused as I was on bettering my skills and storytelling.

In the end I learned it was about writing plus marketing plus promotion plus networking plus—and this is the most ephemeral piece of the puzzle—plain luck. You can be the best storyteller in the world but if no one hears you, you’re nothing. Same goes for promotion. You can pitch a sack of gussied up poo all day long but once folks figure out what it is, you’re done. A successful author has to be all things publishing-related if they hope to make a name for themselves. And they have to be lucky, right place, right time.

Once I figured that out—after plenty of mistakes and the mantric advice from more talented buddies and colleagues echoing inside my head—things changed. They changed a lot. The relationships I’d formed with bloggers—people I now consider friends—gave me a soapbox for my work, a pedestal to display it where more than just my wife and the cats got to see. It was the same with conventions. While I blew more than a year’s worth of royalties booking a flight and was forced to nickel and dime to eat while I was there, the relationships I’ve created at these conventions have more than made each and every trip worth the effort.

Add this to what I learned with regards to my actual writing and I suddenly had more of a platform. People were starting to tune in. That increased as I put more effort into not being an anti-social introvert and expanded my visibility through social media. Just like in real life (if you can believe it) I made friends and met folks whose skills and willingness to help only furthered my ability to grow an audience. Word of mouth had gone from forced self-promotion to something more natural, folks talking about my books on their own, discussing them and telling their friends. It’s a great feeling seeing the tiny seed of my career sprout.

While I’m hardly one of the Michael J Sullivans or Hugh Howeys of the world, I’m finding my groove, and I know for a fact it isn’t because of just one thing I’ve done (write) but the sum of all I’ve done and has been done for me, and that elusive bit of luck I’ve managed to catch a wisp of. And as solitary as writing might seem, the long hours cooped up in front of keyboard making stuff up, it really becomes a community when you expand beyond the function of writing and step into publishing. It has to if you want to get your manuscript into the hands of someone not related to you.

Ultimately, self-publishing is a lot of work with no guarantees of success—just like life. There’s no certainty you’ll wake up every morning, and there’s definitely no certainty you’ll wake up with a contract from one of the big publishing houses in your inbox. So, if your dream is to write and be published and your options are limited, just do it. Tell your stories, make friends, dream big, and work your ass off. There are no guarantees but there’s plenty of regret to go around. And while I might not be the textbook example of success when it comes to self-publishing, the fact that I can make something of myself doing it is proof there are opportunities out there. You simply have to make the most of them.

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As always a pleasure to have Tim around, author of one of my favorite urban fantasy series in Demon Squad. Most here should already know him as I keep inviting him over whenever I want to give free books, without having to spend my own money, and whenever he's released a new book.

His newest novel is the latest in the Demon Squad series, the fifth installment Beyond the Veil, which was great. To celebrate that release, he's decided to give an eBook set of all his Demon Squad novels to three lucky winners.

Participants have to be 18 years of age or older to participate. Void where prohibited by law. Giveaway rules are subject to change. 

Giveaway will be for 3 full eBook sets of the Demon Squad urban fantasy series by author Tim Marquitz.

The giveaway is open WORLDWIDE, and it will run from April 29, 2013 until 11:59 pm ET on May 10, 2013.

How to participate:

• To participate simply log-in into to the Rafflecopter and "Enter" through the easy entry.
• One entry per person, or face disqualification.
• Entries accepted until 11:59pm ET on May 10, 2013.
• There'll be 3 winners only for all eBook Demon Squad novels.
• Will have to confirm email to be considered a winner within 48 hours.
• Additional entries may be had by following the steps provided in the Rafflecopter instructions, and only by doing those steps. 
• Winners will be chosen by random selection using the Rafflecopter.

Good luck everyone! You can follow Tim Marquitz on Twitter @Marquitz, Facebook, his website, and his blog.

Giveaway Winners Update for Kalimpura, A Natural History of Dragons, and Miserere

A quick update on the winners from my latest giveaways, 2 of them from the good folks from Tor and one from author Teresa Frohock. I just want to give thanks to everyone who has taken the time to participate. The latest one was by far the most participation I've had on a giveaway, so I hope to see more of that.

Be aware that all winners have been contacted by email, so if you didn't receive an email... well, you know what that means.

Kalimpura by Jay Lake

This was a giveaway for 3 hardcover copies of Kalimpura provided by Tor, the third and final novel in the Green Universe. I recently read all of it, and quite enjoyed it.

Tim, Sharon, and Jonathan

A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent from Marie Brennan

Another giveaway from Tor for 3 hardcover copies, which also included an excerpt for A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan.

Brendan, Jessica, and Kayla

Miserere: An Autumn Tale by Teresa Frohock

A signed copy of Miserere: An Autumn Tale by Teresa Frohock was offered by author. This was actually the giveaway the had most participants ever on this website, almost double the previous high. Safe to say it was a success.

Gary

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Thanks once again to everyone who participated. If you didn't win, good luck on not being losers next time. Actually have a guest post with a giveaway tomorrow, so try your luck there.

Bastard Reaction: Fair Game by Patricia Briggs

Patricia Briggs was one of the first authors I read in the urban fantasy sub-genre, her Mercy Thompson series still remains among my favorites within it. Alpha and Omega is the companion series set in the same universe as Mercy Thompson, even sharing some of the same characters. The Alpha and Omega series is different, so it's not for every urban fantasy fan, but it adds good value to the universe. It's been my understanding that Alpha and Omega has a bigger focus on romance than Mercy Thompson, so while I hesitated to give this series a try, I ended up reading it anyways and I'm glad I did.

Fair Game is the third novel in the series that feature Anna Latham, a rare Omega werewolf, and her husband Charles Cornick a native-american werewolf, shaman, enforcer, assassin, and executioner. Their marriage has hit a rough patch, Charles has become withdrawn because he's haunted by the ghosts of all the werewolves he's had to kill. He can't make peace with it, some of the kills are weighing heavily on him. Since the werewolves came out publicly, the tolerance for misbehavior is at an all-time low, which has meant non-stop work for Charles. The latest he had to kill a few werewolves because they lost a bit of control as they killed a pedophile, and Charles is having trouble justifying the need to kill those werewolves under these circumstances. The Marrock, who is also Charles' dad, is worried about his son's stability and assigns him and Anna a case in Boston were he'll be assisting several government agencies in hunting down a serial killer who's targeting supernatural beings, and the latest victim is a werewolf, in the hope that doing this good deed might help Charles cope and get his mental health righted.

Against all odds, I've quite enjoyed Alpha and Omega and I have to say that Fair Game is the best novel Patricia Briggs has written in a while. It had good character interaction, and it really pleased me that we had a very strong focus with the government agencies, which included the FBI and Homeland among others. I don't know how much of a role they'll have in future novels, but we got introduced to some good characters which I hope will become series regulars in the future.

There was one particular scene though that was ridiculous and terrible and took me out of the novel completely, until I managed to regroup later on and continue. And it will be to no surprise that it was a sex scene. One of the worst I've read. Keep in mind that I came into this novel with the full understanding that there'll be a romantic focus, and I had read the previous two novels too, so I wasn't going to come here and complain about the amount of romance this novel had. By the way, there romance in this novel was very well balanced, and quite welcomed, so I have no problem with that. In fact, I'd say it has less love drama than many of my latest urban fantasy reads.

Getting back to the sex scene, picture this. The serial killer has abducted a fey's daughter, and they have to find her and save her before she's killed. Oh, and considering the evidence from past victims, she's most probably currently being tortured in the worst of ways and raped repeatedly. After all the searching, they find the location and when they get to the vicinity of her location, for one reason or another the author concocted a scenario in which Anna and Charles just had to fuck right then and there. Not in a dark corner or in a car while alone, no they decided to fuck out in the open with the rest of the search party around. What the heck? It made no sense from a good storytelling perspective or from a romance perspective or from an erotic perspective, in all irrespective to any elements you like in your stories. This kind of scene is only welcomed in a porn movie, but was just a terrible decision and had no place in the story. Just didn't make any kind of sense, and I would think that even romance readers will agree with me. The sad thing of it was that everything else in the novel was going very well.

If I recall correctly, there was just this one sex scene, poorly executed as it was. Aside from it becoming a bit predictable in regards as to the identity of the mystery, the rest of the novel was pretty good and thoroughly enjoyed it. We had some good action, and Charles kicked major ass. Seriously, he was awesome. I lament though that Anna wasn't given much to do in this novel, particularly from an action perspective. I hope that she'll be more active in future novels. Not that she wasn't taking part of the action, but most of the action scenes we experienced via Charles' POV, so we didn't get to see much of Anna, so maybe it would be as simple as having Anna take some of that burden, even when they're sharing the same scene.

The supporting cast was a good one overall, particular the werewolves from the Boston pack, the FBI agents, a powerful witch, and an apparent fey noble. The thing I liked the most was the ending. There was a trial though that the outcome didn't feel right with me, but what ensued was worth it. One of the best endings I've encountered, and very excited to see where the story goes next as we see the repercussions of what occurred.

Fair Game is simply good read, I might even say great if it wasn't for the sex scene. As mentioned, one of the best urban fantasy stories Patricia Briggs has written, and a very welcomed addition to the Alpha and Omega series and to the Mercy Thompson universe. I'm sure fans of the series will love this one.

Buy Fair Game from The Book Depository

For more information, please visit Patricia Briggs website.