marklpotter's review against another edition
1.0
I marked this as finished only because I'm finished reading it, after one chapter. I want the time it took to read that chapter given back to me. I'd rather watch Tapeheads than read any more of this book. I suppose there's an audience for this sloppy, inconsistent type of writing but it's not me. I can't even comment on the plot because the writing is so bad I never bothered to figure out if there was one. I usually don't pan books and there's plenty around I haven't finished but this one is so poorly written I had to say something. Save yourself the time and stick forks in your eyes for twenty minutes, it'll be more enjoyable than trying to wade through this book.
mferrante83's review against another edition
4.0
The first thing that drew me to Justin Gustainis’ Hard Spell is the cover. The layout, title and art style are all explicitly designed to mimic that of Hard Case Crime, itself a recent imprint (founded in 2004) whose covers are known to mimic pulp covers of the 40s and 50s. Always on the lookout for clever use of the fantastic combined with pulpish fun Hard Spell quickly jumped to the top of my read list. While Gustainis has written several other novels in the Urban Fantasy vein this is my first foray with his work.
Hard Spell takes place in the supernatural mecca of Scranton, PA (apparently a major nexus of ley lines) and features Detective Stan Markowksi of the Scranton PD’s Supernatural Crimes department. It’s Markowksi’s job to investigate crimes by and against the “supe” community; it’s not a job he always likes but come hell or high water he will get the job done. The novel is narrated in his delightfully dour voice that expertly mimics the tone of a noirish voice over. There is a sort genuine delight in reading Markowski’s wry, sardonic narration that manages to stave off any difficulties with the exposition heavy introduction. There is a certain humor to Markowski’s run down of US history in the supernatural infused world of Hard Spell. I was particularly taken with the brief section oregarding Dr. Martin Luther King:
There is (to my sense anyway) something of a wry smile and a wink in that delivery. Or later when Markowski states that he and his partner were looking into “fairy-bashing” there is something of a wink in that sort-of play on words. It isn’t the most elegant of introductions but Markowski’s voice makes it work. (Note: Because I need to mention it, I love that SWAT stands for Sacred Weapons and Tactics, and has volunteer trained clergyman on it.)
The opening, eventually involving Goblin meth heads holding up a liquor store, also does a great job at laying out one important fact: while the perpetrators or victims might be supernatural in origin the crimes are the same.
Markowski is often played as the typical tough guy with a voice and dialogue straight out of a cop drama. However, over the course of the novel Gustainis carefully doles bits of information about him that help round him out some. Despite he seems an individual defined be his job, the reason for which is revealed in the novel, and there is some hope at the novel’s end that we might see Marksowksi evolve into a more dynamic character as the series progresses. However, Hard Spell is very much a procedural; a format not known for rapidly evolving character beyond their start mode.
Hard Spell is an exciting entry into the urban fantasy genre and is one of the first in a long time to really embrace the noir and crime fiction parallel in a meaningful way. Gustainis has developed a fascinating world that closely resembles our own but is just different enough to prove exciting. His clever insertion of supernatural aspects into the everyday lives of humanity is welcome change from the all-too-frequent shadowy underworld aspect. I look forward to seeing more of Markowski and crew in future cases of Occult Crimes Unit Investigation.
Hard Spell takes place in the supernatural mecca of Scranton, PA (apparently a major nexus of ley lines) and features Detective Stan Markowksi of the Scranton PD’s Supernatural Crimes department. It’s Markowksi’s job to investigate crimes by and against the “supe” community; it’s not a job he always likes but come hell or high water he will get the job done. The novel is narrated in his delightfully dour voice that expertly mimics the tone of a noirish voice over. There is a sort genuine delight in reading Markowski’s wry, sardonic narration that manages to stave off any difficulties with the exposition heavy introduction. There is a certain humor to Markowski’s run down of US history in the supernatural infused world of Hard Spell. I was particularly taken with the brief section oregarding Dr. Martin Luther King:
There was a rumor going around that J. Edgar Hoover had a tape of King “entertaining” a vampire, but I don’t believe that. No human as good as Dr. King would mess around with a vamps. Probably. But nobody’s ever explained why the bullet that killed him was made of solid silver.
There is (to my sense anyway) something of a wry smile and a wink in that delivery. Or later when Markowski states that he and his partner were looking into “fairy-bashing” there is something of a wink in that sort-of play on words. It isn’t the most elegant of introductions but Markowski’s voice makes it work. (Note: Because I need to mention it, I love that SWAT stands for Sacred Weapons and Tactics, and has volunteer trained clergyman on it.)
The opening, eventually involving Goblin meth heads holding up a liquor store, also does a great job at laying out one important fact: while the perpetrators or victims might be supernatural in origin the crimes are the same.
Markowski is often played as the typical tough guy with a voice and dialogue straight out of a cop drama. However, over the course of the novel Gustainis carefully doles bits of information about him that help round him out some. Despite he seems an individual defined be his job, the reason for which is revealed in the novel, and there is some hope at the novel’s end that we might see Marksowksi evolve into a more dynamic character as the series progresses. However, Hard Spell is very much a procedural; a format not known for rapidly evolving character beyond their start mode.
Hard Spell is an exciting entry into the urban fantasy genre and is one of the first in a long time to really embrace the noir and crime fiction parallel in a meaningful way. Gustainis has developed a fascinating world that closely resembles our own but is just different enough to prove exciting. His clever insertion of supernatural aspects into the everyday lives of humanity is welcome change from the all-too-frequent shadowy underworld aspect. I look forward to seeing more of Markowski and crew in future cases of Occult Crimes Unit Investigation.
namulith's review against another edition
2.0
If I had to take a guess, I would say that the author was aiming for the little-known sub-genre of hard-boiled supernatural detective exposition. At least for the exposition part he is succeeding. So, if you're into loads and loads of explanations with more than a dash of cliches, this is the book for you. Me, I did not like this book. But I somehow still cared enough to finish it, so that's something. In sum it's an OK book. If you can find it for free (I think I got it in some ebook bundle), it's fine. It's like the book equivalent of styrofoam balls. Used to bolster up the more worthy stuff in a package.
texaswolfman's review against another edition
5.0
Great book. The story was top notch. Characters were well fleshed out. Fast-moving police procedural urban fantasy.
pzhorton4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
aseparatemind92's review against another edition
5.0
This book far exceeded my expectations. I did not know what to expect because detective novels, especially fantasy ones, are hit and miss, but this book had what most other novels of the same genre lack: character arcs. It is hard to get into a story where a character does not go through changes because it often makes for a lack of plot and pathos regarding the main character. I think Justin gustainis did a great job developing both the characters and the plot of the story and left you wanting more because of the way the novel ended.
mdpenguin's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Police thriller stories aren't generally my thing, but I still enjoyed reading this one. It is full of cliches, but it uses them right and it doesn't feel lazy so much as a purposeful attempt to couch a familiar kind of story in a world with supernatural people. In that sense, I think that this book successfully did what it set out to do. The bundle I got this in also had the next two books in the series and, although I'm not ready to dive directly into them now, I definitely won't shy away from them if they pop up in my reading list later.
book_whispers's review against another edition
4.0
Genre: Urban Fantasy
The first 20 to 30 pages of this book were an utter fail for me. The potential was there, but the book kept jumping around all willy-nilly. To me a good book doesn’t need to throw things out randomly at the beginning to build the story and the world, the author reveals it bit by bit through the eyes of the character. Despite this terrible start, Hard Spell pulls out beautifully and delivers a fantastic investigative story that gives readers a gritty insight to being a Detective. Not just any detective but a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD's Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit.
Stan Markowski is said detective. He’s seen everything from Goblins hyped up on meth holding a liquor store up, to grizzly scenes that give senior officer nightmares. He’s not the standard lead for an urban fantasy read (unbearably hot and dominating, with all the ladies falling all over the place). Stan is middle aged and waving good bye to his prime. Stan’s sly wit on a case and flashy comebacks balance out the darker side of him. He’s suffered and it’s not of that dramatic stuff that ladies woo over. It’s hard core real world loss that makes you get a little teary eyed.
Justin Gustainis has created an authentic world where monsters and mankind coexist. Being human doesn’t always equal being good, and the true monsters aren’t always the things with fangs. The paranormal have always existed alongside humans. When World War II occurred troops returning home came back “changed” and with the advancement of technology the paranormal creatures could finally immigrate to the USA. From there Gustainis has merged his history and world together well, the religions and how it’s affected the people. (Not to say there aren’t a few gaping questions.)
We can’t forget the crime fighting forces! It’s so fun finding out what an author has chosen to name their versions of the FBI, CIA, and so on. My favorite for Hard Spell was the SWAT (or Sacred Weapons and Tactics unit). Let’s just say even if this book was a fail, I’d still push onward just for more information on the SWAT team.
After the terrible beginnings there is a rainbow! In Hard Spells case there’s an amazing mystery, heart pounding action, and enough twist and turns to make a reader feel like they’re the ones getting beaten to death instead of the characters. Stan Markowski is a refreshing male lead in a genre where male leads are sparse and poorly written. The cast of characters are ones a reader can care about and look forward to meeting up with in the next book. In all honesty, there's no excuse to not get this one!
Sexual content: Some sexual humor and such. There is some gritty talk about “working” women on the streets. On the whole pretty clean.
Rating: 4/5- Great! Really enjoyed it.
Originally posted at Book Whispers.
The first 20 to 30 pages of this book were an utter fail for me. The potential was there, but the book kept jumping around all willy-nilly. To me a good book doesn’t need to throw things out randomly at the beginning to build the story and the world, the author reveals it bit by bit through the eyes of the character. Despite this terrible start, Hard Spell pulls out beautifully and delivers a fantastic investigative story that gives readers a gritty insight to being a Detective. Not just any detective but a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD's Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit.
Stan Markowski is said detective. He’s seen everything from Goblins hyped up on meth holding a liquor store up, to grizzly scenes that give senior officer nightmares. He’s not the standard lead for an urban fantasy read (unbearably hot and dominating, with all the ladies falling all over the place). Stan is middle aged and waving good bye to his prime. Stan’s sly wit on a case and flashy comebacks balance out the darker side of him. He’s suffered and it’s not of that dramatic stuff that ladies woo over. It’s hard core real world loss that makes you get a little teary eyed.
Justin Gustainis has created an authentic world where monsters and mankind coexist. Being human doesn’t always equal being good, and the true monsters aren’t always the things with fangs. The paranormal have always existed alongside humans. When World War II occurred troops returning home came back “changed” and with the advancement of technology the paranormal creatures could finally immigrate to the USA. From there Gustainis has merged his history and world together well, the religions and how it’s affected the people. (Not to say there aren’t a few gaping questions.)
We can’t forget the crime fighting forces! It’s so fun finding out what an author has chosen to name their versions of the FBI, CIA, and so on. My favorite for Hard Spell was the SWAT (or Sacred Weapons and Tactics unit). Let’s just say even if this book was a fail, I’d still push onward just for more information on the SWAT team.
After the terrible beginnings there is a rainbow! In Hard Spells case there’s an amazing mystery, heart pounding action, and enough twist and turns to make a reader feel like they’re the ones getting beaten to death instead of the characters. Stan Markowski is a refreshing male lead in a genre where male leads are sparse and poorly written. The cast of characters are ones a reader can care about and look forward to meeting up with in the next book. In all honesty, there's no excuse to not get this one!
Sexual content: Some sexual humor and such. There is some gritty talk about “working” women on the streets. On the whole pretty clean.
Rating: 4/5- Great! Really enjoyed it.
Originally posted at Book Whispers.
lalabristow's review against another edition
4.0
Previously Published on my blog: Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life
Rating: 3.5 stars.
NO SPOILERS!
Anyone that has read my blog for any period of time knows how much I love Urban Fantasy, even if me and the genre and I have our issues sometimes. However, I have to admit that I don’t tend to be the biggest fan of Male protagonists in UF. Nothing against it, but I just connect better with women, that’s all.
However, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Stan as the protagonist of Hard Spell. I really liked the world Justin created for this series, the rules, creatures and character history was extremely interesting and engrossing.
I did feel that the book lagged for a while in the middle part of it, though. That made me take longer to read it than I would normally take, but towards the end things got so awesome that I could not put it down until I was done.
All in all, Hard Spell is a very good first book in a series and it does a great job in setting up the world and characters. Despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed it a lot and am definitely looking forward to the next installment in the series.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
NO SPOILERS!
Anyone that has read my blog for any period of time knows how much I love Urban Fantasy, even if me and the genre and I have our issues sometimes. However, I have to admit that I don’t tend to be the biggest fan of Male protagonists in UF. Nothing against it, but I just connect better with women, that’s all.
However, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Stan as the protagonist of Hard Spell. I really liked the world Justin created for this series, the rules, creatures and character history was extremely interesting and engrossing.
I did feel that the book lagged for a while in the middle part of it, though. That made me take longer to read it than I would normally take, but towards the end things got so awesome that I could not put it down until I was done.
All in all, Hard Spell is a very good first book in a series and it does a great job in setting up the world and characters. Despite its shortcomings, I enjoyed it a lot and am definitely looking forward to the next installment in the series.
furtivespy's review against another edition
4.0
I think this would have worked better if the world wasn't so completely over the top with witches, wizards, vampires, werewolves, fairies, angels, demons, ogres, etc. So much is devoted to how alike and not alike this fictional Scranton is that i think it takes away from the story.