lynseyisreading's review
4.0
This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There were elements that I really liked that I thought were written exceptionally well, and then there were elements that were lacking and spoiled the journey.
I'll start with the positives since, as you can see from my rating, they slightly outweighed the negatives for me.
The biggest positive by far was the characters. Particularly secondary and ancillary characters. I fell almost immediately in love with one in particular: Gary the Cabbie. It's so unusual to find a character of his advanced years (he's 73) and I just thought he was wonderful. It just proves not everyone in an urban fantasy has to be young, beautiful and badass (although, he is pretty badass if you ask me) and Gary's character brought a real richness to the story and I really believed the friendship that was formed between him and the main protag, Joanne Walker. I found myself "aw"ing at him frequently. He's a peach.
Joanne herself took me slightly longer to warm up to . I found her "voice" seemed to change considerably over the course of the book and I enjoyed her much more in the second half.
Another character that I enjoyed, and whom I suspect may have a wee soft spot for Joanne, was her boss, Michael Morrison. He, again, isn't described in the usual tradition of potential love interests as a flawless alpha male type- I believe she describes him as a super hero that's just starting to go to seed. At 39 his greying hair and laughter lines give him flaws that just set to make him all the more interesting in a way, and I really enjoyed their scenes together. Theirs is a very combative, antagonistic relationship which is amusing to read. I don't know for sure if he's meant to be love interest potential, but that's the feeling I got. I'll have to wait for future books to be sure.
Another aspect I really enjoyed was the overall plot. This one features the Wild Hunt. How many miles to Babylon? Unfortunately, though I did enjoy it, I had experienced similar themes in my beloved October Daye series, where they were done much, much better.
Onto what I didn't like so much.
Basically, it was a combination of two things: One, being the story telling. The plot was hazy and seemed to meander a times. And two - and this was the main one- was the amount of stuff Joanne took in her stride. She experiences many life-altering things and learns much about herself in this book, and, not that I wanted her to fall apart or anything- it's good that she's strong- but she didn't ask one single question! Not one! There's taking things in your stride, and then there's completely unrealistic character behaviour, and Joanne fell on the wrong side of that fence. It almost would have been better if she had started out the book already knowing what she was and what she could do, because to start from nothing to where she ended up, with barely a raised eyebrow, just seemed incredible to me. And I didn't buy it.
So, as I said, a mixed bag, but I loved the characters so I will be giving book two a whirl to see how things go on from here. Hopefully the storytelling will have improved and, now that Joanne knows all of her abilities, the other issue won't matter as much either.
I'll start with the positives since, as you can see from my rating, they slightly outweighed the negatives for me.
The biggest positive by far was the characters. Particularly secondary and ancillary characters. I fell almost immediately in love with one in particular: Gary the Cabbie. It's so unusual to find a character of his advanced years (he's 73) and I just thought he was wonderful. It just proves not everyone in an urban fantasy has to be young, beautiful and badass (although, he is pretty badass if you ask me) and Gary's character brought a real richness to the story and I really believed the friendship that was formed between him and the main protag, Joanne Walker. I found myself "aw"ing at him frequently. He's a peach.
Joanne herself took me slightly longer to warm up to . I found her "voice" seemed to change considerably over the course of the book and I enjoyed her much more in the second half.
Another character that I enjoyed, and whom I suspect may have a wee soft spot for Joanne, was her boss, Michael Morrison. He, again, isn't described in the usual tradition of potential love interests as a flawless alpha male type- I believe she describes him as a super hero that's just starting to go to seed. At 39 his greying hair and laughter lines give him flaws that just set to make him all the more interesting in a way, and I really enjoyed their scenes together. Theirs is a very combative, antagonistic relationship which is amusing to read. I don't know for sure if he's meant to be love interest potential, but that's the feeling I got. I'll have to wait for future books to be sure.
Another aspect I really enjoyed was the overall plot. This one features the Wild Hunt. How many miles to Babylon? Unfortunately, though I did enjoy it, I had experienced similar themes in my beloved October Daye series, where they were done much, much better.
Onto what I didn't like so much.
Basically, it was a combination of two things: One, being the story telling. The plot was hazy and seemed to meander a times. And two - and this was the main one- was the amount of stuff Joanne took in her stride. She experiences many life-altering things and learns much about herself in this book, and, not that I wanted her to fall apart or anything- it's good that she's strong- but she didn't ask one single question! Not one! There's taking things in your stride, and then there's completely unrealistic character behaviour, and Joanne fell on the wrong side of that fence. It almost would have been better if she had started out the book already knowing what she was and what she could do, because to start from nothing to where she ended up, with barely a raised eyebrow, just seemed incredible to me. And I didn't buy it.
So, as I said, a mixed bag, but I loved the characters so I will be giving book two a whirl to see how things go on from here. Hopefully the storytelling will have improved and, now that Joanne knows all of her abilities, the other issue won't matter as much either.
holl3640's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
terrafyd's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pjonsson's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fairly light read somewhere just above the middle of the pack for Urban Fantasy but it is a fairly entertaining read nevertheless. Enough entertaining for me to want to have a go at the second book in the series although I cannot really say that I am in a rush to do so.
I like the general story but then I always like stories were the main character suddenly becomes aware that there are things that go bump in the night and they are one of these things.
The main character is likable. A bit obnoxious and somewhat stupid at times but quick with her mouth, on the home team and do not hesitate to fight when it is needed. Her taxi driver friend is very likable to the extent that he almost steels the spotlight at times. Even her police station boss becomes, almost, likable towards the end of the book.
The story is quite okay as well as the world building even though it sometimes goes into la la land and becomes a bit difficult to follow. I have to agree with some of the other reviewers that the car analogy used felt somewhat silly. On the other hand the author takes a decent enough amount of time to gradually introduce Joanne’s new powers and the book has quite a few “surprise” moments. That is surprise for the other characters when Joanne’s powers allows her to perform unbelievable feats. I quite like that.
Naturally the book leads up to a big showdown with the bad guy(s) and I have to say that here certain things went a tad too fast. Joanne got a grip on her powers and performed the most remarkable feats after only having acquired her powers a few days ago. Felt a bit too much to me.
Anyway, on the whole I was entertained by this book and, as I wrote above, I will probably have a go at the second one in the series as well.
I like the general story but then I always like stories were the main character suddenly becomes aware that there are things that go bump in the night and they are one of these things.
The main character is likable. A bit obnoxious and somewhat stupid at times but quick with her mouth, on the home team and do not hesitate to fight when it is needed. Her taxi driver friend is very likable to the extent that he almost steels the spotlight at times. Even her police station boss becomes, almost, likable towards the end of the book.
The story is quite okay as well as the world building even though it sometimes goes into la la land and becomes a bit difficult to follow. I have to agree with some of the other reviewers that the car analogy used felt somewhat silly. On the other hand the author takes a decent enough amount of time to gradually introduce Joanne’s new powers and the book has quite a few “surprise” moments. That is surprise for the other characters when Joanne’s powers allows her to perform unbelievable feats. I quite like that.
Naturally the book leads up to a big showdown with the bad guy(s) and I have to say that here certain things went a tad too fast. Joanne got a grip on her powers and performed the most remarkable feats after only having acquired her powers a few days ago. Felt a bit too much to me.
Anyway, on the whole I was entertained by this book and, as I wrote above, I will probably have a go at the second one in the series as well.
majkia's review against another edition
5.0
Joanne should have guessed something was weird when she watched a bunch of hounds and a man on a horse chasing down a woman through the streets of Seattle. That was weird enough, but the fact she was watching this from an airplane on approach to land made it even weirder.
But Joanne had been on a fight for hours, her contacts were glued to her eyes and she was so exhausted she barely registered where she was.
Thus begins The Walker Papers, Urban Shaman the first book of the series.
I liked the character, enjoyed her growing awareness of powers and her problematic and skeptical attitude toward the whole thing. But since suddenly that rider was after her, too, well, she didn't have much choice about buying in to what was happening to her.
One of the better urban fantasies I've read for quite awhile.
But Joanne had been on a fight for hours, her contacts were glued to her eyes and she was so exhausted she barely registered where she was.
Thus begins The Walker Papers, Urban Shaman the first book of the series.
I liked the character, enjoyed her growing awareness of powers and her problematic and skeptical attitude toward the whole thing. But since suddenly that rider was after her, too, well, she didn't have much choice about buying in to what was happening to her.
One of the better urban fantasies I've read for quite awhile.
itabar's review
2.0
The good: I like the heroine. Unlike the typical smart-ass bitchy UF heroine, this one was smart-ass, pleasant and likable.
The bad: Too much woo-woo. It got tedious, especially towards the end. There was no logic to it. If the gods were after her, why didn't they make a concerted effort. Why not go after her when she's off her guard, such as when she's sleeping?? And some stuff just struck me as convenient authorial hand-wavery.
Good effort for a first novel.
Started the second book, but decided this just isn't my cuppa. This is more magical realism rather than urban fantasy. I just don't care for MR. May try her other series.
The bad: Too much woo-woo. It got tedious, especially towards the end. There was no logic to it. If the gods were after her, why didn't they make a concerted effort. Why not go after her when she's off her guard, such as when she's sleeping?? And some stuff just struck me as convenient authorial hand-wavery.
Good effort for a first novel.
Started the second book, but decided this just isn't my cuppa. This is more magical realism rather than urban fantasy. I just don't care for MR. May try her other series.
zeezeemama11's review
4.0
girl kicks butt with magic. love it. had some surprising twists that will hook you into the series.