A review by pjonsson
Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy
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.