susanvoss18

I had a lot of fun with this story despite its few faults. Yancy is a rough and tumble character with a good heart. He’s somewhere in his 70s but because of his magic he looks like he’s in his 40s. His lingo made me think of biker movies and James Dean and gritty stories of Vietnam. Also, Yancy is a smoker which I like in characters even though I don’t care for it in real life.

Hunter gives us small glimpses into Yancy’s past which includes his family that he left behind and his time spent working closely with other magic users. It hooked me. I wanted to know more even as I wanted Yancy to get to the bottom of these demonic murders. Yancy has depth and while I wanted some of the side characters to be a bit deeper, Yancy was enough to keep me entertained.

The pacing was good with plenty of action and small moments of reflection tossed in. This story made a good companion was I played Titan Quest. While Yancy was the star, I enjoyed Greg as well. He’s got some snark and he’s tough on Yancy but he’s also intriguing. The building of the magic-side of the world is also well done. There were clear rules for the bits of magic presented and those stayed consistent throughout the story. All together, 4/5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book.

The Narration: Charlie Kevin was a lot of fun to listen to. He is the perfect match for Yancy Lazarus. He’s got a little gravel to his voice, always seems on the cusp of being a smart ass (just like Yancy), and also handles Yancy’s emotions well. All his character voices were distinct and his female characters sounded feminine. There were no technical issues with this recording. 5/5 stars.